During the month of November, Lenovo celebrated its 35th Birthday, a significant milestone for any technology company given the hyper competitive markets and fast paced innovation of today’s technology. The milestone would not be possible without the customers and communities that have supported Lenovo in becoming the global company that it is today. Lenovo expressed its gratitude to customers by providing grants to mission-aligned organizations in each of its five major markets, ensuring that Lenovo is reinvesting in the future health and prosperity of communities around the world.
A total of $210,000 was given to communities around the world, with up to $35,000 awarded to finalists and additional funds provided to semi-finalists. The grant round marked the second annual grant round from Lenovo Foundation since its Love on Mini Grant round in 2018. The 2019 round marked increased participation both internally and externally. Eighty-eight Lenovo employees served as evaluators for the first round of the grants (up from 45 in 2018), and there were 136 applications (up from 94 in 2018). Read on to learn about the organizations that are supported through the 2019 grant round, and how they further Lenovo’s mission to provide Smarter Technology for All.
Organizations interested in receiving support from Lenovo Foundation can visit www.LenovoFoundation.com to view charitable giving guidelines. While the Lenovo Foundation does not typically provide support for unsolicited requests, the Foundation is planning to provide another open grant round in 2020, timing to be announced.
*Finalist **Semi-Finalist | Proposal |
*Camara Education – USA/Europe | Creating access to STEM education by funding “eLearning Centres” for seven schools in Ethiopia. |
**Gifted Abilities Technical Institute - USA | Providing an educational space for adults with autism to be trained for careers in IT. |
*Guangzhou Zhikun Charity Foundation – China | Develop and deploy STEM courses for underserved children, to be delivered by Lenovo volunteers. |
*Immersion for Spanish Language Acquisition – USA | Narrowing the academic achievement gap between Hispanic/Latino students and their non-Hispanic/Latino peers by providing materials and technology, as well as professional development for ISLA educators. |
*Laboratoria – Latin America | Supporting Laboratoria’s digital literacy programs to advance women in digital careers, specifically supporting career fairs with job placement opportunities. |
*Li Beuti Public Welfare Alliance - China | Investing in public welfare projects and the development of an online platform to better coordinate volunteerism. |
**Math Circles of Chicago - USA | General support for city-wide out of school programming to immerse students in math and advance their STEM education. |
**ONG Ninos de Guatemala - Guatemala | Providing devices for students in the Digital Citizenship Program. |
**ProjectEd- Malaysia | Impactful scholarships for students in need in Malaysia, including traditional scholarships, digital mentorships, and workshops. |
*Society for Doorstep Schools - India | Creates Science, Computer, Math and Language labs supporting migrant and underserved children in Mumbai slums. |
*The Children’s LoveCastles Trust - India | Expanding multi-lingual digital education to 10 additional states in India, deployed in local languages. |
**Women in Africa - Africa | Support for coding workshops to help women gain skills for careers in digital and mobile app development fields. |
