Pepsico Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Pepsico Foundation names food, water, waste and women’s and girls’ causes as its areas of grantmaking interest.
IP TAKE: Like many corporate funders, Pepsico tends to support large well-established organizations and NGOs. However, its U.S. funding sometimes supports smaller community organizations and initiatives working in its areas of interest. This funder does not accept unsolicited applications, but it provides contact information for organizations seeking sponsorships and donations of food and beverages.
PROFILE: The Pepsico Foundation is the philanthropic entity of the global soft drink and food company Pepsico, which is the parent company of the Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade brands. Based in Purchase, New York, the Pepsico Foundation focuses its philanthropy on food security, safe water and economic opportunity. This funder’s grantmaking is global in scope, prioritizing areas where its parent company does business.
Grants for Global Development
Pepsico supports global development via its safe water funding area, which focuses on “distribution, purification and conservation programs” that have the potential to bring water to the more than 3 billion people worldwide who do not currently have home access to water for basic hygiene purposes. One grantee partner, WaterAid, has successfully brought running water to schools in the Indian states of Nelamangala and Palakkad. Another grantee, the Safe Water Network, has brought systems that purify ground water to India and Ghana. Other grantees include Water.org and the Inter-American Development Bank.
A portion of Pepsico’s global development grantmaking also stems from its economic opportunity grantmaking, which has named as a priority support for female farmers around the world. Recently, the foundation has supported CARE’s She Feeds the World Program, which women farmers in Peru, Egypt and Uganda with grants, training and other resources “that can help them increase crop yields and income.”
Grants for Food Systems
Pepsico’s grantmaking for sustainable food systems and food security stems from its Food for Good initiative, which represents a commitment of $100 million to combat hunger in the world’s poorest regions and communities. Funding aims to alleviate pervasive hunger by supporting organizations that provide health food to people in need and supporting initiatives for “long-term food security.” Grantee partners of this program include the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, the United Nations World Food Program and, in the U.S., the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty.
Grants Higher Education, Work and Opportunity, Racial Justice, Women and Girls
Pepsico also names economic opportunity as its third major funding area and focuses its grantmaking on “equitable solutions to closing the income gap” including higher education, vocational education and small business development. Reflecting a committment to racial and gender equity, Pepsico’s has stated the following goals for its grantmaking by the year 2025:
Scholarships for 4,000 Black and Hispanic student sin the U.S
Support for at least 1,000 Black- and Hispanic-owned restaurants or other food-related businesses
Financial support and training for “5 million female farmers and their families around the world.”
Pepsico’s grantee partners for this work include the National Urban League, New York City’s Robin Hood Foundation, the International Youth Foundation and Junior Achievement Worldwide.
Other Grantmaking Opportunities
Pepsico has given more than $60 million to organizations working at the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis to provide food, protective gear and relief to communities in need. Key grantees include the United Nations’ One World Together at Home initiative, the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, Feeding America, Save the Children and the International Red Cross.
Important Grant Details:
Pepsico made over $30 million in grants in a recent year. Grants range anywhere from a few thousand to over $1 million, but the foundation’s average grants size is about $50,000. The foundation generally supports large well-established nonprofits and NGOs, but it has supported smaller community organizations in U.S. cities. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the Pepsico’s philanthropy page or its recent tax filings.
This funder does not accept unsolicited proposals but offers contact information for organizations seeking sponsorships or beverage and snack donations.
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