Company type | private charitable foundation |
---|---|
Industry | Charitable organization |
Predecessor | The Healthcare Foundation (1987) |
Founded | London, England (2004) |
Founder | Sir Richard Branson |
Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide, including Great Britain South Africa United States Australia Canada |
Key people | Sir Richard Branson, Chairman Jean Oelwang, CEO & Managing Director Natalie Imbruglia, Ambassador |
Owner | Virgin Group |
Number of employees | 20+ full time staff members[1] |
Parent | The Virgin Foundation |
Website | www |
Virgin Unite is the working name of The Virgin Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. Created by Richard Branson and Virgin employees in September 2004, Virgin Unite pools volunteering efforts from across the Virgin Group and its hundreds of subsidiaries and associated companies to grow the efforts of smaller grassroots charitable organizations. Partnered with more than a dozen charities worldwide the company also provides a resource through the Internet by serving as an online donation centre for those wanting to contribute.
The primary aims of the foundation are to make sustainable change through economic development towards tough social and environmental issues. These include addressing the issue of delivering healthcare to rural parts of Africa. Branson and Virgin underwrite all the operating costs of the organization, so 100% of contributions can be applied towards causes.[2]