Originally published on TechRound.

One of the key factors behind starting Canva was that we wanted to create a business *our* way. That means not only thinking about the product (which millions of people love), but also the philosophy behind it and the processes we employ along the way.

Our mission is to “empower the world to design” and one of our key values is to “be a force for good”. So when we are thinking about ways in which we can empower the world to design we are always thinking about how we can do that in a way which has the most positive impact we can.

This has resonated with so many people that have joined us along the way to help fulfil Canva’s mission and when I do my on-boarding session to all newbies about Canva’s culture, it’s one of the top reasons why people are attracted to working at Canva.

Although we have weaved goodness into everything that we do here (whether that’s the sustainability of the inks in our print products, our non-profit giveback program, or the way that we source food for our lunches) in 2019 we also officially committed to Pledge 1%, a global initiative where businesses donate 1% of their profit, equity, product and time in order to give back to their communities in any way they can.

Our involvement in Pledge 1%, combined with our drive to enable everyone to design anything, anywhere, was the spark that brought Canva for Education to life. Canva for Education gives teachers and students across the world access to the premium features of Canva for free, as well as a creative workflow that’s tailored exclusively for the classroom. It is the first free creative suite available across the globe.

So why give it away for free? Over the 7 years since we launched Canva we have seen an amazing response from educators all over the world. Teachers these days spend less of their time in front of the blackboard and more time helping to guide children through an evolving, digital world; one that values creative and critical thinking. More than ever, they are helping to mould our next generation of creative, energetic and inspiring leaders.

Teachers have embraced Canva, taken it into their classrooms, and shared with us the excitement and engagement that they have received from their students because of it. The ability to explore and communicate visually is a vital part of learning and as part of us being a force for good, we think that putting an easy-to-use design tool into the hands of students anywhere in the world is one of the most powerful things we can do to help improve learning outcomes on a global basis.

Being a force for good is one of the things that drives every single one of our 860+ (and growing) team. Social responsibility isn’t just the job of big business, nor is it just the job of charity organisations. As individuals – and particularly as a startup – it’s our responsibility to create a new model for businesses that properly balances profits and the planet. It’s imperative for the sustainability of our environment and our societies.

It’s refreshing to see a new wave of emboldened companies coming through that think about this, and place positive social impact at the heart of their companies too. Veterans like Atlassian and Salesforce are drivers behind the Pledge 1% movement. And startups like Humanitix and Karst are finding innovative, sustainable solutions to age-old problems. The smaller your company is, the easier it is to embed this social conscience into your organisation.

So if you’re a budding entrepreneur or startup leader, map out how you want your organisation to ultimately have an impact and give back to your community from day one. It doesn’t have to be part of a huge cash donation, it can be with your time, your product ideas, and even with the values that help drive the decisions you make every single day. Give back, and the returns you, your team, and the planet will receive will be many.

As originally published on Forbes.com 

The new decade ushers in fresh opportunities for social impact to evolve, deepen and expand. While no one has a crystal ball into the future, savvy social impact agencies and practitioners can provide insights into where corporate social impact programs may be heading in the future.

We’ve reached out to some thought leaders in our space asking 1) what they’ll be counseling their corporate and nonprofit clients to focus on in 2020 and 2) what social impact trends they’re keeping an eye on.

What will you be counseling your clients to focus on in 2020?

Be Bold, Think Differently

Corporate giving is growing five times faster than individual giving. This presents a lot of opportunity and pressure for nonprofits to remain competitive. The theme in 2020 is to be bold, think differently and build partnerships that create solutions. Gone are the days of blank checks and transactional sponsorships. Corporate Fundraisers will turn into social enterprise specialists, solution-finders, and drivers of collaboration in 2020. 

-Accelerist’s Brittany Hill

Environmental, Social And Governance (ESG) Reporting

Increased focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing. We know consumers want to align their spending with their values. In 2020, they will continue to do that through their investment portfolios. Companies need to focus more than ever on ESG scoring and reporting in order to stand out.

-Brodeur’s Scott Beaudoin

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Alignment and Integration Of Values Across An Entire Organization

Invest in deeper integrations in partnership work. Consumers today, especially Gen Z and Millennials, want to see true connections and meaningful impact beyond one-time campaigns. Causes and companies will need to work harder than ever before to ensure cause efforts are ‘authentigrated’ by all partners and not at risk of being seen as cause-jacked promotional stunts. ‘Authentigration’ is a new term I’ve coined to represent the trend of consumers and employees demanding closer mission and brand alignment throughout a company’s purpose-driven activities. 

