Corporate Assistance Programs Offering Free Services And Products During The Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a significant response from the corporate sector, with many companies pivoting their operations to provide aid, free services, and essential products to individuals and businesses affected by the crisis. While the provided source material does not detail traditional consumer free samples or mail-in programs for categories such as beauty, baby care, or pet products, it does document specific instances of corporate philanthropy and free service offerings. These initiatives primarily focused on supporting remote work, education, healthcare, and small business survival during the height of the pandemic. The following analysis outlines the various forms of assistance provided by major brands, based strictly on the available data.

Free Software and Service Offerings for Remote Work and Education

A substantial portion of corporate aid involved the release of free software and expanded service tiers to facilitate remote work, education, and communication. These offers were designed to maintain business continuity and educational access during widespread lockdowns.

Remote Work and Collaboration Tools

Several technology companies provided free access to their platforms to support the shift to remote operations. * StarLeaf: Offered a free version of its video conferencing software available worldwide across all devices, allowing users to meet with anyone via video. They also provided free trials of their fully featured service. * Zoom: Provided free software for online meetings, video webinars, virtual conference rooms, and business-facing instant messaging. During the outbreak, they made enterprise-grade features available to small businesses at no cost. * Zencastr: This podcast recording platform offered its free “Hobbyist” plan with expanded features, including unlimited guests and recording time, for the duration of the outbreak. * Zoho: The software suite provider gave away “Zoho Remotely” for free until July 1. This package included a complete suite of web and mobile apps designed to enable remote communication, collaboration, and productivity. * Cloudflare: Offered Cloudflare for Teams seats at no cost for small businesses through September 1, along with a free 30-minute onboarding session with a technical expert.

Educational and Skill-Building Platforms

To support students and the newly unemployed, several organizations offered free educational resources. * Codecademy: This online educational organization provided 10,000 scholarships to Codecademy Pro for free to high school and college students globally for the remainder of the school year. Beneficiaries received access to roadmaps, courses, projects, and a peer community. * Coursera: Launched the Coursera Workforce Recovery Initiative, which provided free classes to newly unemployed workers at no cost.

Specialized Business and Technical Support

Companies also offered targeted support for specific business and technical needs. * Support.com: Provided free tech support for any device, issue, or time to individuals working or studying remotely. Support was available via phone, chat, or video-based “virtual house” calls, with the option to schedule a callback. * Tealbook: This enterprise software company, which connects buyers and suppliers, offered free trials and supplier reports to help combat COVID-19 shortages. * TechSmith: Offered organizations and academic institutions free access and expanded usage of tools like TechSmith Snagit (screen recording) and TechSmith Video Review (collaboration platform) through the end of June 2020 to support business and educational continuity. * Thoughtexchange: Provided its cloud-based SaaS platform for crowdsourcing technology to help leaders gather answers from groups of 10 to 100,000 people. * Yext: Offered “Yext Answers” for free for 90 days. This tool allowed businesses to respond to specific COVID-19 related customer questions with accurate, up-to-date information.

Product and Service Donations for Healthcare and Community Support

Beyond digital tools, many companies repurposed their manufacturing and service capabilities to produce and donate essential supplies, particularly for healthcare workers and vulnerable communities.

Medical Supplies and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Several brands leveraged their supply chains and production lines to address shortages of critical medical equipment. * Apple: Donated 10 million N95 masks to U.S. medical facilities. The company also developed its own COVID-19 screening tool and collaborated with Google on a contact tracing solution. * LVMH (Parent Company of Louis Vuitton, Dior, etc.): Converted its perfume production lines to manufacture hand sanitizer to address shortages in France. Its workshops also began producing protective wear such as gowns and masks for distribution in heavily impacted U.S. states. * Nordstrom: Utilized its network of tailors—the largest in North America—to sew and donate over 100,000 masks to Providence Health & Services.

Hotel Stays and Accommodation

Major hotel brands provided lodging solutions for frontline workers and community caregivers. * Marriott: Created multiple programs including providing $10 million worth of hotel stays for healthcare professionals, offering significant discounts to community caregivers at approximately 2,500 properties, and allowing customers to donate Marriott Bonvoy points to COVID-19 relief organizations. * Hilton: Announced a program to donate up to 1 million hotel room nights to U.S. frontline medical professionals fighting COVID-19.

Food and Meal Donations

Food service companies focused on providing nourishment to healthcare workers. * Sweetgreen: Established the Impact Outplace Fund, which enabled the donation of 100,000 meals to more than 130 hospitals.

Support for Small Businesses and Underserved Populations

Recognizing the economic devastation faced by small businesses and low-income families, several corporations implemented financial aid and free service programs.

Financial Relief and Grants for Small Businesses

• Amazon: Established a $5 million Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund in Seattle, its home base. The fund provided cash grants to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees or less than $7 million in annual revenue that were impacted by COVID-19.
• Salesforce: Announced small business grants of $10,000 per company to U.S. businesses affected by the pandemic. They also offered free access to software for small businesses wanting to help customers remotely.

Free Internet and Connectivity

• Comcast: Made its Xfinity WiFi network free to everyone, including non-customers. They also provided all customers with unlimited data for free for 60 days, waived late fees for those who indicated they could not pay, and offered their Internet Essentials program free for 60 days to new low-income customers, with increased base internet speeds.

Conclusion

The provided documentation highlights a broad, though non-traditional, landscape of free offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than typical consumer product samples, the corporate response was heavily weighted toward digital services, operational support, and essential donations. Companies repurposed software platforms for free remote work and education, converted manufacturing lines for medical supplies, and provided financial grants and free connectivity to support small businesses and vulnerable populations. These initiatives demonstrate a focused effort by brands to address the immediate, large-scale challenges presented by the global health crisis.

Sources

1. Free Resources for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
2. Companies Aiding in Coronavirus Relief Efforts