This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

The Community Blood Center is a nonprofit organization that is the sole provider of blood and blood products to more than 20 local hospitals in Northeast and North Central Wisconsin, as well as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Every 2 seconds, someone in the United States is in need of blood, and the Community Blood Center has the daunting task of sourcing, organizing, and hosting over 100 blood drives every month, collecting more than 50,000 blood donations annually, all under the simple mission of “connecting lives and sharing life.”

As COVID-19 loomed over Wisconsin, and the governor issued a SaferAtHome order, blood drives were being cancelled and donor collection was immediately being affected. With a growing need in mind, the Community Blood center recognized that enhancing their Salesforce system would allow for expansion of their future blood drive campaigns, and positioning their organization to better serve our communities post COVID-19.

Canvas Cloud, a Salesforce Partner and Salesforce Nonprofit Partner, had previously met with team members of the Community Blood Center regarding enhancements to their existing Salesforce system, and were impressed by their vision to serve our local communities. Recognizing the severe impact that COVID-19 was having on the Community Blood Center, the owners of Canvas Cloud wanted to help – deciding without reservation that they would donate consulting and configuration services to meet their project requests, free of charge, to help ensure that the Community Blood Center would be better positioned to help our local communities.

Canvas Cloud is committed to the 1% Pledge by offering their expertise and services pro bono to the Community Blood Center.  By helping them, we can help everyone in our local communities.

As difficult as it may seem when any organization or business is suffering from economic hardships, we must not think of “if” this hardship ends, but “when” it ends.  Where will we be and what will we do next? With the widespread impact of this pandemic, you can have an enormous impact on your community by reaching out to your local nonprofits and community leaders to offer your assistance so that we are all better prepared to move forward as we recover from COVID-19.

For more information on the Community Blood Center, visit their website. 

For more information on Canvas Cloud, visit their website.

This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

Giving is part of what we do every day at B1G1. But today, it is even more important.

In fact, we’ve been working for 12 years to make giving – specifically effective giving – part of what businesses around the world do. Our mission is to enable and empower all kinds of businesses to celebrate their wins by giving regularly to projects they want to support. We work with cafés giving access to water for every coffee they sell. We work with consulting firms that help educate disadvantaged children for every successful meeting they have…

But what happens when businesses are hit by unexpected challenges? 

The impact of this pandemic has been huge to our own business too. 

Many of our members – businesses that participate in our initiative – have faced significant challenges. As a social enterprise, we have suffered the consequence of this pandemic in various ways. To our dismay, the major conference we were planning to have this July was postponed. It just didn’t seem like the best time to be talking about giving – when so many of our members and partners were having challenges of their own. 

And yet, here is what we, actually our team, did as we entered the downturn:

We hired additional team members

Our team has taken this time of remote work and quieter period to execute on some of our important projects. For so long, we wanted to bring in more team members so that we could accomplish more. But finding the right people and onboarding them seemed overwhelming when we were so busy with our day-to-day work. The pandemic gave us a chance to do this and we discovered that we could still attract and bring in good people working remotely. We have never changed our stance to take care of our team members first. They are like our family members.

We connected with our partners even more

It’s easy to get bogged down in our own challenges. Yet when we look outward, we can always find those who may face greater challenges than us. So, our team reached out to all of our charity partners first to see how they were all doing. As a result, we discovered some additional ways we could help them. Our members can now support women in Kenya to sew thousands of reusable masks to protect people in their communities, or give much-needed meals to families in quarantine in the Philippines, or even help equip community clinics and health workers in disadvantaged communities. By having more intimate conversations with many of our business members, we realized that the spirit of giving is still there, strongly. 

We increased our giving 

Just like what we help our members coordinate, our own business has regular giving activities. With new team members onboard and having the time to re-think everything we do, we decided to engage the team more in the planning of our giving. Now, each team member is given a budget to add additional giving to their own wins. 

