Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Honored For Its Charitable Work

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has always been known for is generosity. Co-founder Bill Gates has always been at the forefront of giving back with his Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, and he instilled that charitable effort into his company’s culture. And that culture has been rewarded times before, and again now as the company was recently named the recipient of two major charitable awards.

United Way Worldwide brandished two Summit awards onto Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently for its community impact and for volunteer engagement. What does this mean? Microsoft was charitable both in terms of financial support and in employees’ volunteering of their time with various events. The report was that Microsoft game $1 billion from employees and employer matching funds during the last calendar year, and employees of the company gave two million hours of volunteer service since the company announced its own volunteer matching program.

Last year, Microsoft reportedly made charitable contributions totaling $900 million in cash and software to more than 60,000 non-profit organizations around the world. In the volunteer-matching program, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) makes a company contribution to a non-profit that is equivalent to $17 per hour for every hour an employee volunteers. That amounted to #34 million  out of Microsoft’s coffers in support of these organizations that were local to where their employees were located.

These Summit awards are the highest charitable-work honors bestowed upon corporations by United Way Worldwide. “At Microsoft, we really do believe that our strongest asset is our people,” said Lori Harnick of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). “We are deeply honored to receive two United Way ‘Spirit of America’ Summit awards, which highlight the real impact of our employees in the local communities in which they live and work.”

What do you think? Does charitable work affect your perception of companies like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which detracts from its bottom line profits and cash pile? What are your thoughts about Microsoft’s volunteering and charitable efforts over the last 30 years? Has it been a good RIO for the company in your opinion? Let us know in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.