Apple Accepting Donations for Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts

Apple has added banners to its United States website and iTunes Store in an effort to encourage its customers to donate to those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

hurricane harvey apple donations
Similar to past relief efforts, users can choose to donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200, and Apple will transfer 100 percent of the proceeds to the American Red Cross, which is providing relief efforts for people in the path of Hurricane Harvey. All donations will be processed as normal iTunes purchases through a connected Apple ID.

Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted about the donations early this morning, as rescue workers in Houston and other parts of southeast Texas attempt to help residents trapped in their homes by "catastrophic flooding." Harvey made landfall late Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, which is expected to stay in the region over the next few days.

Apple is known to create donation pages across its various storefronts in the wake of natural disasters. In the past, Apple has collected Red Cross relief funds for the British Columbia Wildfire, Hurricane Matthew, the 2016 Louisiana floods, the 2015 Nepal earthquake, and many more.

Related Forum: Mac Apps

Popular Stories

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...

Top Rated Comments

dominiongamma Avatar
108 months ago
I don't trust the Red Cross no thanks. It will go into the pocketbook of the CEO probably.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Arran Avatar
108 months ago
At least Apple's doing something on the front page of its website.

I had a look at other companies websites to see what they're doing:

* Microsoft - nothing
* Google - nothing
* Amazon - nothing
* Visa - nothing
* MasterCard - nothing
* American Express - nothing
* Target - nothing
* Walmart - nothing


Wow.

Now, remember that Houston is the oil capital of the US, with no less than 25 Fortune 500 companies headquartered there. Surely they'd step up and offer web resources to help their local community organize and recover? Wouldn't you think? (Self interest, if nothing else.)

So I checked the websites for the ten largest Houston corporations (the number below in bold is their Fortune 500 ranking). These are big, multinational, oil-rich players who pump money out of the ground 24x7:

* 4 Phillips 66 ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_66')
* 45 ConocoPhillips ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConocoPhillips')
* 64 Enterprise Products Partners ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_Products')
* 65 Sysco ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sysco')
* 77 Plains All American Pipeline ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plains_All_American_Pipeline')
* 106 Halliburton ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton')
* 135 Baker Hughes ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Hughes')
* 144 National Oilwell Varco ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Oilwell_Varco')
* 167 Apache ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Corporation')
* 174 Marathon Oil ('https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Oil')

Nothing.

So well done Apple. Thinking different indeed.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2010mini Avatar
108 months ago
Before I donate, anyone know ther percentage the Red Cross actually gives out of every dollar?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sparkhill Avatar
108 months ago
Before I donate, anyone know ther percentage the Red Cross actually gives out of every dollar?
Red Cross is pretty good, not perfect at 90%: https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3277

That said, for a massive effort like this, the infrastructure of a huge charity like Red Cross is valuable.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pat500000 Avatar
108 months ago
Donated directly to non profit organization. No need to donate to rc.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
norbinhouston Avatar
108 months ago
Thanks for the help. I can’t describe how devastating the flooding is in Houston. Most went to bed last night thinking we survived Harvey just fine but then it started raining. So a lot of us were surprised to find water in our houses when we woke up! Some one posted we got a years worth in 24 hours!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)