A view from outside the Boeing factory in Everett on April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

A view from outside the Boeing factory in Everett on April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Boeing, Costco commit millions to social justice programs

Combined the companies are set to invest over $35 million to iniatives in a pair of big-dollar moves.

By Paul Roberts / The Seattle Times

In another sign of the growing impact of this summer’s protests over racial injustice, two of the state’s biggest companies are putting tens of millions of dollars into social justice initiatives.

Costco will put $25 million into a fund to support Black-led financial institutions and community development initiatives, the Issaquah-based retailer announced Friday.

Boeing announced $10.6 million in investments in nearly two dozen nonprofits and other programs focused on “racial equity and social justice.” Among them is Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, which will receive $2.5 million to expand health care access for children in Central and South Seattle.

The big-dollar moves follow a June announcement by Amazon of a $10 million donation for similar initiatives.

All come as escalating national protests over police violence toward Black Americans are pushing even normally low-profile corporations to take public, substantive stands on difficult questions around race and equity.

“Major corporations and organizations are being pressured … to engage on issues where, historically, the wise thing to do was to just put your nose down and do your work,” said Lawrence Parnell, an expert in strategic public relations at George Washington University.

And, critically, where many early corporate responses to the protests were heavy on symbolism and social media messaging, these moves suggest the emergence of a deeper, more economically meaningful response.

George Ashton, who heads strategic investments at the New York-based Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which will get Costco’s $25 million investment, said heightened attention to racial justice issues has dramatically boosted so-called “impact” investments in disadvantaged communities.

In 2020, “impact” investors are considering roughly four times the level of funding for LISC as they were in 2019, Ashton said. The current level of interest “has been unlike any other I’ve seen for impact capital,” he said.

The corporation expects its new Black Economic Development Fund, to which Netflix has already committed $25 million, will reach $100 million. The funds will be used to capitalize Black-owned banks and finance businesses, affordable housing, and other initiatives in communities of color.

Boeing has given $120 million to support education in minority communities in the past five years, according to a company spokesperson. But the new $10.6 million investment reflects a new emphasis on “digging deeply into confronting racism, and racial equity,” CEO David Calhoun said in a message to employees.

Other initiatives include working to boost the number of Black Boeing employees in the United States by 20% “to have our workforce more fully reflect the local markets where we work,” he said.

The philanthropy comes as the corporate world tries to navigate an issue that has been difficult for many global brands.

Seattle-based Starbucks, for example, has committed $1 million to promote racial equity in communities, in addition to internal initiatives such making Juneteenth an official company holiday. But the coffee company has also been criticized for its handling of racial issues, not least after a store employee in Philadelphia called the police on two Black customers in 2018. And in June, the company came under fire for temporarily banning employees from wearing Black Lives Matter symbols at work. Starbucks stores have been routinely vandalized during some recent protests.

But the pressure to put more corporate money into disadvantaged communities isn’t just coming from protesters and other outsiders, experts said.

Many corporations are also being pushed by their own employees to respond substantively to the protests. Millennials in particular “want to hold companies that they work for accountable,” said Ashton at LISC.

Another factor, added Parnell, is the sense that local and federal governments are no longer as effective in dealing with the underlying economic inequalities that are a legacy of long-standing racism.

“People are saying, ‘You’re a major employer in this community, you need to do something, because the community has a problem, and government is not getting it done.’ “

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Northwest

Alaska Airlines aircraft sit in the airline's hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on a door panel that blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon two months ago. Ziad Ojakli, Boeing executive vice president and chief government lobbyist, wrote to Sen. Maria Cantwell on Friday, March 8 saying, “We have looked extensively and have not found any such documentation.” (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
FBI tells passengers on 737 flight they might be crime victims

Passengers received letters this week from a victim specialist from the federal agency’s Seattle office.

Skylar Meade (left) and Nicholas Umphenour.
Idaho prison gang member and accomplice caught after ambush

Pair may have killed 2 while on the run, police say. Three police officers were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after the attack at a Boise hospital.

Barbara Peraza-Garcia holds her 2-year-old daughter, Frailys, while her partner Franklin Peraza sits on their bed in their 'micro apartment' in Seattle on Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Micro-apartments are back after nearly a century, as need for affordable housing soars

Boarding houses that rented single rooms to low-income, blue-collar or temporary workers were prevalent across the U.S. in the early 1900s.

Teen blamed for crash that kills woman, 3 children in Renton

Four people were hospitalized, including three with life-threatening injuries. The teenage driver said to be at fault is under guard at a hospital.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee proposed his final state budget on Tuesday. It calls for a new wealth tax, an increase in business taxes, along with some programs and a closure of a women’s prison. The plan will be a starting point for state lawmakers in the 2025 legislative session. (Jerry Cornfield / Washington State Standard)
Inslee proposes taxing the wealthy and businesses to close budget gap

His final spending plan calls for raising about $13 billion over four years from additional taxes. Republicans decry the approach.

The Snohomish County Jail is pictured on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
First bills drop ahead of WA’s 2025 legislative session

Permanent standard time, immigration policies and fentanyl penalties were among the proposals pre-filed Monday.

Teslas charging in Victorville, Calif., on March 11. Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and one of President-elect Donald Trump’s biggest supporters, has said the government should eliminate all subsidies for electric vehicles. (Lauren Justice / The New York Times)
Once a must for wealthy Seattle-area liberals, Teslas feel Elon backlash

For many, Tesla has changed from a brand associated with climate action and innovation to something “much more divisive.”

The livery on a Boeing plane. (Christopher Pike / Bloomberg)
Boeing’s new CEO clips corporate jet trips in show of restraint

It’s one of several moves by Kelly Ortberg in recent months to permanently shrink Boeing’s costs.

Dorian Cerda, who was aboard a plane that caught fire over the Gulf of Mexico, in Lake Placid, Fla., on Sunday. Extreme turbulence, a blown-out door, an engine on fire: For passengers and crew members who have experienced in-air emergencies, the pain endures. (Saul Martinez / The New York Times)
‘Everyone thought we were going to die’: Life after flight trauma

After the midair Alaska Airlines blowout earlier this year, Shandy Brewer has had recurring nightmares. She’s not alone.

Snohomish County Superior Courthouse in Everett, Washington on February 8, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
WA court system outage means firearm sales on hold

Buyers must wait until the Washington State Patrol can access databases for background checks.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at the Snohomish & Island County Labor Council champions dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Ferguson, WA Democrats prepare for new era of showdowns with Trump

Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson and Attorney General-elect Nick Brown are readying their legal teams.

From left to right, Dave Larson and Sal Mungia.
WA Supreme Court race is incredibly close

Just 0.05% separated Sal Mungia and Dave Larson on Tuesday. More votes will come Wednesday.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.