We think the occasional reminders like #GivingTuesdayNow can help all businesses re-think the purpose of their own business and renew their goals. 

Because now, that giving spirit is needed more than ever.

This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

xocial is a gaming platform that measures and inspires acts of positive impact.  Participants complete challenges that measure impact, effort, and time including donations, volunteering, acts of kindness, the environment, and action on UN Sustainability Goals.

As the world comes together in the face of adversity, the xocial response is to do what we do. We’ve joined forces with the NHL Alumni Association on the ‘Kicking COVID with Kindness‘ campaign, to build community, make a positive impact, and have a little fun.

We’ve raised $10,000 and some amazing prizes.  Players win donation dollars with every challenge completed and the change to win (or donate) grocery gift cards.  You can join as an individual or create a team.  It’s a great way to make an impact in the spirit of Competitive Kindness!  

For #Giving TuesdayNow, we’re ramping up the impact with special challenges and donation opportunities.  

For companies that want their own employee engagement campaign, or want customized outreach to activate their clients, we’re here to help with heavily discounted services during these challenging times. 

This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

Archima Solutions became a partner for Vetforce and Allies in Service. During the COVID-19 shutdown, we understand as a company and members of society, we must come together to help each other out during this pandemic. Whether it is donating food and essential supplies to healthcare workers and shelters, or it is about reaching out to fellow employees and neighbors to lift spirits up and offer a shoulder, the ways we give back, regardless of size, do make a larger impact than any of us think possible. 

Veteran Community:

Our company has been giving back by supporting Vetforce by conducting interviews for Vetforce candidates who need employment. We still have a few candidates waiting on their interview with our managing director, but at least this is a way for us to keep others hopeful about employment opportunities during these uncertain times. 

For Allies in Service, since this non-profit is currently focused on their efforts towards veterans, we are helping this non-profit by offering our support in alleviating some of their responsibilities and duties by taking them on ourselves. We expect to assist on upcoming projects from Allies in Service in the upcoming weeks. 

Spreading kindness, gratitude, and hope:

• Our managing director has been giving back to our team by sharing words of encouragement and motivation through emails and calls.


• We have team calls that are more focused on bonding and having fun with each other. This is a way for us to keep in contact with one another from time to time, and it reinforces how much we care about our employees and are there to talk and listen when things are rough. 


• We have participated in online creative games and Happy Hours to boost morale and to end the week in a positive, fun way. 

Individual Give Back Efforts

• Bethany has been delivering supplies and groceries to her parent


• Ankita has helped her younger sister with homework, has delivered groceries to friends, and has given food/water to the less-fortunate


• Marianne has been making cloth masks for friends and family; she’s been sending these out particularly to those located in high-risk areas like New Jersey, Boston and West Virginia 


• Raj has continued donating once a month to St. Jude’s Childrens’ Hospital 


• Suzanne has:
  
  
  
  • Cash donations to Second Harvest Food Bank
  
  
  • Donated blood to Red Cross
  
  
  • Buying from local farmers and produce vendors
  
  
  • Buying gift cards from local merchants and restaurants
  
  
  • Continuing to pay for regular services that aren’t able to be delivered during this time
  
  
  
  


• Swetha has been helping her child with online classes and homework, had donated funds to India, and has helped friends/family look for job opportunities during this time


• John and family have made and donated masks to essential workers, friends and family

Company Donations: 

Donations to partners so they may donate to local businesses of their choice

This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

Blue Skies Bakery is a family owned & operated wholesale bakery located in White Salmon, Washington.  We make artisan par baked bread & small batch granolas for cafes, restaurants, and grocers throughout the Pacific Northwest.  We are grateful to be able to continue working with our grocery customers through this rollercoaster of a time in the food world.  

When the virus shutdowns first hit in March we scrambled, along with so many others in the food world, to fulfill big orders, take care of our employees, and try to figure out which way was up!  

We were pleased to be able to shift our employees’ schedules so that everyone could work solo in the bakery, thus protecting our bakers by minimizing the risk of any contact with others.  

