The Office Depot Foundation
About: The Office Depot Foundation – sponsor of the Difference Maker! Movement – is the charitable giving arm of Office Depot. It has grown from a disaster relief program into the diverse nonprofit it is today. The Foundation was born out of the devastation of Hurricane Andrew, as the company’s South Florida associates and surrounding communities struggled to get their lives and businesses back to normal. In 1994, it was formally structured as the Office Depot Disaster Relief Foundation.
In 2007, corporate citizenship at Office Depot entered an exciting era as the Office Depot Foundation took on a broad new role as the primary charitable giving arm of the company with responsibility for several strategic priorities designed to demonstrate Office Depot’s commitment to making a difference around the world. At that time, the Foundation took responsibility for most of the programs that had been carried out previously by the Department of Community Relations.
When the Foundation assumed this expanded role, it adopted a set of strategic priorities to guide its work. These priorities were known as the “5 X 5 Program.” In 2012, consensus clearly indicated that the “5 X 5 Program” had achieved its objectives. During the previous five years, the Foundation successfully enhanced existing initiatives and conceived, planned and implemented significant new programs that unquestionably made a positive impact on children, families and communities. After assessing its accomplishments during the “5 X 5 Program” and evaluating what it learned, the Foundation developed a new set of strategic priorities to guide it for the next five years–The Caring Agenda.
Mission statement: Listen to the needs of the community and continually seek out ways to serve children, families, organizations, and society; Learn new approaches to developing innovative, collaborative, and sustainable solutions to pressing social, economic, and environmental issues and concerns; Care by sharing knowledge and expertise, and by creating, supporting, and implementing a wide range of philanthropic programs and initiatives that make a difference in our world.
President: Mary Wong was named President of the Office Depot Foundation in 2006 after serving as Director of Community Relations for Office Depot since 2000. Currently, she serves on the boards for Feed the Children, The United Nations Women’s Committee and The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center where she co-chairs the Business Disaster Assistance Recovery Program. Mary is a former member of the White House Disaster Recovery and Volunteerism Committee and serves on the board of directors of the Epilepsy Foundation of America. Mary was honored as Food For the Poor’s “Ambassador for the Poor” in 2015.
Contact
Phone: 1-800-463-3768