By Julia Flaherty originally published on the Ledgeview Partners blog.
Ledgeview Partners Joins the Pledge 1% Movement, Commits to Compassion and Helping to End Child Poverty
Ledgeview Partners Leverages 5% of its Net Income to Improve Global Communities
Appleton, WI, June 22, 2018 – Ledgeview Partners announced today that it has joined the Pledge 1% program, a corporate philanthropy movement dedicated to making the community a stakeholder in every business.
Spearheaded by Atlassian, Rally, Salesforce, and Tides, Pledge 1% empowers companies to donate 1% of their product, 1% of equity, 1% of profit or 1% of employee time to improve communities around the world.
Ledgeview Partners has joined an impressive network of entrepreneurs and companies across the globe that have committed to philanthropic efforts through the Pledge 1% movement. By donating 5% of its net income, Ledgeview Partners is demonstrating its commitment to philanthropic leadership.
Ledgeview Partners has focused on the value of giving back to communities since its inception more than 10 years ago.
“At the beginning of Ledgeview Partners, one of our goals was to make a difference in our communities, not just locally, but globally,” says Doug Fissell, Co-Founder and President of Ledgeview Partners.
“As an organization, we believe in giving back; it is one of the pillars of Ledgeview Partners’ business philosophy. Through our donations, we strive to help end child poverty.
We are proud to align with Salesforce’s Pledge 1% philanthropic model. Our give-back initiatives have helped guide our team with a spirit of charity and being a part of something bigger than a workplace or company — compassion is who we are.”
Image Courtesy of Compassion International
Lucie Schulze, General Manager at Ledgeview Partners, was with Ledgeview Partners from the beginning. She reflects on the company’s work with Compassion International and unwavering commitment to charity since then.
“At Ledgeview Partners, we truly believe in our motto of ‘transforming business, one relationship at a time’,” says Schulze.
“Though we may not have the direct resources to end poverty ourselves, we can contribute to organizations that do, between the Pledge 1% program and Compassion International.
Compassion International is a nonprofit organization that provides resources and opportunities to children in third-world countries with the education, food, mentorship and medical care they need to survive. We are proud to sponsor these children to give them restored hope for bright futures.”
Salesforce excites over Ledgeview’s involvement.
“Salesforce is dedicated to changing the way companies think about corporate philanthropy,” says Suzanne DiBianca, EVP of Corporate Relations and Chief Philanthropy Officer at Salesforce. “We’re excited that Ledgeview Partners is joining us in giving their resources back to the community. This is another great example of the power that business has to create change in our communities.”
Beyond the company’s commitment to charity, Ledgeview’s primary business is with helping customers achieve above and beyond CRM, Sales, Customer Service, and Marketing solutions.
Ledgeview Partners is a business and technology consulting company who partners with organizations to transform sales, marketing, and customer service operations and processes that are supported by core technologies including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Automation.
Ledgeview Partners’ consultants combine savvy business intellect with a strong technical aptitude to provide solutions that extend well beyond software implementations. It’s about building relationships, transforming business, and delivering phenomenal customer experiences.
ABOUT PLEDGE 1%
Pledge 1% is an effort spearheaded by Atlassian, Rally, Salesforce, and Tides to accelerate their shared vision around integrating philanthropy into businesses around the world. Pledge 1% encourages and challenges individuals and companies to pledge 1% of equity, profit, product, and/or employee time for their communities because pledging a small portion of future success can have a huge impact on tomorrow. Pledge 1% offers companies turnkey tools and best practices, making it accessible for any company to incorporate philanthropy into their business model. To learn more or to take the pledge, visit www.pledge1percent.org.
Originally published on the AppCentrica blog.
Today, we are excited to announce that AppCentrica has joined Pledge 1%, a global movement where companies of all sizes integrate giving back into their culture and values.
Pledge 1% encourages companies to donate 1% of product, 1% of equity, 1% of profit or 1% of employee time to causes of their choice. Thousands of companies around the world have taken the Pledge and shared their intent to give back through their company.
