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8. Giving Back > The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation
Visit the website of Ben & Jerry’s Foundation. 
Funding In 2007, the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation received $1,699,684 from Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., based on 2006 sales of the Company. This represents a 9.3% increase over the previous year. Employee-directed grantmaking Most of the grants awarded to nonprofit organizations by the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation each year are directed by Ben & Jerry’s employees. In 2007, these grants totaled $1,172,243. The U Fund The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation trustees make grants to organizations involved in education and activism around globalization and social justice from a special fund that was established when Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry’s in 2000. Learn more. Other grants Learn about the Plant Managers’ Discretionary funds and other small grants the Foundation makes. Community Action Teams Each of the Company’s Vermont sites (Waterbury, St. Albans, South Burlington) has an employee Community Action Team (CAT) that directs the energies of Ben & Jerry’s employees toward community improvement projects. Grant recipient spotlight: Though we don’t have the space to write about all of the groups we fund, these three groups represent some of the important work that the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation is proud to support. The Western Lands Project received a $5,000 grant from the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation in 2007 to support its work monitoring and challenging efforts to privatize public lands in the West, SmartMeme received a $10,000 grant in 2007. SmartMeme uses the power of narrative to connect the struggles for democracy, peace, justice and ecological sanity, thereby amplifying the impact of grassroots The Foundation supported the Latino Union of Chicago with a $10,000 grant in 2007. Founded by women day laborers, the Union collaborates with low-income immigrant workers to develop the tools necessary to collectively improve social and economic conditions. The Union also uses grassroots strength to promote pro-immigrant worker policies locally, state-wide, and nationally. Watch a short video about the work of the Latino Union of Chicago. |
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The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, a separate entity from the Company, was established in 1985 through a donation of stock in Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc. Its mission is to make the world a better place by empowering Ben & Jerry’s employees to use available resources to support and encourage organizations that are working towards eliminating the underlying causes of environmental and social problems. Its core areas of interest include economic and social justice, environmental stewardship, and peace through understanding in Vermont and other communities throughout the United States.
including federal land exchanges, sales, and giveaways that would cede public control of land to non-federal entities. The Project provides outreach, education, advocacy and legal assistance as needed to groups throughout the U.S. who request their help in responding to bad land deals.
organizing. Ben & Jerry’s Foundation provided funding for the STORY project, a youth training and movement-building initiative; and for collaborative work with Iraq Veterans Against the War and young peace activists.