RTX Connect Up Charitable Giving

RTX Connect Up — Unsolicited Grant

Funds United States nonprofits pursuing community resilience, veteran support, and STEM engagement through corporate grant pathways.

RTX Corporation's Connect Up programme is the corporate giving arm of one of the world's largest aerospace and defence companies — the umbrella organisation for Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. In 2021, then-CEO Greg Hayes announced a $500 million, ten-year social impact commitment (2021–2031) under the Connect Up name, directing corporate philanthropy toward three pillars: Lifelong Learning (STEM education, workforce development), Honoring Service (military veterans and families), and Local Community Impact (food security, community resilience, disaster relief, and conservation). The grant programme accepts unsolicited applications from eligible nonprofits once per year during the June 1 to July 31 window, with awards issued for the following calendar year.

Eligible organisations must be permanent 501(c)(3) entities (or international equivalents), registered with the Benevity Causes Portal, and able to demonstrate programme alignment with at least one RTX focus outcome. RTX's documented example award — $150,000 to the Space Foundation Discovery Center in April 2024 — illustrates the scale of individual grants, though no published floor or ceiling exists for most awards. Applications above $50,000 require a formal grant agreement countersigned by the RTX Corporate Social Responsibility team. Excluded categories include private foundations, annual campaigns, endowments, faith-based purposes, sports organisations, and university research where RTX is the exclusive beneficiary.

Applications are submitted exclusively through the Versaic portal at rtx.versaic.com. Grantee impact is independently verified through the Impact Genome framework for organisations that have previously received $50,000 or more from RTX. All three business units — Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon — use the same Versaic system. Organisations with an active RTX employee on their board or as a volunteer hold a preference advantage, though employee engagement is not formally required. Benevity charges a $125 disbursement fee for paper-check payments, which RTX does not reimburse.