“Social responsibility has always been part of our corporate DNA”. Said Ed Nemes, CEO of AppCentrica, “It’s one of our strategic goals as a company and we track our progress with a Community Dashboard App created by our employees. We are pleased to be part of the Pledge 1% community and look forward to learning how to make our programs even more successful with their assistance. It feels great to give back and our employees have jumped in with two feet, volunteering time, organizing events and sharing their stories.”
We are excited to join Pledge 1%’s network of founders, entrepreneurs and companies around the globe that have committed to giving back. AppCentrica has committed to pledging 1% of our time, profit, and product to our community.
“We are incredibly excited that AppCentrica has taken the pledge,” said Amy Lesnick, chief executive of Pledge 1%. “AppCentrica can play a pivotal role in building this movement and promoting a new normal in which all companies—big and small—integrate giving back as a core value in their business.”
We are proud to be a Pledge 1% member. For more information about Pledge 1%, visit www.pledge1percent.org.
Originally published on the Velocity Werx blog.
May 30, 2018—Velocity Werx Ltd. announced its Pledge 1% quarterly profits went to the Humboldt Broncos Ryan Straschnitzki.
Like every Canadian, we were taken back when this tragedy occurred.
We followed the #SticksoutForHumboldt movement, and we participated in #Jerseysforhumboldt. But, it just didn’t feel like enough, what else could we do.
On Jersey Day we decided that 1% of our quarterly profits would go towards the Humboldt Broncos.
Our founder Trevor Perraton, who is always up for volunteering decided he would bartend at Paint & Wine Night, hosted at the Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre. He added to our profits all of the tips that he received that night.
This cause was especially close to Trevor’s heart, as his son’s name is also Ryan and he was born in the same hospital at the same time as Ryan Straschnitzki.
Ryan Straschnitzki’s mother reached out to Trevor via Social media after seeing our posts. They were able to arrange a meet up at the hospital. Trevor said that this was a visit he will never forget. He would like to thank Ryan and his family for reaching out.
We’re a family-oriented company, and we wanted to ensure that this cheque wasn’t faceless. What we mean by that is, we wanted Ryan and the other Broncos to know that there are people out there that care about their well being more than they know.
Please keep donating to this cause, these families will be dealing with medical expenses for the rest of their lives.
Let’s help take one less stress off their plates.
Please Donate At: HTTPS://HUMBOLDTSTRONG.INFO/
About Velocity Werx Ltd. Velocity is a leading provider of Salesforce consulting and On-Demand Salesforce Administrator services to small & medium sized companies in North America. Velocity is a Salesforce® registered partner, dedicated and trusted implementation consulting firm for its clients. Being an industry leader in Salesforce® innovation and creating operational efficiencies, we help our clients realize and accelerate their Salesforce implementation return on investment. Maintaining a socially conscious mindset, Velocity is a member of the Pledge 1% organization giving back 1% of its profits, 1% of its time & 1% of its products to non-profit organizations. We have offices in Calgary, Kelowna, Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg. To learn more about Velocity, visit www.velocitywerx.com.
Originally published on Tech.Co.
If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital. In fact, for the most part, all you need is a laptop and Wi-Fi connection.
Still though, when founders are seeking funding, “75 percent of the venture capitalgoes to three states: Massachusetts, New York, and California,” said Steve Case in an interview with Recode. Fortunately, the Startup of the Year program aims to make it easier for founders to connect with resources.
In 2006, a passion to help startups grew into Tech Cocktail, a company whose mission was to showcased burgeoning companies in bars around the country. This movement eventually evolved into the Startup of the Year program, which continues to discover emerging startups in communities around the globe and strives for diversity and inclusion.
Today, the program has a number of game-changing companies among its alumni, including Uber, Groupon, GrubHub, Living Social, Desk, and many more.
The thing that fuels this success is the amazing organizations and people from around the world who align and support the mission to build businesses. These organizations work tirelessly in guiding and supporting startup teams to success, regardless of their stage of business, as well as continue to encourage innovation across the planet.
Meet some of the amazing organizations that partner with the Startup of the Year program, and could be a valuable resource for you to help build your business.