-For Momentum’s Mollye Rhea

Looking at the interconnection and alignment of a company’s various efforts. Given that private decisions and public actions are merging, companies need to think about the impact of their actions (or inactions) across the business. It’s why rankings like Just Capital’s Just Companies is growing in stature because it looks at how a company prioritizes fair pay, equal treatment, strong communities and a healthy planet. We have always counselled our clients on this but not with the same urgency and leadership as we will in 2020.

–PUBLIC Inc.’s Phil Haid

Impact Reporting 2.0

The definition of unrestrictive funds and how a nonprofit defines the use of those funds will have to evolve. As companies feel more pressure to clearly define their social and environmental commitment, more and more they will want to define what areas of impact they are funding and specifically how those funds are used. Call it Impact Reporting 2.0. It doesn’t mean that unrestricted funds cannot be secured, it just means there needs to be an evolution in defining funding intent and goals, and then reporting on the use of those specific unrestricted funds. 

-OnPurpose’s Maureen Carlson

What social impact trends will you be closely monitoring this year?

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The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

How companies and nonprofits will collaborate to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their corporate partnership and CSR efforts. The UN has recognized that achieving sustainable development requires the active participation of all sectors of society, including businesses and non-governmental organizations. The SDGs, adopted by all UN member states, aim to achieve peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future, to build a better world and provide a globally adopted framework for companies and charities to apply as they work achieving long-term, positive social impact.

-Perlman & Perlman’s Karen Wu

Board And Investor Demand

Board and investor demand for companies to define their social and environmental efforts and impact. Pressure is not just coming from employees and customers anymore, its coming from boards and investors. I will be following how that pressure accelerates social good plans in corporations that were idling in their social impact commitment.

-OnPurpose’s Maureen Carlson

Commitment To Climate Change

Consumers making purchasing decisions based on a company’s commitment to climate change.  2020 will be the year consumers reward brands who commit to being carbon neutral or carbon positive and who make it visible to them. Organizations like Climate Neutral will make it easier for brands to do this. The nonprofit organization aims to help brands reduce their carbon footprints and provide them with a certification label to put on their consumer products.  More than 70 brands have signed up so far and likely many more to come.

-Brodeur’s Scott Beaudoin

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Artificial Intelligence

I’m very passionate about creating and using technology to make great change in the world, so I will be watching how brands, nonprofits and social enterprises continue to use AI for good. It’s fascinating to live in a world where robots could help eradicate disease, support poverty-stricken communities, and deliver the information we need to find solutions for the homeless epidemic! 

-Accelerist’s Brittany Hill

AI. It is impacting every aspect of our lives and I want to better understand how it can be leveraged for social impact and profit with purpose. 

-PUBLIC Inc.’s Phil Haid

One thing’s for certain: 2020 will be an action-packed year for the corporate social impact community as companies and causes continue to refine their approach to partnering together to build a better world and the bottom line.

As originally published on Salesforce.com

When Salesforce was born 21 years ago, co-founder Marc Benioff had a vision of profitability and philanthropy as core pillars of the company’s DNA, two ideas he believed didn’t have to be mutually exclusive. That took shape as the 1-1-1 model, which dedicated 1% of the company’s equity, 1% of its product, and 1% of employees’ time back to the community.

In setting up that model, Salesforce also co-founded Pledge 1%, a movement to create a new normal whereby social impact is integrated into the core DNA of every company. Pledge 1% inspires, educates, and empowers all entrepreneurs and companies to leverage their assets to be a force for good. And the success has been phenomenal: Since 2014, more than 10,000 companies in over 100 countries have joined the Pledge 1% movement and live their values in unique ways, generating more than $1 billion of value in volunteer hours, product, and funding. Some have established highly organized employee-run community outreach programs and product donation initiatives. Others award grants to their most engaged employees or even set up social impact funds.

But few of those case studies have been as unique as that of PagerDuty. Since joining the Pledge 1% movement in 2017, the 10-year-old digital-operations management company has gone a step further. Last October, it established the PagerDuty.org Fund to connect remote communities to essential medical care ­– supporting organizations that bring medical care to everyone who needs it, in the hardest to reach places, in the moments they need it most, while also striving for vibrant and equitable communities.

