Jeff Bezos to personally match up to $1M in donations to Mary’s Place homeless nonprofit
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will personally match up to $ 1 million in donations on Tuesday, May 3, to the Mary’s Place nonprofit organization, supporting homeless women, children and families.
The Seattle-based group announced Bezos’ pledge in a post over the weekend, saying that Bezos reached out to inform them of his one-day match challenge on Saturday morning.
The pledge, which has the potential to generate $ 2 million for the nonprofit, coincides with Seattle’s GiveBig day of philanthropy, and the Mary’s Place Annual Spring Benefit Luncheon, also set for Tuesday. Any donation made to Mary’s Place on Tuesday directly or through GiveBig will be matched by Bezos, up to $ 1 million.
It’s the latest connection between Amazon and Mary’s Place. The tech company, which supports charities across the country through its Amazon Smile program, recently donated to Mary’s Place the use of a former motel on one of its future real estate development sites, which will now serve as an emergency family shelter until the spring of 2017.
Amazon has become a symbol of the Seattle region’s tech boom, with an influx of skilled workers across the industry contributing to rising housing prices and growing economic inequality across the region. The company has been publicly criticized in years past for not contributing enough to philanthropic efforts in its hometown.