Cisco spent a record-breaking US$50mil on Silicon Valley homelessness. Where has it gotten us?

Cisco gave the money to Destination: Home with no strings attached – doubling the non-profit’s budget for five years and allowing it to spend the money as it saw fit. — Homeless photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com

Cisco made a splash when it ponied up a record-breaking US$50mil (RM221mil) donation to fight homelessness in Silicon Valley. Now, that money is running out and even more people are sleeping on the streets. So what has it accomplished?

The donation helped fund 30 new apartment buildings for low-income and formerly homeless residents, provided cash to prevent struggling tenants from losing their homes and improved Internet access in affordable buildings. Cisco was the first local tech giant to commit such a large sum to housing and homelessness, and since then, companies including Google, Facebook (now Meta) and Apple have followed suit.