Community Engagement & Philanthropy

Strong communities are vital to ensuring all individuals can thrive. AT&T is dedicated to developing and supporting programs and initiatives that make a meaningful impact for communities across the globe. Our philanthropic work and community engagement efforts aim to bridge the digital divide, protect the environment and support people during times of need and disasters. Our employees fuel our community engagement, and we support them by providing tools, resources and opportunities to make a difference in the communities where we live and work.

In 2022, we supported communities across the globe. Highlights include:

• Our global volunteer program focused on bridging the digital divide. AT&T employees supported underserved learners at AT&T Connected Learning^SM—community centers where we offer free internet access, digital education tools, tutoring and mentoring programs to help increase digital literacy and connectivity in the communities where it is needed most. In addition, employees participated in volunteer projects focused on environmental stewardship, including park and lake cleanups, recycling technology and more.
• AT&T employees donated their time and money—more than $250,000—to support those impacted by disasters, including the citizens of Ukraine, the communities of Uvalde and Buffalo, survivors of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian, and more.
• To combat the mental health crisis among the first responder community, through FirstNet® we brought health and wellness trainings to our nation’s first responders and those who support them. This provided more than 12,000 first responders with access to mental health and wellness resources and 50 therapy dog visits to over 150,000 responders at both planned and critical incident events. FirstNet is the only network built with and for first responders and those who support them.
• We engaged with strategic non-profit partners to support communities in the aftermath of disasters across all phases of the disaster preparation and recovery life cycle, including resiliency, preparedness, immediate relief and long-term recovery. In 2022, our corporate disaster relief giving totaled $1.6 million.

Philanthropy at AT&T

Philanthropic giving⁹ is an important part of AT&T’s efforts to support digital inclusion, literacy, learning and employment solutions that help connect today’s learners with skills, resources and opportunities for success in school and in life. Our giving is designed to impact predominantly underserved, under-represented and low-income communities. In 2022, AT&T companies and the AT&T Foundation contributed more than $89.1 million to philanthropic organizations, including $81.5 million cash and $7.6 million in in-kind giving.

The Governance and Policy Committee of the AT&T Board of Directors oversees our policies and procedures for philanthropic giving, including the allocation parameters of corporate giving to the Foundation and annually reviewing significant corporate and foundation contributions. The AT&T Corporate Contributions Council, which approves all corporate contributions, and the AT&T Foundation, which approves foundation grants, are comprised of senior executives charged with supervising our philanthropic investments.

More information about our funding priorities can be found in our Philanthropy Policy.

Employee Community Engagement

Our community engagement efforts are a manifestation of our Company Purpose, and helping employees support the causes they believe in boosts employee satisfaction and creates a happier and healthier workplace. Our internal research shows that employees who participate in our community engagement programs are more likely to recommend AT&T as a great place to work, feel empowered to make a difference at AT&T and believe they will stay with AT&T long-term. To give back to our communities and create a stronger workforce, we are committed to engaging 50% of our worldwide employees in communities through grassroots volunteerism and giving initiatives by 2030. We have made strong progress to date, with 31% of employees engaged in volunteerism and giving in 2022.¹² In 2022, our employees volunteered 385,800 hours through community engagement activities². This employee time is valued at $11.6 million.¹⁵

AT&T Believes

AT&T Believes^SM, our global employee volunteer program, is a companywide effort to create positive change in our communities. AT&T Believes harnesses our employees’ generosity, supports that generosity with company resources and collaborates with municipalities and external partners to amplify our impact on local communities and society at large. In 2022, we focused on engaging employees in AT&T’s work to bridge the digital divide and support the environment with efforts such as the following:

• Digital Divide Volunteerism: In 2022, U.S. employees volunteered to support underserved learners at AT&T Connected Learning Centers through tutoring and mentoring programs, both virtually and in person. The centers give underserved students and families the tools they need to complete homework assignments, participate in distance learning, look for employment and more. Employees taught digital literacy workshops, participated in device distribution events and supported other activities. Outside of the U.S., employee volunteers provided digital and financial literacy training to more than 6,000 women entrepreneurs in Malaysia and Indonesia, delivered job readiness and entrepreneurship training to more than 6,000 students in 9 countries with JA Europe, and provided STEM kits and digital literacy training to 1,500 students in India. For more information on our efforts to bridge the digital divide, please visit our Digital Divide issue brief.
• Environmental Volunteerism: Our Environmental Champions program provides a way for employees to take action on issues related to climate change and environmental stewardship. We have more than 1,800 employees helping grow an internal movement to reduce our environmental impact by living more sustainably at work and at home. We also have regular volunteer projects that focus on environmental stewardship in communities around the world, including building bee habitats, planting seed balls, recycling technology and cleaning up parks and lakes. In the U.K., we are teaching younger generations about the importance of protecting our planet by supporting a student composting project at one school and a green roof space at another.
• International Volunteerism: In Mexico, we launched our Revive tu Cancha (Restore Your Court) campaign with a commitment of bringing 50 soccer courts in public schools and locations throughout Mexico back to life. More than 500 AT&T volunteers collaborated with students, teachers, local authorities and other community members to paint 36 soccer courts by the end of 2022, with plans to complete 50 courts by 2023. In Brazil, we supported more than 300 low-income families near our Sao Paulo office with food and other necessities. Volunteers mentored young job seekers and participated in a letter-writing exchange with children to help them develop literacy skills. In addition, we donated more than 140 used computers from AT&T to non-profit organizations to support online learning classes.

Support for Employee Community Engagement

AT&T supports employee volunteerism through the following:

• External Volunteer Recognition: We encourage employees to log their volunteer hours, allowing us to recognize their commitment through programs such as the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA)—awarded by the president of the U.S. to individuals who have dedicated at least 100 hours to their communities during the year. In 2022, more than 1,200 AT&T employees were recognized as PVSA recipients for their 2021 volunteer time. We also recognized 22 employees internationally who volunteered 100 hours or more in 2021.
• Community Impact Award: The Community Impact Award recognizes AT&T employees who embody the corporate value “Make a Difference” and unleash the spirit of service within their communities. Employees vote for their favorite finalist and winners are recognized by the CEO.
• Community Day: We are proud to offer our management employees a paid Community Day each year to encourage them to volunteer and support the non-profit of their choice. The Community Day is offered in addition to company-sponsored volunteer activities.

Employee Giving

In 2022, more than 40,000 AT&T employees generously donated $15.7 million to more than 17,000 charities in support of causes they care about.¹⁰ This is an average of $385 per employee donor. We support employee giving through the following efforts:

• AT&T Giving Program: AT&T offers employees a year-round giving program providing the flexibility to support the causes they care about most and give when it is most convenient. Through the employee giving platform, employees have access to more than 1.5 million charities and donations are matched 50% to eligible causes up to $500 annually.
• Matching & Volunteer Rewards: AT&T is committed to helping employees further their philanthropic impact. We offer a program that matches employee charitable contributions to 501(c)(3) non-profits and allows employees to earn Volunteer Rewards—grants based on time volunteering in the community that can be directed to the 501(c)(3) charity of their choice.¹¹ In 2022, more than 45,000 employees earned Matching and Volunteer Rewards.
• Special Fundraisers: In 2022, employees donated more than $250,000 through special fundraisers to support the citizens of Ukraine, the communities of Uvalde and Buffalo, survivors of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian, and more. In addition, strategic fundraisers for AT&T Connected Learning Centers, device donations and the AT&T Employee Relief Fund provide a way for employees to support colleagues and AT&T’s social good goals.

