Posted on: August 18, 2022, 12:02h. 

Last updated on: August 17, 2022, 03:46h.

MGM Resorts is the largest employer in Nevada, and the casino firm’s workforce is once again stepping up to help out the Silver State’s neediest residents.

MGM Resorts charity donations Las Vegas
MGM Resorts employees have given almost $2 million to local nonprofits this year alone. The MGM Resorts Foundation’s Community Grant Fund is primarily supported by employee contributions. (Image: MGM Resorts/Casino.org)

Through its charitable arm, the MGM Resorts Foundation, the Strip casino operator announced yesterday donations totaling nearly $2 million. The allocations were made throughout the first seven months of 2022.

While much of the money went to local nonprofits in Southern Nevada, MGM also made donations to charities in communities where the company operates across the country.

The MGM Resorts Foundation manages two funds — the Employee Emergency Grant Fund and Community Grant Fund. The $2 million announcement made this week involves disbursements made through the foundation’s Community Grant Fund, which is supported by employee contributions and donations from guests.

Year after year we are amazed at the generosity of our employees and guests. In 2022, MGM Resorts employees gave to 82 nonprofit organizations that serve the communities where we live and work,” said Maria Jose Gatti, executive director of community engagement for MGM Resorts International.

Community Grant allocations are determined by the Foundation’s Community Grant Council, a voluntary committee of employees who represent their respective regions. The committee distributes Community Grant funds not specifically earmarked for designated charities through a competitive proposal process.

Essential Services

MGM Resorts says the 2022 Community Grant Fund recipients primarily provide basic, essential services to the community where the 82 nonprofits are located.

Organizations providing basic needs services were given money by the MGM Resorts Foundation in Southern Nevada, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, DC, and Maryland.

Gatti says charities that provide medical care, mental health counseling, food, and shelter were given priority by the Community Grant Council for the 2022 bestowments.

MGM Resorts founded the MGM Resorts Foundation and Community Grant Fund a decade ago to allow employees to pool together their donations to make considerable contributions to charities they deem important to their local communities.

Foundation History

The Foundation’s Employee Emergency Grant Fund provides employees and their immediate families with short-term financial assistance during unexpected hardships and emergencies. The Employee Emergency Grant Fund provides recipients with tax-free grants that are not required to be repaid.

The employee benefit has been recently funded by major gifts from Las Vegas residency entertainers. Some notables of late including Bruno Mars, David Copperfield, Jay Leno, Carrot Top, Ray Romano, and Boys II Men.

Since its 2002 inception, the MGM Resorts Foundation has raised over $100 million and supported more than 1,500 charitable causes in the communities MGM conducts business. The Foundation distributed over $3 million in 2021.

While the MGM Resorts Foundation is primarily funded by MGM employees, the company itself also makes considerable donations on its own throughout the year.

MGM played a key role during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April of 2020, the casino company helped secure and deliver the state of Nevada more than 250,000 rapid COVID-19 tests. The company also procured millions of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves for frontline health care workers.

In March of 2020, Jim Murren announced he would expedite his planned resignation to spearhead Nevada’s COVID-19 Response, Relief, and Recovery Task Force.