BlackTech Week (Miami, FL)
BlackTech Week was created in 2014, and in four short years, they’ve gained over 2700 participants, 150 speakers, and 3 pitch competitions. BlackTech Week was created by the leadership team from Code Fever to accelerate and support the innovation of black communities through training, networks and funding.
“I was very excited by how inclusion was such a priority in the space, Startup of the Year wanted to work with us to make sure the event reflected our community,” said Denayja Reese, Partnerships and Production Manager of BlackTech Week.
The Case Foundation (Washington, DC)
The Case Foundation invests in people and ideas that can change the world. The Foundation was created in 1997 by tech pioneers, Jean and Steve Case. They believe being fearless in one’s mission is a must in addressing urgent social challenges.
With a focus on impact investing, their efforts to drive social change are based on three key pillars: revolutionizing philanthropy, unleashing entrepreneurs and igniting civic engagement.
Watch our video series at SXSW 2018 with The Case Foundation.
digitalundivided (New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, DC)
Founded in 2013, digitalundivided leads high potential Black and Latino women founders through the startup pipeline with a focus on knowledge, research and community. In five short years, they’ve helped build 52 companies, raised 25 million in investments and reached over 2000 founders.
“[It] is super competitive and great for companies looking to not only gain exposure but to learn from and see the breath of other startups and founders in the space,” said Darlene Gillard, Director of Community and Partner of digitalundivided, about the Startup of the Year competition.
Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation (Fargo, ND)
GFMEDC accelerates job and wealth creation in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota. The nonprofit creates pathways of collaboration between public and private sectors and continues to strategically create jobs and attract new businesses with an emphasis on the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Having the pitches and showcase as part of the conference is a nice feature for the startups, so the whole thing isn’t just about the pitch. Our local startups have always been able to make some great connections at Innovate Celebrate,” said John Machacek, SVP Finance and Entrepreneurial Development of GFMEDC, about the Startup of the Year program.
Indiegogo (San Francisco,CA and New York, NY)
Indiegogo has brought more than 800,000 ideas to fruition since 2008. Indiegogo is a platform for ground breaking technology and where you can find interesting products that haven’t hit the mainstream market.
There are more than nine million backers on Indiegogo that engage and support entrepreneurs in over 19,000 campaigns on the platform each month. They created a space where you can follow your dreams.
iFundWomen (New York, NY)
This crowdfunding platform has a goal to empower women-led startups to grow better businesses. Their mission is designed to lead with a pay-if-forward model by providing expert coaching, pitch competition support, and a private community where entrepreneurs can meet mentors and connect with valuable resources.
“Driving funding to early-stage startups and small businesses is what we do here and being a part of the Startup of the Year Competition was a no-brainer for us. While winning pitch competitions is great, it’s not the most important thing about Startup of the Year. The experience of pitching your product, and networking with your fellow entrepreneurs is,” said Karen Cahn, Founder and CEO of iFundWomen.
Kauffman Foundation (Kansas City, MO)
Ewing Marion Kauffman built a legacy that was fueled by his passion for being an entrepreneur and humanitarian. His innovation benefited millions of people in his hometown of Kansas City and he wanted his legacy to continue on to support his community and economy. The Kauffman Foundation centers their work around programs for entrepreneurs and educational programs aimed at students from pre-kindergarten through college.
“All of the money in the world cannot solve problems unless we work together,” said Ewing Marion Kauffman.
Pipeline Angels (National Network)
Pipeline Angels mantra is “Changing the face of angel investing,” and they accomplish that by creating capital giving and receiving opportunities for women and non-binary femme social entrepreneurs. Their investor bootcamps help educate new investors about due diligence, valuation, and more. And their pitch summits connect those investors with women and non-binary femme entrepreneurs with for-profit, social startups.
“Startup of the Year’s website underscores why it made sense for Pipeline Angels to support this initiative. We believe that innovation is taking place everywhere, all of the time,” said Lisha Bell, Dealflow Lead of Pipeline Angels.
They continue to grow their network, and will soon offer their signature angel investing bootcamp in San Juan, Puerto Rico to support the island’s founders and economy.
