OVERVIEW: The Pepsico Foundation names food, water, waste and women’s and girls’ causes as its areas of grantmaking interest.
IP TAKE: Pepsico’s global grantmaking tends to support large well-established organizations and NGOs, but its U.S. funding sometimes supports smaller community organizations and initiatives working in its areas of interest.
This is not an accessible or approachable funder, 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, Pepsico supports sustainable food systems, safe water access, sustainable waste management and women’s and girls’ causes. In 2020, the foundation committed more than $60 million “to bring food and other vital resources to the most affected communities” in response to the global COVID-19 crisis.
Grants for Global Development
Pepsico supports global development via its water program, 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.
Grants for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems
Pepsico’s nutrition 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.” Funding is global in scope and overlaps with the foundation’s COVID-19 response. In the U.S., Pepsico runs its signature Food for Good program, which delivers meals to families in need and supports food pantries in 20 cities. Global grantees include the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and Rise Against Hunger, which distributes food through schools, hospitals and clinics in the Dominican Republic, India and several nations in Africa. Other grantees include Belgium Foodbank, the Global Foodbanking Network, Foodbank Australia and the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty.
Environmental Conservation
The foundation’s environmental funding focuses exclusively on sustainable waste management and prioritizes the expansion of recycling infrastructure and public awareness of recycling and sustainable waste management. Pepsico is a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Plastics Action Partnership, and it has supported global initiatives including the MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy and TerraCycle, which aims to reduce the amount of plastic that is released into the world’s waterways. Other grantees include the Recycling Partnership of Virginia, PlaNet Finance and Circulate Capital, a fund that invests in initiatives to mitigate plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
Grants for Women and Girls
Pepsico supports initiatives that provide women around the world with opportunities for economic advancement, focusing specifically on workforce readiness, agriculture and food production and distribution. Grantmaking overlaps significantly with the foundation’s food and agriculture funding. Past grantee partners include CARE, which received $18 million over several years to support its She Feeds the World Program, and Win, a New York City organization that provides job training and placement services to homeless women in the Bronx. Other grantees include the China Women’s Development Foundation, Women in Need, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and the International Youth Foundation.
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 has made over $20 million in grants in recent years. Grants range anywhere from a few thousand to over $1 million, but the foundation’s average grants size is about $25,000. 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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