Creating a Positive Impact Inside and Outside Our Games

At Electronic Arts, our mission is to inspire the world to play. We develop amazing games and entertainment experiences for players around the world and live out our purpose to expand the power of positive play in our communities. It’s in our DNA to create a positive impact in the communities where we work, live and play.  

As we prepare to kick off a new fiscal year, today EAs Head of Social Impact Luis Maes takes us through a look at the EA Social Impact initiatives over the past year – from company-wide giving and employee volunteerism to giving back through game play.

You joined Electronic Arts to create and lead the Social Impact team. Could you give us an overview of the team’s mission?

First off, Electronic Arts is committed to doing good for our employees, players, the environment, and the communities where we live, work and play. I firmly believe that we can strengthen society and our business by: creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive working environment; operating more sustainably; creating interactive entertainment experiences that are safe and rewarding for all; and giving back to our communities.

To accomplish this, there are several teams and leaders that work toward shared goals and commitments. One of the key teams is Social Impact. We bring together EAs corporate philanthropy, employee volunteering and donation matching, as well as our amazing players and creators, and our interactive entertainment experiences to amplify our positive impact and lead the charge on what the future of philanthropy will look like. 

With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, how has Electronic Arts approached its support? 

We continue to be shocked at the conflict unfolding in Ukraine. Our philanthropic approach spans our collective efforts across the EA business, teams and employees to take action as we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and call for peace and an end to the invasion.   

We double matched employee contributions to organizations providing humanitarian assistance and relief efforts for Ukraine. As we continue to work on the best way for us to channel more support to the region, we're making significant monetary contributions to several organizations, including UNICEF USA and War Child, that are assisting with humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine and particularly with the needs of refugees in surrounding regions. These efforts include providing children safe spaces to play and learn while families have a place to receive support, psychological first aid and vital information. We are also partnering with our regional teams in Romania and Poland to identify additional local organizations where we can channel additional financial resources and support to continue making a positive impact for those displaced by this conflict.

In addition, as a company we’ve stopped the sale of EA games and content in Russia and Belarus, as well as taken in-game action including removing Russian teams in FIFA 22 and removing Russian and Belarusian teams in NHL 22. 

Electronic Arts recently expanded its flagship “Play to Learn” Digital Education Initiative to schools in Canada and the UK. What are some of the other organizations that Electronic Arts supports?

Doing good is embedded in our DNA and we’ve been giving back to our communities for many years. We support organizations that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM), social justice and racial equality, as well as ones that are helping to make gaming communities more positive, fun, fair and safe for all.    

We recently expanded our signature digital learning program Play to Learn to students at more than 100 schools in Canada and 50 additional schools in the UK. Since 2016, over 56,000 students in more than 500 schools throughout North America have participated in our Play to Learn digital learning course, attended workshops at EA offices, and made meaningful connections with our teams. 

Over the past year, we continued our longstanding partnership with Girls Who Code. The organization provides young women with the skills and confidence to pursue opportunities in STEAM careers. This July, we’ll host our eighth summer immersion program where high school students get to learn from EA teams about how to use their STEAM skills to make video games. Since the inception of our partnership, more than 450 have participated in the EA sponsored summer camp or attended an EA hosted Girls Who Code event. Girls Who Code participants pursue computer science degrees at 15x higher than the national average.

We also deepened our support for the Players Coalition and their mission to achieve social and racial equality. We are partnering with them to address the digital divide for students from underrepresented groups in Austin, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco and Seattle. In the past three years, Players Coalition has helped over 800 households receive computers and strengthened their technology and computer literacy. And, we’re entering our sixth year of supporting Ditch The Label and their efforts to combat online toxicity and promote mental health resources for young people affected by online bullying and prejudice.

How do you engage your employees in these social impact initiatives?

With more than 12,000 employees across nearly 30 countries, employees are our greatest asset and we empower them to support the causes that they are passionate about through our giving and volunteering benefits. This includes donation matching and volunteer time off programs that supercharge their support for organizations that they care about. Over the past fiscal year, employees donated to over 2,000 charitable organizations across the globe. 

For Giving Tuesday, we took it beyond a day and celebrated the spirit of giving all week. Our team's contributions and company match amounted to more than $1.8 million USD to organizations and causes that are making a positive impact in the world. Our employees also donated their time, with more than 2,300 volunteer hours in just a week. 

During our global celebration honoring Juneteenth, we took additional action to support the fight for social and racial justice and drive change in our organization and communities. Through employee donations and our double match program we donated $500,000 USD across nearly 30 organizations selected by our Employee Resource Group community.

How do you involve your player community in the spirit of giving?

Unlike any other company I know of, our Social Impact team is part of EA’s Positive Play Group – which is committed to building better, healthier communities inside, and outside, our games. Our team’s proximity to game developers and the player community greatly expands our reach and impact for causes that are important for our players and our company.

Throughout the year, our EA teams collaborate with content creators on streaming events to give back to communities around the world. Over the past year, streaming events that featured Apex Legends™ supported different organizations such as: the ESA Foundation in support of marginalized youth; 1000 Dreams Fund that empowers and uplifts women in gaming; and Rainbow Railroad, LGBTQ Freedom Fund, and Black Trans Advocacy Coalition which empower and support the LGBTQIA+ communities.

Another collaboration included our Codemasters™ F1® game with Help for Heroes in bringing awareness and support to the needs of wounded veterans in the UK. Design Home™ partnered with their players to donate and match funds for Habitat for Humanity which helps build and improve real homes in local communities. Dragon Age Day took place this December with a community and studio charitable-giving streaming event that supported The AbleGamers Foundation.

These are just a few of the many ways we support the causes that are important for our players as we work together to build a more positive, supportive and inclusive world inside and outside of our games.

With the changing nature of corporate business and social impact, how is Electronic Arts approaching the future of giving back? 

We live in a new world where expectations for corporations are changing and businesses that are designed to meet the needs of all stakeholders and the communities they impact - will not only survive but thrive. 

Nearly half the world’s population plays video games and that continues to grow at a historic pace. I look at how my elementary-school aged kids connect and play with their friends and it’s mainly through video games and interactive entertainment experiences. I truly believe that the future of giving back is going to be in both virtual game and physical environments, and the companies that embrace this are going to achieve a deeper and wider impact for society and their business.  

At EA, we are really well positioned to shape the future of philanthropy given our core business and unique assets and capabilities. Of course, the future is now for our team as we work with our internal and external partners to build a foundation and approach that will allow us to truly move the needle in key areas for our world and business.