“Each year millions of individuals die from preventable diseases and health complications because they lack access to healthcare in their community,” says PagerDuty VP of Global Social Impact & Philanthropy Olivia Khalili. “By orchestrating action in critical moments to save lives, PagerDuty can tackle a pivotal piece of the healthcare, from remote vaccine distribution to life-saving emergency care to early warning signs of outbreaks.”

Operationally, that manifests by PagerDuty donating resources, customizing its digital-operations management platform, and partnering with two tech-focused nonprofits – Medic Mobile and VillageReach ­– to help deliver critical last-mile medical aid like vaccinations and outbreak treatment to remote communities in Africa and Southern and Southeast Asia. It’s still in the early days, but the company is optimistic ­– ready to innovate in the field and learn from global health technology experts and strategic investment and partnership development, and by doing so, serve as a role model for other Pledge 1% member companies.

Setting up social impact funds for philanthropy isn’t unique to companies who take the pledge, but organizing at this level and devoting to a singular cause is a particularly impactful example of the power of the 1-1-1 model. And it’s the product of a journey PagerDuty has been on for the last several years as it has aligned its priorities around the idea of business being a platform for change.

“The work of our platform has always been around the end user and improving the lives of on-call engineers, so we have an orientation to how we empathize and create positive impact in lives,” says Khalili. “Pledge 1% was a natural extension from ‘How are we creating a positive improvement in the life of an on-call engineer?’ to ‘How are we doing that in our community and with our technology?’”

PagerDuty has been in the news since it first surfaced in 2009. Its product was unique: a cloud-based digital-operations management platform that helped companies address DevOps issues in real time. Originally founded in Toronto, PagerDuty came under the wing of the famed Silicon Valley incubator Y Combinator, which has helped launch well-known tech brands such as Airbnb, Instacart, Dropbox, and thousands more. The startup darling collected round after round of funding from the investor community, counted nearly half of the Fortune 500 as customers, and was on its way to following the path of other successful Y Combinator startups.

But the true institutional change came in summer of 2016 when PagerDuty named Jennifer Tejada as its CEO. The veteran tech executive had a reputation for spearheading companies with complex products and opaque missions and infusing them with a dose of humanity: “What is this product and what does it actually do for customers?” Tejada did that effectively at PagerDuty, helping to expand the company’s client roster and simplifying its messaging. But she also wanted the firm to elevate its values. In 2017, she approached the PagerDuty board with the idea of writing the 1-1-1 model into the company’s financial documentation. They emphatically agreed with her: Giving back was a moral imperative and should be literally inscribed into the company’s values.

A year later, Tejada hired Khalili as the company’s impact lead to spearhead efforts to build out its Pledge 1% program. Khalili had experience in enacting social good programs while advising large brands on social impact, and even spent three years setting up a similar initiative while in-house at Yahoo. At PagerDuty, she went pillar by pillar of the Pledge 1% framework and 1-1-1 model, first by setting up a product donation and licensing model for nonprofits, then by building powerful programming to empower employees to effectively give back through their allotted 20 hours of annual paid volunteer time. She then turned her focus to the equity side of the triangle.

“I looked first at how we would create an integrated strategy,” Khalili recalls. “I very much appreciate the clarity of the 1-1-1 model and the framework Pledge 1% provides to truly align stakeholders internally and to be able to tell a clear story externally. But the question I always return to is, how do we integrate impact across the business and bring these pillars to life in a way that is as embedded in and aligned with our core business as possible?”

When she joined the company, there was no obvious connection to a singular issue to which PagerDuty could dedicate a whole fund, so Khalili rolled up her sleeves and did a significant amount of discovery work – internal interviews, external reviews, and research. Her findings led her to two final potential focus areas, which she reviewed with Tejada before they ultimately decided on time-critical global health.

“We’re a global company and a global platform, so it was important for us to tackle an issue that has global resonance,” says Khalili. “We also wanted to leverage our technology. It was important that technology was innately part of the solution to the problem we are trying to solve. The potential for technology to accelerate outcomes is tremendous. The challenge is how to do so effectively, and responsibly.”

More than that, Khalili and Tejada wanted to identify a cause for which PagerDuty’s core competency of technology and thought leadership could directly make an impact. The idea of time-sensitive global health actually came in part through learning about PagerDuty customers who were using the technology to conquer time-sensitive health challenges at scale.

One of those customers was SightLife, a nonprofit that facilitates 700 cornea transplants globally each month. The eye bank utilized PagerDuty technology to help unify six internal teams to execute on the complex process of preserving and transporting cornea tissue during a critical 48-hour window in which the tissue is viable. Although a specific use case, and atypical of how most PagerDuty customers engage with their platform, that offered a model for the impact PagerDuty technology could drive.

