John Deere Foundation to invest $200 million over next 10 years

The John Deere Foundation said Wednesday it will invest $200 million over the next 10 years to aid not-for-profits and initiatives focused on supporting poor farmers around the globe, as well as families and youth in its home communities, who have struggled to make ends meet and to access online learning during the pandemic.

As part of its 10-year commitment, the foundation, the philanthropic arm of Deere and Co., will invest:

' $100 million to support youth and families, with a focus on youth education. The foundation hopes to aid at least 1 million underserved and underrepresented youth through its investment, according to a news release.

The investments also includes a $2 million annual investment to food banks that will provide the equivalent of 100 million meals over the next decade.

' $50 million to help 15 million 'smallholder and resource-constrained” family farmers throughout the world to make a living and feed a growing global population through its work with a range of global partners

' $50 million in John Deere's workforce to further mobilize and build on their volunteerism.

'With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragedies that have been suffered over the last year, those things have proven to us that we must all do more to assist people, particularly those who do not have access to resources and opportunities they need to prosper,” John Deere Foundation President Nate Clark said.

'By increasing our annual investment to $20 million per year, we think we're in an opportunity to help folks that have pretty significant needs today.”

Clark said the foundation will track and report investments against relevant targets and indicators aligned with aligned the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In the coming months, the foundation will announce several key grants as part of its new 10-year commitment, Clark said.

Since its founding in 1948, the foundation has awarded more than $340 million in grants.