2023 Social Impact Highlights & Accomplishments

The UPS Foundation’s philanthropic approach centers on four focus areas:

Health & Humanitarian Relief

The UPS Foundation leverages our partnerships and innovative logistical expertise to deliver health and humanitarian solutions to communities in need.

We harness our technology, expertise and partnerships to bridge the gaps in health equity and optimize critical healthcare transportation to the most remote communities around the world. In 2023, we provided over $17M in grants, sponsorships and in-kind logistical support in response to 50+ disasters and humanitarian crises around the world.

One of the most significant contributions is our Vaccine Equity work, which builds healthy, resilient communities in a post-pandemic era. We deployed our cold chain infrastructure for the Africa Last Mile healthcare equity program and delivered 175M+ vaccines including lifesaving early childhood vaccines in 2023 – more than twice our total 2021 vaccine deliveries.

Human trafficking is a global humanitarian issue that impacts the transportation industry and the communities we serve. We are deeply committed to combating human trafficking and activating our workforce to notice the signs, report red flags and create safe communities. Since 2016, our company and our employees have donated over $10M to fight human trafficking.

The result? Over 18,000 survivors have received support through our programs and advocacy efforts. More than 1M trucking industry professionals have been trained to recognize and report human trafficking across North America, including 162,000+ UPS drivers and 3,000+ UPS pilots. UPS drivers have hauled more than 19,000 miles and hosted 5,600+ educational tours of Truckers Against Trafficking’s Freedom Drivers Project – a mobile 18-wheeler exhibit that brings the realities of sex trafficking to life.

In addition, our $1M investment in Wellspring Living is working to provide a continuum of care across multiple U.S. cities for victims of human trafficking. On a special episode of The Balancing Act, The UPS Foundation and Wellspring Living discussed our collective efforts to fight human trafficking. The episode, which aired during National Anti-Human Trafficking month, shed light on the resilience of survivors and how UPS is delivering hope and dignity for those affected by this terrible crime.

Equity & Economic Empowerment

We invest in organizations that address systemic education barriers to create economic opportunities for underserved and underrepresented women, youth and marginalized communities.

The UPS Foundation expanded our 60-year partnership with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in 2023 and established initiatives to cultivate a pipeline of skilled multicultural professionals equipped with technical training and/or a college education. We announced a $1M scholarship fund to support African American, Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander and Native American students pursuing technical certifications, two-year associate degrees or four-year college degrees, and contributed $250K to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Through partnerships with government agencies, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders, The UPS Foundation also leverages influence and education to help women around the world overcome barriers to free trade. The Women Exporters Program provides targeted assistance to help women-owned small and medium-sized businesses worldwide. More than 100K women and small business owners have been trained since the program launched in 2018.

We also collaborate with the International Trade Centre on the ITC SheTrades program to enhance the competitiveness of women-led businesses across the globe through activities that include workshops, webinars, coaching and e-learning courses. The result? In 2023, the program impacted nearly 1,200 women from 57 countries – predominantly from Africa, Asia and Latin America – and generated an average of nearly $900,000 in investment leads for women entrepreneurs.

• 96% of participants reported improved skills in e-commerce, marketing, sustainable practices and accessing funds.
• 91% of participants reported that they implemented changes to their business operations as a result of our capacity-building activities.

Local Community Engagement

We empower, inspire and mobilize our people and partners to deliver systemic and positive impact in their local communities.

UPS employees volunteered over 1.9M hours globally in 2023 to serve the communities where we live and work, with over 342K volunteer hours dedicated to underserved Black communities.

More than 16K UPSers in 61 countries accessed UPS Community Connections – an employee giving platform – to explore volunteer and donation opportunities, creating more than 2K volunteer events. We successfully brought volunteerism to our operations facilities, mobilizing the population of frontline UPSers. 

• Our employees led more than 50 global events and dedicated 5K+ volunteer hours to benefit local and national nonprofits. Employees volunteered 96K+ hours with Special Olympics athletes across the globe, reinforcing inclusion as a priority for UPS.
• During Women’s History Month, UPSers and BRGs across several countries assembled 4.5K+ feminine hygiene kits that were distributed to shelters, food banks, and local nonprofits in low-income areas. Volunteers inventoried and assembled 30K+ donated products to 6.3K+ women across the globe.

Planet Protection

We foster a cleaner, greener and more sustainable world.

UPS employees planted 6M trees in 20 countries, including priority markets and developing nations. To date, we have planted 34M trees toward our goal of 50M trees planted by 2030. In celebration of Earth Month 2023, nearly 500 UPS volunteers organized over 15 events and cleaned up more than 7K pounds of trash worldwide.

In 2023, The UPS Foundation’s vaccine equity and social impact efforts were recognized by:

• The President of Ghana’s Presidential Honor for Distinguished Service
• The U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Citizen Award
• The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s Social Changemaker Award
• Points of Light’s The Civic 50 Honors