“By zeroing in on time-critical global health as an issue area, we see an opportunity to powerfully impact world organizations through our technology,” says Khalili.

Those on the receiving end of the fund’s mission aren’t the only ones to benefit from PagerDuty’s impact program. Khalili says the stakeholder group she hears from most are employees: “If I had to sum up the feedback I receive pretty consistently, it’s ‘I am so excited that I get to work for a company that cares about making a positive impact in the world.’”

Not only does the Pledge 1% movement impact how employees perceive the company, but also how they engage in learning new skills and volunteering with an organization. Khalili recounts her favorite quote from a colleague in the engineering organization who said, “I would go to volunteer thinking, ‘I’m here to help this organization.’ I always come back thinking, ‘Wow, I’m the one who benefited. I’ve learned so much.’”

According to Pledge 1% Chief Executive and President Amy Lesnick, PagerDuty’s model is spot on: Providing employees with baked-in volunteer time and experiences in which they’re empowered to leverage their unique skill sets is the secret sauce to engaging them around the 1-1-1 model.

“If you’re not thinking about employee time, you’re limiting the creativity and that core culture-building that happens when employees get excited and engaged around giving back,” she says.

In April 2019, shares of PagerDuty finally debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, making it one of a handful of publicly traded companies with the Pledge 1% Equity Commitment written directly into their financials. PagerDuty joins late-stage companies like Slack, Docusign, Sendgrid, Zuora, Pluralsight, Twilio, Upwork, and Okta, which together have ignited more than $250 million in new philanthropy as a result of their IPOs. In terms of leading the way, PagerDuty is still very much the “unicorn” many have termed it since its early days. Khalili continues to play an integral role in the Pledge 1% community, inspiring and empowering the next generation of leaders to join the 1% movement.

“As a recent IPO, PagerDuty is definitely a role model for other companies,” says Lesnick. “But I also think it’s amazing to have a rock-star female CEO in Jennifer Tejada who inspires others, and one who has so much conviction around the idea that profit and purpose aren’t a trade-off, but something that’s important to be a successful company. And that’s pretty awesome.”

No one agrees more than Salesforce Chief Impact Officer Suzanne DiBianca, who is also a founding board member of Pledge 1%.

“What PagerDuty has done is great,” she says. “Our ultimate aim is that every company builds this sort of action into its term sheets and articles of incorporation. I hope all of them set aside 1% for the community, and that it just becomes part of how they operate. I’d love to see 100,000 companies taking part in the movement.”

Australia is experiencing one of the worst fire seasons ever recorded. The rapid pace of the burn along with heavy smoke has made it extremely difficult for emergency services to evacuate certain communities. Over a billion animals and dozens of human lives have been lost. More than 2,000 homes to date have been destroyed, and the long-term impact on the environment and people’s lives has yet to be calculated.  

As a global community, Pledge 1% has many valued members in Australia. Today, we are calling our global network to come together to help support the efforts in Australia. With help from Atlassian and some of our other Australian members, we’ve collected the following list of charities and organizations you can give to to support the fire relief efforts. 

NSW Rural Fire Service

The main firefighting organization in NSW directly fighting the fires. Many of these volunteers have been battling against these fires for months now and are risking their lives in the process. NSW has pledged that it’s donations will go not only to the Fire Service but to victims of the fires as well. 

Red Cross 

The Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery teams are assisting communities that have been affected by the fires. They help provide evacuees of over 69 different areas with water, food and comforts. In addition, they are arranging emergency accommodations, helping connect missing loved ones and beginning a cash grant program that is intended to help support local businesses and help people meet their immediate needs. 

WIRES Wildlife Rescue

WIRES is dedicated to helping rescue and rehabilitate the animals impacted by the fires. Survivors need all the help they can get in the wake of such intense habitat destruction. Donations to WIRES helps support their immediate recovery, along with longer goals such as habitat restoration and food shortages. 

St. Vincent de Paul Society

St. Vincent de Paul Society is helping the thousands of dislocated people who need emergency housing, along with providing other essentials such as food, water and clothing. They’ve launched the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal to directly help families who have been evacuated. 

Salvation Army

Much like the Red Cross and St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army is supporting members of communities that have been affected by the fires. They are providing clothes, food, water and shelter along with emergency service teams in response to loss of life and property.