TikTok Pledges $250 Million For Coronavirus Relief, $125 Million In Ad Credits For Small Businesses And NGOs

TikTok is pledging a hefty financial relief package to the myriad communities and societal sectors impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The company’s generous relief plan, as outlined in a company blog post from TikTok president Alex Zhu, includes: $150 million toward medical staffing and hardship relief for health care workers, $40 million in critical health and economic relief to hard-hit communities, and $50 million in grants to educators and experts who are creating valuable public health information. The money will be furnished through three separate TikTok funds, Zhu notes: the Health Heroes Relief Fund

Some of the funding has already been deployed. For instance, through its Health Heroes Relief Fund, TikTok donated $15 million to the CDC Foundation to support surge staffing amid the pandemic, and $10 million to the WHO COVID-19 Solidary Response Fund. The Community Relief Fund has also already provided $3 million to After-School All-Stars, for families who rely upon school lunch programs, and $2 million to MusiCares to support artists, songwriters, and music professionals whose careers have been impacted.

In addition to the above Funds, TikTok is offering $125 million in ad credits — $100 million to help small businesses get back on their feet, and $25 million for NGOs and other trusted organizations who are working to deliver public health information. This program will begin rolling out in coming months, TikTok says.

“The TikTok community is uplifting one another, caring for one another, and lending a hand to one another. This may be a serious time, but on TikTok it can still be joyful — and deeply inspiring,” Zhu writes. “Alongside businesses, governments, NGOs, and ordinary people across the globe stepping up in this critical moment, we are committed to offering the very best that we can to help out humanity.”