Pledge 1% (San Francisco, CA)
While some organizations are focused on geography, gender or specific verticals, Pledge 1% brings together companies who understand the importance of philanthropy, and assists them in making it part of the company culture, even at its earliest stages.
Thousands of entrepreneurs from around the world are part of the growing Pledge 1% network, and you can too!
Start Co. (Memphis, TN)
With accelerator programs for IoT, smart home services, and female founders, Start Co built an impactful organization in the Southeast. They also align with companies such as Amazon web services, IBM, and many others.
In addition, they offer a Sky High program that provides curriculum and resources to K-12 students who build IT solutions, as well as Upstart, an accelerator for female founders who want to enter the world of entrepreneurship.
“Startup of the Year aligns with our belief that great startups can be built in middle America, and competitive startups should not be limited to a geographic area. The Startup of the Year competition creates opportunities for our team to connect with peers across the country, by sharing successes, opportunities for growth, and ways to better collaborate,” said Eric Mathews, CEO, and Andre Fowlkes, President of Start Co.
Startup Champions Network (National Network)
Startup Champions Network is committed to building a strong network of ecosystem builders from every state around the nation. They understand the value of connecting people, resources and events to each of their communities.
Startup Champions Network has created a strong constellation of forward thinking leaders to serve entrepreneurs everywhere.
THE SANDBOX & StartupSB (Santa Barbara, CA)
THE SANDBOX is a coworking space that comes with its own Airstream conference room. The creativity is pumping through the vents when you walk through the door and filled with upcoming startups. It is also the headquarters for StartupSB which drives a myriad of events for the local community.
“We continue to look for opportunities for Santa Barbara area startups outside of our region. The Startup of the Year competition provided a platform for some of our local companies to get recognized in a larger market and connect with potential partners, investors and more talent for their ventures. The collection of startups from around the US and world last year was impressive and incredibly diverse,” said Kyle Ashby, Founder of THE SANDBOX and StartupSB.
Tampa Bay Wave (Tampa Bay, FL)
Tampa Bay Wave is a leading tech accelerator in the southeast, that supported over 150 tech startups and 250 entrepreneurs, and a proud member of the Global Accelerator Network. Their coworking space is designed to help tech companies of all sizes, and they recently launched a Tech Diversity Accelerator program with the Nielsen Foundation.
“Having a chance to learn about the Startup of the Year program from heads of the organization as well as from the competing startups made me realize just how much of an impact it could have on companies and local tech ecosystems,” said Dr. Richard Munassi MD MBA, Tech Diversity Cohort Director, of Tampa Bay Wave.
While this is just a sampling of these amazing organizations that partner with the Startup of the Year program, these people help us create the most diverse and largest crowdsourced startup competition in the world.
Founders! We invite you to join us for the excitement, visibility and connections at the Startup of the Year Competition and meet our partners!
APPLY HERE TODAY! DEADLINE IS MAY 31!
We’d like to thank our community partners and others who have been an inspiration and made an impact on our Startup of the Year teams, including: Mass Challenge, TechStars, Rise of the Rest, LAUNCH KC, VATOR, THE DEC, LAUNCH DFW, ENGINE, MeetROI.Com, 1804, Bunker Labs – Austin, Co-LABS, Startup Grind – Houston, GEN, CoVort and F6S.
By Catherine Cheney. Originally published on devex.
SAN FRANCISCO — On Thursday, software technology company Okta announced a grant to Fast Forward, an organization that invests in nonprofit technology entrepreneurs, as part of its commitment to the Pledge 1% movement.
Launched in 2014, Pledge 1% aims to bring a culture of giving to technology companies by providing them with a pathway into early stage corporate philanthropy. In 2016, Okta became one of a growing number of companies that have made a commitment to donate 1 percent of their product, time, profit, or equity to any charity of their choosing. The following year, Okta had an initial public offering, and the company has since expanded its social impact initiative — Okta for Good — into a donor-advised fund that offers products, support from employees, and grants to nonprofits.
