NVIDIA Reverses Course on Donation Matching for Gaza Charities, Causing Internal Rift
More than 60 employees met with senior management after the chipmaker ended automatic matching for several charities in Gaza while still matching donations supporting West Bank settlements, settler militias, and the IDF.
Jules Roscoe
By Jules Roscoe
Jordan Pearson
By Jordan Pearson
January 24, 2024
Chipmaker NVIDIA is matching employee donations to charities that support illegal West Bank settlements, settler militias, and the IDF. This became a major issue at the trillion-dollar company involving dozens of employees and senior management, Motherboard has learned, after matching funds destined for charities supporting Palestinians were returned to workers who donated.
On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed at least 1,139 Israelis, and took about 250 people hostage. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang sent several emails in the following days expressing support for the company’s Israeli employees. The company acquired Israeli interconnect solutions company Mellanox in 2020 for $6.9 billion and has 3,300 employees in the country, 400 of which are serving in the military, according to an email viewed by Motherboard. One email said that an employee and his girlfriend had been kidnapped by Hamas. Another said that Mellanox founder Eyal Waldman’s daughter had been killed.
“NVIDIANs, Israel is suffering devastating and unimaginable casualties,” Huang’s email read in part. “Humanitarian relief efforts are underway, but they need our help. We must help. Donate to support the humanitarian efforts. We will stand with you and turn one dollar into three. For every dollar you donate, our company will match with two.”
According to two employees Motherboard spoke to, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, workers were troubled in December when the company retracted this special matching for established non-profits helping Palestinians and returned funds to employees via Benevity, citing “increased corporate risk.” The charities in question include Anera, a reputable NGO founded in 1968 that provides aid to Palestinians in Gaza and rebuilds civilian infrastructure destroyed by bombing, and the UN relief agency UNRWA. NVIDIA’s regular donation matching was also removed from these charities, employees said.
Meanwhile, NVIDIA continued matching donations to U.S. and Israeli groups that are building on West Bank settlements recognized by the UN as illegal under international law, as well as providing material support to the IDF and volunteer settler militias. Motherboard viewed live pages for these organizations on NVIDIA’s charity portal.
vice.com
Israel has probably contacted the company as they've targeting tech companies for lobbying. |
