Joining together in philanthropic leadership

CSR Americas’ latest employee engagement campaign enabled employees to join forces with the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Raikes Foundation and the rock band Pearl Jam, to help solve the student homelessness crisis one classroom at a time.

The Home Shows Coalition—so named because the partnership launched in association with Pearl Jam’s Home Shows concerts in Seattle in summer 2018—pledged to match donations to classroom projects on DonorsChoose.org that supported students experiencing homelessness.

CSR Americas then invited US employees to participate by directing Deutsche Bank-funded micro-grants to the classroom projects of their choice on the educational crowd-funding platform.

Many chose teacher- and student-led projects that either directly supported homeless students, or brought students into the community to become part of the solution to homelessness. Employees also gave generously out-of-pocket, and some formed teams to fund projects fully.

Ultimately, employees directed a total of more than $700,000 (in Deutsche Bank micro-grants, personal contributions and matching funds) in support of more than 1,500 classrooms in all 50 states.

This initiative grew out of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation’s ongoing work to bring critical resources and attention to the crisis of student homelessness. The Foundation is recognized as a leader in this space, for the scope of its commitment—$3 million over 3 years so far—and its thought leadership, which has influenced practitioners, policymakers and other funders alike.

To learn more about Deutsche Bank's philanthropic commitment to students experiencing homelessness, please click here.