On the occasion of its Oktane18 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, last week, Devex asked the technology company and its nonprofit partners what advice they have for engaging with Pledge 1% companies. They emphasized that technology companies have more to offer than just money in their corporate philanthropy.
By Andrea Snyder. Originally published on the Solve website.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 17, 2018—Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, today announced the Solver recipients of the remaining $1.5 million pool of prize funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Atlassian Foundation International.
During the Solve at MIT Opening Plenary, Nicola Watkinson, General Manager, The Americas, Australian Trade and Investment Commission and Deputy Consul-General, Australian Consulate-General (New York) announced the second-round funding recipients of the DFAT Indo-Pacific Development Prize. Mark Reading, Head of Foundation, Atlassian announced the second-round funding recipients of the Atlassian “10 in 10” Prize. Last year, at the Solve at MIT meeting, both organizations announced their collective pledge of $2 million prize funding.
The following second-round funding recipients will each receive a portion of the remaining $1.5 million pool of prize funding to scale their work:
- 40K Plus
- Baan Dek Foundation
- Open Learning Exchange
- Raspberry Pi Foundation
- Ruangguru
- Rumie
- Wanji
- WeRobotics
“We are extremely impressed by the Solver teams selected to receive the next round of funding—and thrilled to celebrate these innovators at Solve at MIT,” said Mark Reading, Head of the Atlassian Foundation. “This type of collaboration is critical as Atlassian works to prepare 10 million disadvantaged youth for the workforce of the future within 10 years.”
“Supporting innovation is critical to the future of education in the Indo-Pacific and across the world,” said Nicola Watkinson, Deputy Consul-General, Australian Consulate-General. “We are pleased to join MIT Solve and the Atlassian Foundation in spearheading this effort.”
“We are delighted to work with DFAT and the Atlassian Foundation over the course of the last year and grateful for their generous funding of our innovative Solver teams,” said Solve’s Executive Director, Alex Amouyel. “This next wave of funding will allow these Solver teams to have immense social impact at scale.”
About DFAT:
The innovationXchange (iXc) is an initiative of the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Launched in 2015, the iXc seeks to achieve impact in foreign affairs and development through the application of new tools and approaches that accelerate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Australia’s Foreign Policy White Paper. By partnering with over 30 organisations, including Google, GSMA, USAID, XPRIZE, Atlassian, and now MIT Solve, the iXc has leveraged the skills, knowledge, and finance of others for development impact. These partnerships have led to a number of open innovation challenges across a wide range of themes, including the LAUNCH Food Challenge (focusing on improving nutrition), the MIKTA Education in Emergencies Challenge (continuing education in crisis situations) and the Google Impact Challenge (technology for development). More information is available at ixc.dfat.gov.au.
About Atlassian:
Atlassian unleashes the potential of every team. Our collaboration software helps teams organize, discuss, and complete shared work. Teams at more than 112,000 customers, across large and small organizations—including Citigroup, eBay, Coca-Cola, Visa, BMW, and NASA—use Atlassian’s project tracking, content creation and sharing, real-time communication, and service management products to work better together and deliver quality results on time. Philanthropy has always been a part of Atlassian’s DNA. Back when the company was a small startup, the company’s founders baked corporate philanthropy into the business model, making the conscious decision to Pledge 1%. Because of this pledge, the Atlassian Foundation International is able to set a bold goal of helping to educate 10 million disadvantaged youth in 10 years, giving them the skills they need for the workforce of the future, “10 in 10“.
About Solve:
Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) that advances lasting solutions from tech entrepreneurs to address the world’s most pressing problems. Solve issues four Challenges each year across its pillars—Economic Prosperity, Health, Learning, and Sustainability—to find the most promising Solver teams who will drive transformational change. Solve then deploys its global community of private, public, and nonprofit leaders to form partnerships these Solver teams need to scale their impact. Last year, more than 1,000 people from 103 countries submitted solutions to Solve’s four Challenges. Solve’s open Challenges include: (1) Work of the Future, (2) Frontlines of Health, (3) Coastal Communities, and (4) Teachers & Educators. Join the community at solve.mit.edu.