Working solo works well for granola making, but not so much for shaping our loaves.  Our loaves are naturally leavened & long fermented, and require a 7 day process.  We shape all 360 of our loaves in 1 day each week, and bake them the following day, after an overnight cold proof.  Shaping the loaves requires 3 of us to work in close quarters, and so now it is a family affair, which has been very, very lovely.

By April we had settled into our new rhythm & we are happy to say that this month we have been able to donate $,1372 worth of bread and granola to our local food banks, school lunch program & community food boxes, domestic violence shelter, and to the local homeless population.

By Lisa Abbott

This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

In response to the challenges COVID-19 has brought to non-profit organizations, Level Up CRM is proud to announce the launch of its inaugural Level Up Technical Grant program. While  working on several technical projects with nonprofit organizations in recent months, common themes around constituent relationships and digital engagement became increasingly urgent. “We’ve been considering the idea of a grant for a while. Hearing from our customers helped us define how we could be most impactful,” said Brian Wickham, founder and Managing Partner of Level Up CRM.  

As their world is transforming, most nonprofits have access to the technical resources to help them change a field, a report, or a website page. However, these can be isolated, point solutions with high costs, both in time and resources, and impacting future scalability. Many smaller nonprofits lack a strategic partner in developing a technology roadmap for their CRM system, such as Salesforce, and interconnected apps so they can successfully adapt their programs and operations to their changing realities today. A strategic technology plan can increase constituent engagement, benefit fundraising, and increase efficiency. Nonprofit organizations can be free to focus on their primary mission. That is the real gap we are aiming to address.

The first cycle of the grant program will provide technology strategy and services to non-profit organizations focused on children-related causes, ranging from educational equity, child poverty, child advocacy, health, safety and others.  The program’s goal is ensuring that nonprofit organizations using the Salesforce platform have a technology roadmap that holistically incorporates mission and goals, business processes, operations and technology.  This is ever more important now, as COVID-19 has changed the way nonprofits operate, both internally and with their constituencies.  Being smart about the technical aspects of this transformation is critical.

About Us: Level Up CRM helps businesses and nonprofit organizations implement and optimize the Salesforce platform. We combine deep platform knowledge with a focus on user experience, process improvement, and change management to create bottom-line value for your business.

This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

Veritas has long embraced a foundational commitment to be a good neighbor and global citizen. As one of the largest real estate firms to join Pledge 1%, Veritas has furthered its commitment to social impact during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We have always had a culture of giving back, but as life has changed dramatically during the last few months, we saw the need to step up more in innovative ways,” said Yat-Pang Au, CEO.  “Our teams have been even more engaged to make a difference in housing the lives of those most in need.”

Dan Chung, an employee at Veritas for over four years, has created deep connections with his co-workers and business partners that allowed his personal mission to spark a company-wide effort. At a recent doctor’s appointment, Dan noticed medical staff without masks. When he learned there was a shortage, he decided to take action. He sent an email to his work group after midnight that night, and by 11am the next day, he had reached the funding goal to buy 5,000 masks. From here, Dan went further. He and other colleagues spread the word and Veritas CEO, Yat-Pang Au, matched funds to double the campaign to over 10,000 masks which later grew to include Au’s extended family. The momentum continued. 

For most, doubling their goal would have been enough, but not for Dan. He reached out to business colleague in Hong Kong who not only provided financial support but also helped source and ship an additional 10,000 surgical masks and the 1,100 hard-to-find- N95 masks, which were delivered to two San Francisco hospitals. 

Chung’s action showcases that it only takes one spark to make an impact. His determination to make a difference motivated his acquaintance in Hong Kong to reach out to local business leaders in Hong Kong to lend a hand to those across the Pacific Ocean. This extra spark of kindness resulted in another 50,000 mask donation to Bay Area hospitals.

“It’s been amazing,” said Dan, “I just started asking, and it took off.”

