Community Impact

The S&P Foundation is the keystone of our philanthropic efforts. Initially funded in 2018 with a $20 million gift from S&P Global, the Foundation saw rapid growth in 2020 and 2021, driven by grantmaking to address the global pandemic and racial justice unrest.

In 2022, the Foundation further evolved with the receipt of a $200 million endowment from S&P Global. We streamlined our focus areas for greater impact, with a concentration on diversifying the tech and data sector by funding job training and placement opportunities for individuals from underrepresented communities; and creating environmental resilience by helping vulnerable communities adapt to new climate realities and prepare for and rebound from climate disasters. We also continue to support global disaster relief efforts, as well as racial justice and equity programming.

↳ Greening New York City’s Schoolyards

New York City’s communities suffer from an underinvestment in green space. Trust for Public Land (TPL) research reveals NYC’s communities of color have 33.5% less park space than whiter neighborhoods; low-income communities have 21.1% less park space than wealthier neighborhoods; and the city has only 2.3 playgrounds per 10,000 residents, below the average for major cities.

S&P Global’s grant to the New York City Community Schoolyards program contributed to the opening of five schoolyards serving 29,000 people, including 99% people of color, 77% low-income and 650 students with disabilities. By transforming asphalt playgrounds into green spaces, the projects are intended to improve student education outcomes, community health and climate resiliency. This project, part of TPL’s partnership with the Mayor’s Extreme Weather Task Force, is located in the Department of Environmental Protection’s priority flood zone and is designed to increase community climate resiliency, by capturing devastating storm water and reducing the heat island effect.

↳ Disaster Relief for Flooding in Pakistan

From June through October 2022, record-breaking monsoons devastated Pakistan, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides that resulted in the loss of human life and widespread destruction. To help our colleagues and others in the region, the S&P Global Foundation supported organizations providing immediate assistance, including:

• The United Nations and its Flash Appeal to support government-led emergency response efforts to provide food, water, sanitation, emergency education, protection and health support to people affected by the floods.
  
• Akhuwat, a Pakistan-based nongovernmental organization (NGO), which brought immediate relief to thousands of individuals and families by providing meals, ration bags, medical assistance and financial support.

↳ Support for Ukraine’s Refugees

As the devastating war in Ukraine was waged throughout 2022, more than 13 million people were forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Along with an initial round of grants to the UNHCR and World Central Kitchen to support relief efforts, the S&P Global Foundation extended direct grants to an additional six NGOs, namely, Breaking Barriers, International Rescue Committee, Nema Problema, Project HOPE, UN Foundation/Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, Upwardly Global, that have a proven record of responding to humanitarian and other types of disasters. These grants bring the Foundation’s direct grantmaking for Ukraine to more than $1 million in 2022, along with considerable support provided by donations from S&P Global colleagues through the Disaster Relief Matching Gift Program.

We continued our efforts to combine philanthropic giving with the talent, time and dedication of our people to make a meaningful impact in the communities we are part of around the world. In 2022, the company rolled out a new and enhanced employee volunteerism and contribution technology platform, so that colleagues can volunteer for local efforts and donate to worthy causes.

Our people can also leverage a wide range of programs to support them in making a difference in the community:

• Through our Matching Gift Program, our people can donate to eligible nonprofit organizations of their choice and request a dollar-for-dollar match for their personal contributions up to $5,000 per employee per calendar year.
• With our Essential Impact Program:
  • The Individual Volunteer Grants program awards $500 per calendar year to any eligible organization with which an employee volunteers a minimum of 25 hours.
  • The Team Volunteer Grants program extends $1,500 funding support per volunteer project with five or more employee volunteers. The funding goes directly to the nonprofit organization to support expenses related to the volunteer project.
• All eligible colleagues receive 40 hours or 5 days of paid volunteer time off (“Give Back Days”) per calendar year.

↳ Bringing Leadership to Nonprofits Through BoardLead

BoardLead, led by Cause Strategy Partners, is a board recruitment, placement, training and support initiative designed to prepare individuals for nonprofit board service, introduce them to a nonprofit that fits their passions and commitments, and train them in the responsibilities of these important roles.

Board service is an opportunity for employees to invest skills and talents in meaningful work by stepping into a leadership role that allows them to help chart the strategic direction of an organization and contribute at a high level to its success. For employees, board service is a unique way to build leadership acumen, hone management and professional skills, learn to make tough strategic decisions applying high ethical and moral standards, and collaborate and network with other leaders.

In 2022, 44 team members were elected to nonprofit boards in London, New York City, Dallas and other U.S. locations.