The Solve at MIT event program can be found here, and confirmed speakers can be found here. If you’re interested in joining Solve as a member, including attending Solve at MIT, see here.
Originally published on the In What Language website.
As the world continues to develop, the need for corporate social responsibility becomes even more important. Social problems exist whether we like it or not, so what can we do about it?
Well…
When corporations value social responsibility and make an effort to integrate social impact into their business, they can solve some of the most challenging problems that the world faces today.
A great example of combining social impact and business is the language technology company inWhatLanguage.
inWhatLanguage is a mission-driven translation and localization company. Our mission is to unify people and communities through innovative translation solutions. With that in mind, we donate 1% of our revenue to social impact initiatives. We want to make a dent for good in the world!
However, given we are a translation and localization company, we thought it made sense not to simply donate money to causes we believe in, but instead, donate our translation services. People often don’t think of translation as a critical element to improve livelihoods, but we know firsthand its powerful ability to do just that.
How we make an impact:
1. Supporting English Language Learners
There are millions of people in the United States who are learning English, as it is not their native language. They are often referred to as English Language Learners (ELLs). Both refugees and immigrants often don’t know English when they arrive in the United States. Relocating to a new country is already hard enough, but to not know the language makes life even more difficult. We want to use our translation services to help assist refugees and immigrants in the United States who are learning English. Specifically, we have focused our efforts on assisting ELLs and their parents in schools across the country.
According to an nprED report 5 million, or 1 in 10, students in the United States are ELLs. We recognized this as an opportunity to step in and provide translations for critical documents and parent-teacher communications, to empower diverse, non-English speaking students and their families with the information and resources needed to build successful lives.
In order to assist ELLs both in our community and the United States, we have provided translations to schools and education organizations at no cost. Some of our main partners include the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Utah Transit Authority (UTA), United Way andGranite School District.
Our work with the IRC and UTA has been to help refugees access and use public transportation. We helped the IRC translate important information for refugees about how to use the transit system. It is very difficult to try to navigate a public transit system in a language other than your native language. We plan to continue to support these two organizations when it comes to making public transit more accessible to ELLs.
With the United Way of Salt Lake and Granite School District, we have conducted similar work. Given there are a large number of refugees and ELLs in general at Salt Lake City schools, we have translated critical documents and parent-teacher communications. Many of these are traditional school documents, but some of them have included information sent home to parents about vision screenings and medical services available to whole families for free. Translation plays a critical role in ensuring that these students get the education they deserve and that families get the social services they need.
In addition, to these main partners, we carry out a grant program for schools and educational organizations across the United States. These organizations are able to submit applications explaining their needs in order to support ELLs and then we award them grants in the form of translation value. Again, giving in the form of our services as opposed to simply giving money is at the core of our social impact.
2. Assisting Disaster and Crisis-Affected Communities
According to a Relief Web report, 569 million people are affected by disasters every year. Overcoming language and cultural barriers is one of the most vital and often overlooked factors in disaster and crisis situations around the world. These crises present significant challenges for coordination and communication between the different responders on how to provide the most effective relief strategy. When earthquakes, hurricanes, and deadly disease outbreaks occur, it is imperative that accurate and timely translations are conducted to enhance communication between responders and subsequently the effectiveness of the crises response.
inWhatLanguage has partnered with and carried out a number of translation projects for the World Health Organization (WHO) at no cost. More specifically, the WHO’s – Health Emergencies Program, where inWhatLanguage helped translate training modules for OpenWHO. OpenWHO is an instructional platform that allows the WHO and its key partners to transfer life-saving knowledge to a large number of frontline responders during natural epidemics, pandemics and health emergencies. inWhatLangauge has provided a number of services for the WHO, including translating instructional material about how to manage Cholera outbreaks and Influenza into a number of different languages.
3. Fostering International Trade and Diplomacy
Given inWhatLanguage’s mission is to unify people and communities through innovative translation solutions, we think it only makes sense to commit to utilizing our social impact initiatives to help foster international trade and diplomacy. Fostering international trade and diplomacy helps to connect people all around the world and bridge cultural divides. When economies are connected, people are connected (or united).
