Corporate America Steps Up to Help Haitians

We've told you about government and non-government efforts around the world to support the relief effort in Haiti, as well as generous donations coming in from celebrities, but some of you may be wondering what corporations with especially deep pockets are doing.

Before you start to berate the evils of modern capitalism, take note that less than 24 hours after the quake hit Port-au-Prince on Tuesday afternoon, donations started to pour in from US businesses large and small to the tune of about $31.1 million, according to the US Chamber of Commerce. And more is trickling in every hour.

Of course, you can't believe everything you read. Some of you were no doubt disappointed when news of American Airlines' generous donation of free travel to doctors and nurses heading to the Caribbean island was nothing more than a Twitter hoax. Another rumor that circulated was that UPS was offering free shipping of goods to the island nation. (Who starts these rumors, and why?)

In any case, the good news is, that many other corporations are coming through in spades. So far, donations have ranged anywhere from several thousand (Kraft was one of the first corporations to donate, pledging $25,000 to the American Red Cross) to several million dollars in cash and in-kind donations (Nestlé donated a million in bottled water.)

We thought we'd pay tribute to the most generous of the bunch, so here's a list of those who kicked in a minimum of $1 million to various NGOs involved in the relief effort (for a more extensive list of corporate donors, click here.)

Digicel (Cell phone company): $5 million

Amgen Foundation (Biotech): $2 million

Cisco Foundation (Consumer electronics): $1.25 million

Microsoft: $1.25 million

Coca-Cola: $1 million

Goldman Sachs: $1 million

Google: $1 million to Unicef and CARE

PepsiCo and PesiCo Foundation: $1 million

Lowe's Companies Inc.: $1 million

Morgan Stanley: $1 million

JP Morgan Chase: $1 million

UPS: $1 million

Bank of America: $1 million

Abbott and Abbott Foundation: $1 million

Nestlé Waters North America: $1 million worth of bottled water products

Photo courtesy of The Coca-Cola Company.