3M donating $20M to COVID-19 response, includes $2M for research at University of Minnesota
3M's corporate headquarters in Maplewood, Minnesota. (FOX 9)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota based-company 3M will be donating $20 million to help support response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This includes $2 million in research funding that will go to the University of Minnesota, where teams are currently working to ramp up COVID-19 testing. 3M plans to give $3 million total to other educational institutions for other research projects.
3M will provide $10 million to Direct Relief's COVID-19 Fund for Community Health, which goes toward community health centers to help health care workers. 3M will also donate $5 million to the United Way's COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund, which helps provide food and rent assistance to vulnerable populations.
“Since the outbreak began, 3M has addressed the COVID-19 pandemic from all angles and across all stakeholders, and this includes supporting our community partners around the world,” said 3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman in a press release. “It’s important that 3M holds true to its core values during this pandemic by supporting our communities and improving lives. Throughout this global crisis, we will continue to look for ways to help in the fight against COVID-19.”
Amid the pandemic, 3M has set the goal to double production in order to create 2 billion masks within the next year.