In order to foster international trade and diplomacy, inWhatLanguage has worked with a number of different partners. inWhatLangauge has provided in-kind translation of materials for the World Trade Center of Utah and CHOICE Humanitarian.
The World Trade Center (WTC) of Utah’s mission is to promote prosperity across the state by attracting investment and increasing exports. The WTC of Utah frequently carries out international trade missions for members of the Utah business community to help them expand into global markets. We have assisted translating materials for the WTC of Utah that provide business leaders in other countries information about Utah’s business community and Utah’s economy. These materials help foreign business leaders gain a better understanding of the State, helping to encourage them to do business with Utah companies and consumers, in turn increasing international trade and diplomacy.
For example, in October of 2018, the WTC of Utah conducted a seven-day trade mission to connect Utah Companies to Middle Eastern Markets. The trade mission led by Gov. Gary R Herbert took 19 Utah companies (including inWhatLanguage) to Amman, Jordan and Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel. We translated the materials highlighting why business leaders in those locations should engage in business with Utah companies and consumers into Arabic and Hebrew.
CHOICE Humanitarian is a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Salt Lake City, Utah that focuses on improving the quality of life for people around the world. CHOICE provides assistance through the establishment of programs for better health and education, the eradication of extreme poverty and the strengthening of family and community efforts to learn valuable skills. CHOICE works around the world in Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Perú, México, Kenya, and Nepal.
We have helped Choice Humanitarian translate documents for an important initiative.
A small banana cooperative in Peru had done all of the work to be in compliance with organic, fair trade and Global GAP certifications but didn’t have the funds to pay for the certification itself. CHOICE is providing loan capital for them to pay for the certifications that will increase the value-per-box of bananas from $6.50 to $13 US, literally doubling their income. Not only will this increase the banana cooperative’s income, but it will allow the banana cooperative to expand into global markets.
To get this process started, CHOICE required the translation of the banana cooperative’s application along with the contract between CHOICE and the banana cooperative. In addition, CHOICE will start working with them on a soil restoration program to revive the soils and increase their production levels 100-200%. We consider this a great success, as our translations directly fostered international trade.
4. Engaging and Supporting Our Linguist Network
Our newest social impact pillar is engaging and supporting our linguist community. Our hundreds of linguists are crucial to our success as an organization. Without them, we would not exist. We truly value their contributions and want to give back. Not only do we want to give back to them, but we also realize their unique opportunity they have to do good in their own communities. With that in mind, we provide a micro-grant program for our linguists. The micro-grant program gives our linguists an opportunity to apply for micro-grants to be used to improve their communities all over the world. For example, linguists can be awarded the micro-grants for teaching English in their communities, mentoring youth, improving health outcomes, improving the environment, or identifying needs in their communities that are not formally listed in our micro-grant program but are equally important. A big component of their projects is documenting the amazing work they are doing in their communities. We love receiving pictures and videos highlighting their awesome work to make the world a better place.
In addition to our grant program, we make a point of assisting our linguists when they are experiencing challenges in their lives. When natural disasters occur around the world we make a point of reaching out to our linguists to make sure that they are doing ok and if there is any way we can assist them. For example, when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas in September 2017, one of our linguist’s daycare business was badly damaged. She lost most of her educational supplies and toys that were in the daycare. We found this out when we reached out to our linguists around the world after a string of natural disasters globally. As a company, we got together and collected educational supplies and toys to donate to the linguist so that she could get her daycare back up and running. We are committed to our linguists and constantly looking for ways to support them.
We are on a mission to unify people and communities through innovative translation solutions. By donating 1% of our revenue to social impact initiatives we are trying to make a dent of good in the world.
Originally posted: May 22nd, 2018
Throughout the world there’s a steady increase in demand for timber, leaving a trail of devastation behind. Unsustainable and illegal timber logging satisfies the needs of many multi-million dollar companies, creating devastation to ecosystems and forest growth. The importance of fostering ethical business and for our industry to encourage clients towards sustainable interior design is becoming more important for future generations.