Disaster Response

When disaster strikes, our company and employees are there to support each other. We assist victims and affected communities through disaster response activities, corporate giving and volunteerism. With a goal to help 1 million people prepare for and recover from the impacts of disasters by 2030, our approach to disaster response includes:

• Collaboration & Partnerships: AT&T is committed to working with strategic non-profit partners to provide solutions across all phases of the disaster preparation and recovery life cycle, including resiliency, preparedness, immediate relief and long-term recovery. For example, AT&T techdev engineers joined SBP (formerly St. Bernard Project) on a pro bono technology project to build Equip: Disaster Prepare & Recover, a free mobile app to help communities prepare for and quickly recover from disasters.
• Supporting First Responders: Recognizing that disasters have contributed to a mental health crisis among our nation’s first responder community, FirstNet, Built with AT&T established the FirstNet Health and Wellness Coalition to coordinate first responder holistic health and wellness support. Initiatives include therapy dog services, external organization engagement to support first responders and public safety agencies and more. In 2022, FirstNet brought health and wellness trainings to nearly 12,000 first responders and 50 therapy dog visits to both planned and critical incident response. It also provided free access to the Lighthouse Health and Wellness application for more than 200 public safety agencies (including rural and tribal agencies), so they could have their health and wellness resources on their devices.

To learn more about our disaster response efforts in support of our network operations and first responders, please visit our Network Quality & Reliability issue brief.

Corporate Disaster Relief

In 2022, our corporate disaster relief giving totaled $1.6 million. Details about our corporate disaster relief giving in 2022 are outlined below:

• Non-profit Support: We provided support to national relief organizations, including the Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC), SBP, Télécoms Sans Frontières, American Red Cross, Salvation Army and many additional local non-profits.
• Disaster Relief Volunteering: Our employees give their time to support disaster relief efforts across the globe via in-person and virtual volunteering. Throughout 2022, employees supported refugees fleeing Ukraine, rebuilt homes in Houston and New Orleans, assembled hygiene and relief kits and distributed bottled water and meals in communities recovering from disasters. For example, AT&T provided 10,000 school lunches for Ukrainian refugee students who arrived in Poland during the Ukraine war crisis. In addition, AT&T employees volunteered with ITDRC to help stand up a call center set up in the aftermath of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, to answer calls from around the world from people offering the community condolences and support.
• AT&T Employee Relief Fund: The AT&T Employee Relief Fund is a 501(c)(3) public charity funded by employee donations and matching grants from the AT&T Foundation supporting coworkers experiencing challenges beyond their control, including natural disasters, house fires or unexpected personal hardships. In 2022, the employee relief program¹² provided $1.45 million in relief to more than 1,100 AT&T employees recovering from hardship around the world.

Our communities deserve consistent and reliable support. AT&T is committed to being a trusted community partner and leveraging our company’s talents to strengthen our communities. In 2023, we will continue to support our communities through the following efforts:

• We will continue to engage employees in AT&T’s work to bridge the digital divide through expanded volunteer opportunities with AT&T Connected Learning Centers, at laptop distribution events across the country and more. We will also expand our environmental awareness and engagement programs for employees.
• We will work to further strengthen the advocacy and work of the FirstNet Health and Wellness Coalition through developing consensus and recommendations on key priorities in first responder health and wellness for national engagement. We will continue to help drive a national discussion on first responders’ mental health, bringing more awareness and attention to topics such as post-traumatic growth, and create opportunities to support the mental health and wellness of our first responders and health care professionals.
• AT&T will continue to work with our strategic non-profit partners, providing connectivity solutions, charging stations, humanitarian relief and long-term recovery projects.
• We will further enhance our year-round giving program by spotlighting special fundraisers that support our strategic digital divide and environment programs and provide support to those affected by disasters and current events as they unfold.

• American Red Cross
• AT&T Believes^SM
• AT&T Connected Learning
• AT&T Philanthropy Policy
• Equip: Disaster Prepare & Recover
• FirstNet, Built with AT&T
• Information Technology Disaster Resource Center
• JA Europe
• Lighthouse Health and Wellness
• President’s Volunteer Service Award
• Salvation Army
• SBP
• Télécoms Sans Frontières