Healthcare workers aren’t the only ones facing increased challenges during the pandemic. As the Shelter-in-Place ordinance became the “new normal” for Bay Area residents, the number of domestic violence cases began to rise. As one of the most active apartment operators in the Bay Area, we recognized the opportunity to help these families in need. In conjunction with the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, Veritas donated 20 apartments to survivors of domestic violence. “What Veritas and the City of San Francisco are doing is just huge for an individual or small family to get their lives on track,” said the director of La Casa de las Madres in an interview with Multi Family Executive magazine.  

In a similar effort, we understood this pandemic didn’t stop the need for temporary housing for families with sick children. Veritas extended short-term furnished apartments to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which had to close its housing facility at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital due to the pandemic. 

Families receiving life-saving treatment for their infants at UCSF often travel great distances, including across state lines. Without the on-site housing services RMHC provides, these families are often not able to stay in proximity of the hospital. Last week, a family staying at a Veritas apartment gave birth to a newborn who was able to receive open-heart surgery hours after birth. As the Ronald McDonald House director told a local TV station, “The kids coming here are the sickest of the sick. They have to come to the (San Francisco) Bay Area to be treated so to be able to have a housing option for these families is incredible.”

Providing housing is in our ethos, but we recognize that the Bay Area has many people without homes. Last year we launched, Live with Character, an initiative to reward those making a positive impact in our communities, not because it’s their job, but because it’s their passion. We recently announced our first honoree who received a cash award to expand his community activism for the homeless. Veritas resident Peter — he prefers not to publish his last name — walks to work through the city’s often cold, rainy streets, and one evening was so moved by an encounter with a homeless person that he began carrying blankets to hand out during his walks. “These are just people who want to be treated with respect and compassion like anyone else,” says Peter. The Veritas award money will help Peter fund hundreds more blankets to provide to those in need.

“These efforts across Veritas’ organization have engaged and energized the entire team,” said Jeff Jerden, COO. “It’s made our company and our community better, in so many ways.”

By Erin Dieterich

This piece is shared as part of Pledge 1%’s #GivingTuesdayNow campaign, which highlights how Pledge 1% members and the business community are coming together as a force for good to combat COVID-19.

New Relic is committed to helping our customers, employees, and communities cope with the realities of COVID-19. Today, through our NewRelic.org Corporate Social Responsibility program, we are launching two initiatives to leverage our technology, people, and financial resources to provide support in unique ways.

First, we’re expanding our Nonprofit Customer Donation Program to provide free access to the entire New Relic One platform, for 90 days, to any new customer organization–nonprofits and beyond–engaged in COVID-19 relief efforts with a specific public benefit, subject to our standard terms of service. These include organizations focused on direct humanitarian relief, public and private school education delivery, and relief coordination efforts.

These important organizations are increasingly relying on software to accomplish their missions, and New Relic has an opportunity to help them keep their software and systems up and running throughout this pandemic. We recognize that the impact of this pandemic has the potential to be long and far-reaching. After 90 days, we’ll review any organization that is continuing relief efforts and extend free access to New Relic technology throughout the response.

If your organization is working on relief efforts, you may apply for COVID-19 relief related access by going to www.newrelic.org/relief and completing the form. Once received, our team will review your request and respond with the next steps.

Also, to help COVID-19 relief organizations get up and running on New Relic, we’ll be adding elements to our Explorers Hub. New Relic University content, product documentation, and help from New Relic employees will be available there.

New Relic employees give back

Second, we’re supporting the communities in which our employees live and work by launching a $100,000 charitable giving campaign that will match employee donations to the COVID-19 relief nonprofits in their local communities.

We are so thankful to the amazing organizations on the front lines of relief efforts. By extending our resources, we hope that we can do our small part in supporting our communities’ response to this global pandemic.

Are you part of an organization or do you know one providing relief efforts for COVID-19? We hope to hear from you soon!