Closer to home, we face greater issues within Australia, with our beloved native species being threatened by deforestation and lack of conservation. The Plant a Tree for Me! is a non-for-profit organisation focused on rebuilding a healthy environment for our native species. Their sustainable practice is helping rebuild years of damage caused by logging, fires, pests and human intervention through protecting, monitoring, stabilising and recovering areas for native flora and fauna species.
In perspective, it takes up to 500 eucalyptus trees to create a thriving sanctuary for a group of koalas, which is often ravaged by human intervention. This reminder that our fauna heavily relies on their habitat to live, allows us to strive to make a difference by donating to plant a tree. Through this ethical initiative, we can help rebuild tropical rainforests and the Australian bush that has been sadly impacted by furniture industries.
Sustainable interior design
As business owners in today’s time, Designbx acknowledges the ethical and environmental issues that are created by the furniture industry, and we strive to be a sustainable interior design business by:
- Recycling
- Conserving energy
- Using environmentally-friendly technologies
- Sourcing suppliers that produce sustainable products
- Promoting sale of quality, long-lasting products
As part of our Pledge 1% commitment, we are supporting environmental programmes. Designbx will be planting a tree via Plant a Tree for Me! for every room package we sell.
We would like each and every timber furniture item to be cherished and re-used for as long as possible. Even when sourced by sustainable suppliers, by reducing the demand and turnover for timber products will heavily benefit the conservation of our forests. Small steps like these will help create a healthier future for our beloved native species and allow future generations to enjoy this earth as we have.
Buy an interior design package and we’ll plant a tree!
Originally published on Designbx’s website.
Designbx is revolutionising the furniture and homewares industry, by making interior design truly accessible, intuitive and affordable to every Australian. The co-founders share a passion to improve the home and work environments of 1 million Australians by 2023 and this extends beyond our business practice into the community. As our contemporary world grows, communities and families face new challenges which require a great deal of help to tackle. As we virtually step into people’s homes to help them create a better personal environment, our commitment to take on a proactive role as a business will positively influence lives, communities and natural environments.
We are now participants of the Pledge 1% movement, which is an early-stage corporate philanthropy initiative, leveraging a portion of future success to support non-profit organisations in the community.
What is Pledge 1% ?
“Pledging a small portion of future success can have a huge impact on tomorrow.” – Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% is a movement founded by Atlassian, Rally, Salesforce and Tides which encapsulates their vision of integrating philanthropy in businesses large and small around the world. Pledge 1% encourages and challenges companies to donate 1% of their equity, product or employee time to communities and initiatives in need. Encouraging businesses to step up as agents of change, we are able to select social and environmental initiatives that stick true to our brand ethos in order to make a change for generations to come. Designbx has been inspired by Pledge 1% to continue to create a change in the industry, providing an ethical and sustainable practice to undo issues faced by communities and ecosystems.
We’re here to help
In line with our key value, integrity, we believe our ethical commitment to reduce the negative effects of the industry on the environment must be backed by proactive measures. We are passionate about environmental sustainability and conserving our ecosystems, and seeing how the industry harms forests and native species fuels our desire to change this.
Designbx will be actively engaging in the Pledge 1% programme and is working on an exciting collaboration with the Atlassian Foundation, on a social good initiative that we a truly passionate about. Finding out how our contribution has changed lives since we launched Designbx has inspired our team to create many more opportunities during 2018. We don’t participate in community and environmental initiatives for kudos, but we’re very interested seeing the tangible results of our involvement. Some past social good initiatives from 2017 include:
Love for Lachie
http://loveforlachie.com.au/
Designbx sponsored the Love For Lachie annual charity event with silent auction prizes and 200 product donations in goodie bags. They made a record $220K on the day which can now pay for two new researchers and possibly the first clinical trial for a child cancer patient
KidsXpress
Designbx supports KidsXpress, which offers a child with special needs, trauma or homelessness support through expressive therapy over a 10-week program. Designbx provided KidsXpress with interior design expertise to assist with an office and therapy centre relocation, as well as donating items for the Charity Challenge Golf Ball on November 19 at the Four Seasons. The ball funds several charities including KidsXpress.