Oil Spill Latest Cause in Pepsi Contest
August 3, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
The soft-drink giant Pepsi is donating $1.3-million to help Gulf Coast cleanup efforts as part of its Pepsi Refresh Project, which awards grants to charities based on online voting, writes The New York Times.
The company will award two $250,000 grants and 30 grants for smaller amounts through August 31. Thirty groups submitted grants for voting.
Although several other companies have stepped up with financial and material support, including Chevron and the shoe maker Teva, corporate giving in the BP oil disaster has been subdued compared to recent humanitarian crises, the Times says.
The nature of the Gulf spill as a manmade rather than a natural disaster, and the “blame game” between BP and the government over responsibility for its consequences, “hardens the compassions of both consumers and companies to help out,” said Alison DaSilva of Cone L.L.C., which helps companies with philanthropic marketing.
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