Matson Establishes Separate Foundation

Courtesy of Hawaii News Now.

By Sonia Isotov

Matson, Inc. announced today that it has established a new Matson Foundation that will administer all of the company’s corporate giving programs.

As a result of the recent separation from A&B, Matson will begin its own corporate giving program.

The objective of the Matson Foundation will be to contribute funds, material goods and services to assist in the development and operation of not-for-profit, charitable and community organizations in the geographic locations in which Matson has business operations.

“Throughout the company’s 130-year history, Matson has demonstrated its commitment to supporting organizations that seek to improve the quality of life in communities in which our employees live and work,” said Matt Cox, president and chief executive officer at Matson, Inc., in a written statement.

While the Matson Foundation will support a wide range of community needs, donations will generally be made to charitable non-profits that focus on the following areas of interest:  maritime environment and ocean resource conservation, education, human services, culture and arts, and civic and community programs.

In addition to cash donations to qualified charities or non-profit community organizations, the Matson Foundation will provide support for events or activities that benefit worthy causes.

The Matson Foundation will be comprised of two geographically oriented committees, Pacific and Mainland, each considering requests from their respective communities.

The Pacific Committee will be the primary policy-setting body. Gary Nakamatsu, vice president,Hawaiisales, will chair the Pacific committee and Dave Hoppes, senior vice president, ocean services, will chair the Mainland unit. Matt Cox will serve as president of the Matson Foundation and oversee both governing bodies.

Donations will not be made to or on behalf of individuals, nor will Matson Foundation contributions be made to benefit political organizations. Generally only one donation will be given in a calendar year to any non-profit organization.

More information about the Matson Foundation, including its grant application guidelines can be found at www.matsonfoundation.com.