Company

Biogen Foundation

Biogen employees volunteering to sort food for the nonprofit Food For Free

Providing Support to Türkiye and Syria Following Devastating Earthquakes

We remain heartbroken by the destruction left in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey (Türkiye) and Syria. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this tragedy. Our colleagues and their families remain safe, and we will continue to make every effort to get our therapies to patients in need. 

Biogen and the Biogen Foundation have committed $250,000 to give to Direct Relief, Action Against Hunger and Bridge to Turkey fund to support health, food security and recovery efforts. To date, employees, with the Biogen Foundation 1:1 match, will donate an additional $225,000 to: 

  • AKUT Foundation: Works to provide effective search-and-rescue activities and making arrangements to receive and evaluate the notifications made for accidents and/or missing persons as soon as possible in the country and abroad. 
  • Bridge to Türkiye Fund: Works with AHBAP and AKUT on the ground to prepare a detailed list of needs and deliver emergency relief fund. 
  • International Medical Corps: Brings medical and mental health services, as well as vital supplies to people affected by the earthquakes. 
  • Save the Children: Ready to respond with urgent supplies of food, shelter and warm clothing. 

We are grateful to our employees, relief organizations and all those who are responding to this natural disaster. 

 

 

The Biogen Foundation supports access to science education and essential human services for children and their families globally. The Foundation is committed to sparking a passion for science and discovery, supporting education initiatives, and strengthening efforts to make STEM education accessible to diverse populations. 

Through the Foundation, we strive to make an impact beyond our medicines, serving underserved communities worldwide and focusing our grantmaking* on:

  • Caring deeply for neighbors in need.
  • Working fearlessly for health equity.
  • Changing lives through science education.

Most of all, we want young people to know that through science, they can change the world. For inquiries related to the Biogen Foundation, please email foundation@biogen.com.

 

3 million

People who have benefitted from the Biogen Foundation and Community Lab

$70 million

Granted to underserved communities in advancing science education, health equity, and food security since 2022

Impact of the Biogen Foundation: Youth Neurology Program

The Biogen Foundation collaborated with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to jointly develop the MGH Youth Neurology Education and Research Program. This first-of-its-kind program aims to advance health equity and scientific innovation by building a diverse pipeline of future neuroscientists and neurologists with strong leadership skills.

Photo courtesy of Massachusetts General Hospital
A MGH Youth Neurology Education and Research Program Intern and a neuroscience major at Emmanuel College.

Employee Matching Gifts Program

The Biogen Foundation matches employee donations to applicable nonprofit organizations, maximizing community benefit and demonstrating the powerful difference we can collectively make in the lives of others.

Donations of up to $25,000 per employee annually (USD or equivalent) are matched. In 2021, the matching grant program contributed $2.2 million to groups ranging from disease organizations to camps for children with serious illnesses and disaster relief efforts. 

“The work of the Biogen Foundation illustrates the culture of caring deeply at Biogen. We have a long-standing history of championing and fostering equitable science education for students and teachers and are committed to supporting the most vulnerable in the communities where we live and work.”

Kate Dawson
Head of Therapeutics Development Unit and Chair of the Biogen Foundation

Inspiring Future Scientists

The Biogen Foundation’s STAR (Science, Teacher support, Access and Readiness) Initiative is a five-year, $12 million investment that boosts STEM education equity in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, STAR coordinates a multistakeholder network that includes six high-performing nonprofits to serve students historically underrepresented in STEM college and career pathways — notably, students of color.

Learn more about the STAR Initiative

Employee Volunteering

Employees contribute their time and talents to communities through volunteering. Employees are given one day of paid time off annually to volunteer in their communities — and they use it to the fullest. In 2021, we collectively logged 14,493 volunteer hours.

Our Community Currency program encourages employees to financially support their favorite charities and nonprofit organizations without having to spend their own money by investing a more valuable resource: their time. For every hour our employees spend volunteering, the Biogen Foundation provides $10 (USD or local equivalent) for employees to donate to an eligible nonprofit organization of their choosing.

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*The Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. Nonprofits and community organizations may sign up to be considered for our matching and volunteer programs (eligibility requirements apply) through the Biogen Benevity Causes Portal. Benevity is a software platform that helps nonprofits around the world access corporate giving, volunteering, and grantmaking programs.