Giving Compass' Take:

• The TE Foundation is a strong supporter of global philanthropy by funding organizations that are working to increase access to STEM learning. 

• How can individual donors find opportunities to fund global education? 

• Learn more about how to support STEM education. 

Karen Leggio, chair of the TE Foundation Board of Trustees and a senior vice president at TE Connectivity, a global leader in sensors and connectors, said: “We initiated our support of this work last year, and were thrilled not only with what these organizations achieved, but with how they plan to evolve their work going forward. Each one of them took our mandate to impact underserved populations by providing access to education and careers in engineering and technology very seriously, and is focusing even more keenly on our shared goals as they look to the future.”

FIRST Global runs high-profile, international robotics competitions designed around solving major global challenges with high school aged participants who are ethnically, socio-economically and gender diverse, inspiring not only those who participate, but also those who watch and follow these events around the world.

“FIRST Global is creating opportunities and inspiring students around the world, thus giving them the necessary tools to solve the global challenges we are all faced with,” said Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST Global. “We are so grateful for our partners, like the TE Foundation, that strongly believe in this mission and support what we are doing to create a better and brighter future.

The TE Foundation grant will help extend the competition to additional nations where girls are not typically given the opportunity to partake in education or STEM opportunities and help provide the kits needed for the competition. The grant will also support the development of a website forum for participants to stay connected with the long-term goal of creating a formal Alumni Network as a potential avenue for future support.

Girl Up, a global leadership development initiative started by the United Nations Foundation, now seeks to incorporate STEM into its overall leadership development programming – an evolution from the TE Foundation’s first grant which provided support for separate STEM activities.

TE Connectivity’s corporate philanthropy also supports education and technology initiatives, as well as causes supporting health and human services. In fiscal year 2018, TE Connectivity donated $4.1 million in charitable grants to support these causes in the communities where TE employees live and work around the world.

Read the full article about supporting global STEM education at FIRST Global.