Snap pledges up to 13 million Class A shares to new foundation for arts, education, and kids

Following in the footsteps of Square, Snap has established a foundation that it will endow with up to 13 million Class A shares. The proceeds will be used to benefit youth, education, and the arts, but the exact contribution won’t be immediately known until after Snap begins trading as a public company.

The self-titled foundation was established in February, but few details have been revealed. It’s unclear who will oversee the organization and which charities and nonprofits will benefit from Snap’s generosity.

As mentioned earlier, the company’s move into charitable good follows similar efforts by Square and is in keeping with a trend of tech companies that have signed the 1% pledge. When Square went public, its chief executive, Jack Dorsey, revealed he was giving up at least 50 percent of his stake and donating it to the Start Small foundation to benefit underserved businesses and merchants. Other firms have elected to participate in a well-known pledge to give 1 percent of their time, resources, and stock to nonprofits.

The Snap Foundation’s focus on the arts and education is fitting, since Snap itself is a camera company. But this isn’t exactly Snap’s first foray into philanthropy. It has tried to be a good corporate citizen by giving back to those in the community around its Venice, California headquarters, and it previously participated in Giving Tuesday to raise money for the (RED) foundation.

We’ve reached out to Snap for more details, but the company declined to comment at this time.