In a recent note, CEO Brian Cornell shared the Target team’s commitment to stand against racism. We pledged to face anxiety, fear and sorrow with purpose, and formed an enterprise task force to determine how to help create solutions for the injustice Black families and people of color face every day.
Today, our next steps include announcing a $10 million commitment and ongoing resources to advance social justice and support rebuilding and recovery efforts in local communities.
“Target stands with Black families, communities and team members. As we face an inflection point in Minneapolis and across the country, we’re listening to our team, guests and communities, committed to using our size, scale and resources to help heal and create lasting change,” says Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO, Target.
Initial efforts include:
- A $10 million investment from Target and the Target Foundation to support long-standing partners such as the National Urban League and the African American Leadership Forum. We will also add new partners in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and across the country.
- 10,000 hours of pro-bono consulting services for Black- and people-of-color-owned small businesses in the Twin Cities, helping with rebuilding efforts.
- Continuing to provide essentials such as baby formula, diapers, medicine and more to communities most in need.
- Target Circle, our loyalty program, will offer guests the option to direct Target funds to local nonprofits and include organizations supporting social justice.
Helping our hometown and investing in rebuilding efforts and social justice
Work is already underway in our hometown of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Team members have volunteered hundreds of hours toward hands-on cleanup efforts in heavily impacted neighborhoods, building on our company’s history of volunteering 1 million hours each year. Our partnerships with local nonprofits like Second Harvest Heartland have assisted in providing truckloads of essentials like baby formula, medicine and more in recent weeks.
In addition to continuing support for longstanding partners like the National Urban League, we’ll provide in-kind donations and contributions to additional local nonprofits and national partnerships to create long-term change. In Minneapolis-St. Paul and the surrounding region, the Target Foundation will continue investing in nonprofits addressing systemic and structural barriers facing communities of color. The Foundation’s focuses include investments in Black- and people-of-color-owned businesses and entrepreneurs, along with efforts to promote equity in the areas of housing, asset-building and workforce development. By mid-June, grant applications will open to help Black- and people-of-color-owned small businesses rebuild.
In the weeks and months ahead, our teams are committed to listening and learning from our communities and nonprofit partners to better understand how Target can support their longer-term needs.
