IKEA furloughed around 14,000 workers nationwide at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost the state of Maryland over $2 million in unemployment benefits. Now the company wants to “pay it forward.”

In a letter to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan sent late last month, IKEA USA President Javier Quiñones outlined plans from the IKEA U.S. Community Foundation to cover the state’s $2,136,346 in unemployment benefits paid when the stores in College Park and Nottingham temporarily closed.

“IKEA Retail U.S. has reopened its stores, and the Foundation, using funds contributed by IKEA Retail U.S., has decided to take the opportunity to ‘pay it forward’ and provide your state with equivalent funds,” Quiñones wrote to Hogan in the letter obtained by Maryland Matters.

The outlet reported that the initial offer to the state was intended for Hogan to use to the greatest public health benefit. U.S. Rep. David J. Trone (D-Md.) wrote a letter to Hogan Tuesday suggesting that the money be used instead to hire additional workers to process unemployment insurance benefits as the system continues to struggle to provide aid quickly.

“This generous donation from IKEA presents the state with a real opportunity to repair and strengthen the faulty unemployment system that millions of Marylanders rely on,” Trone said in a press release. “We need to take care of every single Marylander impacted by this pandemic, and reinvesting this money is a good place to start.”

But the money will instead be funneled to two Maryland-based non-profit organizations.

“The funds were never ours to turn back,” Hogan spokesman Mike Ricci said in an email. “IKEA asked us for ideas for nonprofits they could donate to, and we connected them with Baltimore’s Promise and the Greater Washington Community Foundation.”

For the time being, IKEA’s investment in the state is unique. Ricci told Maryland Matters that this is the first significant corporate donation during the pandemic to the state, aside from in-kind donations of personal protective equipment.

Baltimore’s Promise, which will receive a grant of $1.07 million from IKEA, is based in Baltimore City and has provided youth-focused services and advocacy since 2012.

“We are incredibly excited by the opportunity IKEA has provided us to respond to the needs of the Baltimore community during COVID,” said Julia Baez, executive director of Baltimore’s Promise.

The organization is in communication with IKEA on how best to spend the funds which will more than double IKEA’s investment in Baltimore, according to Baez. Among the initiatives are access to mental health resources for youth in Baltimore City and a path to completion of high school graduation during the pandemic. The organization will also use the funds to launch a grant pool focused on investing in BIPOC-led community organizations. Baez said in an email that the fund has already raised an additional $1.2 million in addition to the gift from IKEA.

The Greater Washington Community Foundation was founded in 1973 and provides grants to organizations in the District, Northern Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

“We are thrilled to announce a new partnership with the IKEA U.S. Community Foundation and a donation of $1 million to fuel our efforts in Maryland to respond to urgent community needs related to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis,” said President and CEO Tonia Wellons. “Greater Washington Community Foundation will focus funding on addressing food security, unemployment, and access to childcare.”

The IKEA U.S. Community Foundation also donated $2 million in Virginia last month to cover what the chain’s 550 Virginia-based employees received in unemployment benefits, according to the Washington Post.

IKEA USA President Javier Quiñones did not immediately respond to a request for a copy of the letter.