Commentary

Google Uses Search Home Page To Thank Medical Community, Raise Funds

Google is using its search engine home page to thank all doctors, nurses and medical workers for their service, as well as raise money for a COVID-19 fund.

The message, which began serving up Monday in the Midwest, links to a video that talks about how people can flatten the curve, how health professionals are going to work to save lives, and what people can do to help.

The page, a tribute to healthcare workers, also discusses fund-raising efforts that Google announced last week. The company is committing $50 million to the global COVID-19 response. Part of those funds is the $5 million in matching donations to the UN Foundations Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization.

Google.org pledged to match $2 for every $1 donated by April 30, 2020.

Two-thirds of Americans, including majorities in all major demographic and partisan groups, say COVID-19 is a “significant crisis,” according to data released last week by Pew Research Center.

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Google believes that Google and the community can raise $7.5 million to support global preparedness and response in communities affected by the spread of COVID-19.

Google partnered with Network for Good, a U.S. 501(c) and donor advised fund, to collect and distribute the funds to nonprofits, according to Google’s recommendations.

The donations are made through Google’s platform, so the company does collect names, email addresses, and donation amounts, but only for the purpose of facilitating donations. The company also provides the ability to delete donation information. Donors must take an additional step to delete the information from the non-profit.

The National Geographic Society also created a COVID-19 emergency fund. This one for reporters covering the pandemic, writes MediaPost reporter Fern Siegel.

“Writers, photographers, videographers, audio journalists, cartographers, filmmakers and data visualization experts can apply,” she writes.

These are two examples of how companies are supporting the financial needs of people during this crisis.

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