Welcome to the Palm Foundation

At Palm, we're dedicated to being an active partner in improving the communities in which we live and work. To this end, the Palm Foundation was formed in July 2005 with a fund established with the Community Foundation Silicon Valley (now the Silicon Valley Community Foundation). It's our goal not only to provide financial and product-donation assistance to high-quality, effective non-profit organizations, but also to encourage and support volunteerism among our employees.

The Palm Foundation is focused on the following:

• Providing cash and product grants to worthwhile organizations serving areas of interest identified by Palm's employees;
• Encouraging volunteerism and individual philanthropy through our Employee Matching Gift Program; and
• Enabling individual employees to support the charity of their choice through our Employee Product Donations Program.

Our mission is simple: “The Palm Foundation reflects the commitment of Palm, Inc. to be an exemplary corporate citizen of the global community and to serve as a catalyst for change through charitable contributions and employee volunteerism in the areas that reflect the values of our employees and the culture of our company.”

The Palm Mobile Learning Initiative
Educational Initiatives
FAQs

The Palm Mobile Learning Initiative

Palm believes that access to education can serve as a major equalizer among students of all socio-economic levels. With a strong foundation of knowledge, young people are more capable of reaching their full potential and contributing significantly to their families, communities and to society at large.

To focus Palm's philanthropic work, the Foundation has developed a set of guidelines to guide our cash grants and product donations. Because we believe that mobile computing is a critical component of the future of education, Palm is dedicated to supporting educational initiatives focused on developing and deploying innovative applications utilizing Palm technology. Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer, expresses the Foundation’s commitment to education as follows: “We believe our products can play an essential part in education because they provide access, because they are mobile, they are designed to be simple, and because they are generally less expensive than other computing solutions. We are striving not to put a computer in every classroom, or a computer on every desk — with our products and technology, we can put a computer in every pocket.”

Non-profit organizations can submit proposals to request cash grants or donations of Palm products. The Palm Foundation will make donations to non-profit organizations that focus on issues directly related to the education of youth and that satisfy other Palm Foundation preferences and eligibility criteria.

Palm is dedicated to supporting educational initiatives focused on:

1. The innovative use of Palm mobile-computing products — handhelds as well as smartphones.
2. Demonstrating the feasibility of use of Palm products and the ability to support their use.
3. Integrating Palm products into efforts already put in place by the organization/institution.
4. Serving disadvantaged youth in magnet and alternative schools and/or programs/organizations/institutions.
5. Assisting children who have special education needs (e.g., autism or cognitive disabilities) or programs supporting progress (e.g., the development and implementation of individualized education plans for children in foster care).
6. Providing multiyear grants of cash and product donations..

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Who is eligible to apply for a cash grant or product donation gift? A registered 501[c]3 non-profit organization or international equivalent is eligible to submit a cash grant and/or product-donation application for consideration.

2. Will these programs be available worldwide immediately? Yes, however international applications do take longer to process due to additional organizational clearance requirements required by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Office of Homeland Security. Preference will be given to organizations located in areas where Palm has a significant corporate presence. The largest Palm offices are located in:

1. United States (CA, MA)
2. UK
3. Singapore
4. France
5. Ireland
6. Brazil

3. What is a 501[c]3 letter? This is the tax exemption letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service to a registered non-profit organization in the United States verifying that it meets the requirements of a non-profit organization, and that any donations made to such an entity can be declared as a charitable deduction for income tax purposes. A copy of this letter is a required attachment in order for us to consider an application for a cash grant or product donation.

4. What about international organizations? They also must be registered with their particular government, and must submit the equivalent of the US 501[c]3 letter, often called a Charitable Registration Letter, Letter of Charitable Purpose, Verification of Charitable Status, and so on. As with a 501[c]3 letter, a copy of this letter is a required attachment in order for us to consider an application for a cash grant or product donation.

5. How often will proposals be considered? Requests will be carefully reviewed by the Palm Foundation's Employee Advisory Group. Requests must be received by the following date for consideration:

Proposals received after the deadline may be held for the next distribution cycle.

6. Who do I contact if I have questions or need assistance? Please contact Gisela Bushey at gisela.bushey@palm.com. She will be happy to assist you in any way.