Fueled by a goal to encourage education in the essential fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the Motorola Solutions Foundation will grant $3.35 million in grants to women and minority students. The Motorola Solutions Foundation seeks to make education better accessible for everyone, especially demographics that lack representation in the STEM fields.
The Motorola Solutions Foundation is a branch of Motorola, focused solely on the brand's development of corporate social responsibility. Founded in 1953, the charitable and philanthropic arm hopes to provide aid and facilitate improvements to surrounding communities in which it operates. To accomplish this, Motorola Solutions Foundation makes strategic grants, in addition to creating strong partnerships and promoting innovation.
Within North America, 88 organizations will each be given a portion of the grants. More than 900,000 students and teachers will be given an average of 100 programming hours. This program will be running in its eighth year, having already helped many students and teachers enhance learning in the classroom.
"These grants support educational experiences that inspire students to create the innovations that will shape our society's future," Matt Blakely, executive director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation, elaborates on CSRwire.com. "We want to show the leaders of tomorrow that careers in engineering and technology are not only fun, but also within their reach."
In the past, the Motorola Solutions Foundation funded the Center for Neighborhood Technology's apps competition, located in Chicago, which enables students to create and present innovative and fully functioning prototypes to benefit local Chicago communities.
Another grant enabled DiscoverE's Global Marathon to engage over 1,000 participants and featured White House science adviser Megan Smith, in addition to other successful female STEM leaders, who helped connect the dots between STEM concepts and real-world applications. By showcasing these female role models, all of whom are prominent in the STEM field, this encourages young female students to aspire to one day also work in the same field.
Similarly, encouraging the education of STEM skills, the funds allowed FIRST Robotics to expand its programs tremendously. This organization delivers mentor-based programming to students, allowing them to develop well-rounded professional skills like self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
These are only a few examples of the ways the Motorola Solutions Foundation has made a difference in surrounding communities through grants. A complete list of all grant recipients can be found at https://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_us/about/company-overview/corporate-responsibility/community.html