FOSTER CITY, Calif.– Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced the launch of its Racial Equity Community Impact Fund, which will support high-impact organizations working to tackle racial inequities affecting Black communities across the United States. The fund will initially provide $10 million in grants to 20 organizations over a three-year period.
The program will support organizations focused on three areas:
- Community Advocacy and Mobilization: Groups that organize and mobilize communities to join the quest for racial equity and social justice, working toward an equitable distribution of resources for Black communities.
- Social Justice: Organizations and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) training the next generation of leaders.
- Educational Innovation: Institutions focused on providing educational advancement and career development services for Black students, young professionals and families from cradle to career.
“Gilead is committed to creating equitable opportunities for the patients we serve, our employees and the communities in which we live and work,” said Daniel O’Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gilead Sciences. “The Racial Equity Community Impact Fund will provide resources to groups that are working on the frontlines to combat social inequities directly impacting the health and wellness of the Black community. This program is one of the ways that we are delivering on our commitment to promote racial equity and social justice.”
The U.S.-based organizations that will receive funding include: 100 Black Men of Metropolitan Houston, Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD), Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, Center for Racial Justice in Education, Claflin University, East Oakland Youth Development Center, the Equity Alliance, Grantmakers for Girls of Color, Harlem Children’s Zone, Horatio Williams Foundation, the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Morehouse College, Shaw University, Southerners on New Ground (SONG), Spelman College, Tougaloo College, Ubuntu Inc. and Xavier University of Louisiana.
“Gilead’s investment in the East Oakland Youth Development Center means 1,000 families will have access to capacity-building programs that will provide support to prepare youth and young adults for employment, higher education and leadership opportunities,” said Regina Jackson, President and Chief Executive Officer, East Oakland Youth Development Center. “These kinds of programs that provide trauma-informed care approaches are desperately needed in Oakland these days as we seek to combat social injustice and achieve racial equity for our community, one family at a time. We are grateful to Gilead for the support and partnership.”
The Racial Equity Community Impact Fund is among a number of programs implemented at Gilead in 2020 in the area of social justice. Gilead has also launched the Advancing Black Leadership Strategy, sponsored by the company’s executive leadership team, to deliver on internal inclusion and diversity goals, including increasing the number of Black employees hired and providing advancement opportunities for the company’s existing employees.
In July, the company announced a $1 million partnership with the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black communities and to support the creation of a Black Health Equity Alliance composed of national thought leaders, community representatives, scholars, researchers and policymakers. This followed donations to the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Know Your Rights Camp, Race Forward, the Equal Justice Initiative and Campaign Zero amid the violence against Black communities earlier this year.
Gilead’s social justice work also includes a number of initiatives aimed at promoting equity, particularly healthcare equity, for individuals in underserved communities. The company has committed more than $100 million over 10 years through the Gilead COMPASS Initiative® to community organizations in the Southern United States working to combat HIV/AIDS and in 2019 started the TRANScend® Community Impact Fund to support organizations committed to improving the safety, health and wellness of the transgender community.
