Summary:
- Booz Allen’s initial $5 million pledge in corporate funding supports the Booz Allen Foundation’s shared purpose with the firm to “Empower People to Change the World”
- Foundation builds on Booz Allen’s 104-year history of supporting local communities
- First grant to American Red Cross for disaster relief, with further program strategy development expected later in 2018
McLean, Virginia – Building on a 104-year commitment of passionate service to communities, Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) today announced the formation of the Booz Allen Foundation with an initial pledge of $5 million to support the foundation’s purpose, shared with the firm, to “Empower People to Change the World.”
The strategic intent of the foundation, a public charity, is to convene stakeholders to use innovation and technology advancements to help solve challenging social issues and build community resilience. The foundation’s primary focus areas are enhancements to global health, support for veterans and military families, youth and education programs, and to continue to support the charitable initiatives of Booz Allen employees. Additionally, the foundation will consider opportunities to assist in the recovery from declared disasters.
“We wanted to find a way to galvanize an even broader set of problem-solvers around Booz Allen’s purpose to empower people to change the world,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Horacio Rozanski. “Establishing an independent foundation to complement our ongoing corporate philanthropy is a great way to widen the circle and apply smart minds and advanced technology to build more resilient communities. We are excited that the foundation’s areas of focus include issues the people of Booz Allen have long cared about: veterans and military families, health care, and youth and education.”
The foundation, which operates separately from the firm, received its initial funding pledge and Internal Revenue Service approval in 2017, and has made its first grant of $129,000 to the American Red Cross in support of disaster relief as a matching gift to Booz Allen employee donations. In coming months, following the hiring of an executive director, detailed plans for the foundation and its giving will be developed and announced.
The firm and its employees live the value of passionate service well beyond the traditional work day—jumping in to empower communities and find new, sustainable solutions. For example:
- The firm supports a variety of organizations assisting veterans and military families, including supporting training in cyber and STEM careers, and providing data analytics and other tech solutions in support of operations. Our partners include USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore, Hiring our Heroes, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Blue Star Families and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. Veterans comprise more than a third of Booz Allen’s 24,750 employees.
- Since 2004, Booz Allen has supported For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST®) and its mission to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders today and in the future, along with the USA Science and Engineering Festival. The firm’s work to close the STEM gender gap and build the strongest, most diverse pipeline of future STEM talent also includes a STEM Girls 4 Social Good partnership with Girls Inc. of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area.
- Booz Allen and Kaggle have partnered to convene the world’s premier data science for social good competition, the Data Science Bowl, now in its fourth year. The Data Science Bowl has brought together people with varied educational and occupational backgrounds (economists, data scientists, day traders, psychologists, clinicians) to develop solutions for advancement of treatments for lung cancer and heart disease, and to improve ocean health.
- And importantly, the Booz Allen community has a history of stepping up – independently, and as a firm – at critical moments when needs arise. In the past year, the firm issued 379 volunteer service grants to 306 nonprofit groups for which employees volunteered more than 40 hours. Employees recorded more than 65,000 total hours of service in the year and donated generously to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund as well as providing support recently in Orlando, Houston, and Tampa during times of disaster. More broadly, the firm has taken a leadership role on eliminating the stigma around mental health and building more appreciation and awareness of emotional fitness in the corporate world as a partner to Give an Hour.
In its focus on community resiliency, the Booz Allen Foundation will build on this legacy of commitment to the communities where we live and work, as it encourages partners to leverage technology and creative ideas to allow these communities to strengthen and advance.
