Wayfair Donates over $12 Million to Local and Global Initiatives in 2020

December 30, 2020  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

The company also renewed its commitment to long-standing partners Habitat for Humanity International and Homes for Our Troops. Through the generosity of its customers, donations at check-out to these organizations more than doubled this year.

"At Wayfair, we have always believed in supporting our communities and, as the leader in home, we are continuously looking for ways to leverage our operational capabilities and expertise to make an impact," noted Niraj Shah, CEO, co-founder and co-chairman, Wayfair. "From quickly mobilizing to deliver supplies to field hospitals to support pandemic relief to providing resources for students to help make the transition to home learning as seamless as possible, I am continuously impressed by the agility and ingenuity of our team as they stepped up to support our communities during a critical time."

In 2020, Wayfair supported local and international communities in a variety of ways. Early on in the pandemic, the team delivered much needed supplies to hospitals and quarantine sites and helped set up field hospitals and emergency housing in locations across the U.S. and the UK. Wayfair also launched its Save Big, Give Back campaign, resulting in a combined $3 million contribution to Feeding America and the UN Covid-19 Response Fund.

Wayfair also continued its commitment to supporting the organizations that matter most to its employees. Through its employee matching program, the company donated more than $250,000 to help those impacted by Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. In June 2020, Wayfair and its employees contributed approximately $1 million in combined donations to employee-selected organizations that focus on ending racism, hatred and violence. For Wayfair’s holiday giving campaign, employees had a voice in allocating a $250,000 donation to organizations in areas across its operations. In addition, U.S. employees had the option to wish forward their annual employee gift to Make A Wish America. Thanks to the generosity of its employees, Wayfair donated more than $150,000 to the organization this month.

In 2020, Wayfair also deepened its commitment to supporting the communities where its employees live and work. Through its Dinner to Go program, the company invested $3 million in small businesses this year, providing hundreds of thousands of meals for its employees and their families from local restaurants that were struggling due to the pandemic. Wayfair provided every frontline employee with two free, family-sized meals per week from local, family-owned restaurants throughout the most difficult months of the pandemic. The initiative supported both frontline teams as well as struggling small businesses in areas across Wayfair’s logistics network. Participating restaurant owners benefited from the influx of orders from Wayfair, helping to keep their doors open and staff employed while they were unable to provide in-house dining and would otherwise experience a drastic decline in business.

"At Wayfair, we know that our people are our greatest strength and we believe that building a world-class team requires an investment in employees and their communities," continued Shah. "We will continue to look for innovative ways to support our team and our communities in 2021."