By Joel Markoff, General Manager, Nexus Notes

Founded in 2011 in Adelaide Australia, Nexus Notes is a peer to peer marketplace that allows high performing university and professional students to monetise their course summary notes by selling them to students across the globe. Buyers get the benefit of seeing how the top students prepare for exams, and sellers make a passive income from selling their notes and helping other students learn.

We started Nexus Notes because when we were at university – we found it much easier to learn from other students, as opposed to university lecturers and tutors. We believed (and still do) that students are often the best teachers, yet there was no collaborative platform that enabled students to learn from each other.

And so from humble beginnings the company grew and yet in early 2014, we recognised that a lot of our high performing students were less interested in monetising their services and more interested in helping other students learn. We went back to our founding vision and looked to determine the best way to help our top students to give back to the student community through our platform.

After many late nights brainstorming how we could give back to the student community, we decided to partner with a charity organisation and allow students to donate their sales commissions directly to that organisation. After doing significant due diligence we eventually settled on partnering with AIME, Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience. AIME is a not-for-profit with a simple mission: to get Indigenous students finishing high school and going on to university, further study or employment at the same rate as all Australians. Like Nexus Notes, AIME puts facilitates anyone to learn from top performing students and mentors.

Since introducing the option to donate commissions to AIME, 11% of our note sellers have opted to donate part or all of their commission to ch. Our generous sellers have been amongst our top performing students, resulting in a massive 16% of total commissions occurring through our site being donated to AIME.

The model of donating commissions in a marketplace is something rarely seen across the world and we are proud of have come up with such an innovative way to give back to the student community.

By Doug Cronin, Pledge 1% Member and Director of Change and Upstander, Our Race

Recently someone asked me why are you a Pledge 1% member, you are already giving back so much more than that.

My response was that for any significant change to happen, a movement if you will, it takes many voices standing together, not competing of who is doing more but what as a collective are we doing.

Later, I reflected on this answer and looked at what is it that my organisation can do in supporting a social impact movement like Pledge 1%. As a start-up and an organisation which aims to create more inclusive and welcoming workplaces and communities by connecting people through storytelling, mentoring and leadership, I realised we could definitely play a role with organisations who stand up against racism and see multiculturalism as one of our greatest strengths.

You may ask what are the similarities between these two movements?

This, for me is where it gets very interesting as both have an authentic purpose but also a positive impact on profitability and attracting and retaining talent.

We have all read the Benefits of Pledging on the Pledge 1% website and will look at how a few of these are related to Leading for Change: A Blueprint on Cultural Diversity and Inclusive Leadership. To do this I will refer to research conducted by the Leadership Council on Cultural Diversity, chaired by Dr. Tim Soutphommasane, the Race Discrimination Commissioner of The Australian Human Rights Commission.

Attracting customers and increasing productivity

“87% of consumers believe corporations should place equal weight on business and supporting communities”, yet do we need the data to prove this point or can we look around at our own spending habits and that of our friends and family?

At the same time, we often buy products and/or services that are aligned to our values, whether that be environmental, social or cultural. From there consumers ask the question does the company know how to provide goods and services to my preferences.

As a result, businesses find that having greater diversity they are able to reach a broader audience.

We all know there is a push for gender diversity and that this makes good business sense. A study of 366 companies from the United Kingdom, Canada, Latin America and the United States, found that companies in the top quartile of gender diversity were 15% more likely to have financial returns above the median, while companies with in the top quartile of cultural diversity were 35% more likely to have financial returns above the national industry median.

So just from a profitability perspective a culturally diverse leadership group just makes basic business sense. And with Australia increasingly becoming more culturally diverse (half the population were either born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas) working towards culturally diverse and inclusive leadership is a no-brainer.

Attracting and retaining top talent

“60%+ of Millennials state that a “sense of purpose” is a key reason why they work for their current employers, while companies with giving programs have 2.3 times the employee retention rate.”

The idea of a sense of purpose goes hand in hand with a sense of belonging because if there is no sense of belonging, how can one of a sense of purpose?

Businesses which have culturally diverse leadership, employees from diverse backgrounds feel a greater sense of belonging where their uniqueness and input is also valued. This then benefits both the business and employees.

As Ajay Banga, the CEO of MasterCard says ‘If you don’t have a diverse company, if you don’t have people around you who don’t think like you, don’t walk like you, don’t talk like you, didn’t have the same experiences as you, how will you ever make sure that you are not blinded to the same mistakes that you can otherwise make because you can only see things through one prism.’

Everyone can make a difference. Be part of something bigger than yourself

Finally, if we were only pledging 1% to increase profitability and attract more customers then what is the purpose?

And is an organisation employing one or two people from a different background just a tokenistic gesture?

After attending a breakfast with Atlassian founder Scott Farquhar, I could see the passion and the leadership he is showing in this movement. It is obvious that he is taking action on this but is also agitating the market to help grow the size of the movement, and therefore impact.

This same type of leadership from him is also being shown by many members of this group, which ultimately will lead to greater change.

A movement is also occurring in the area of culturally diverse and inclusive leadership starting with members of the Leadership Council on Cultural Diversity. As a result of this and other forward-thinking leaders, we are seeing organisations agitating in this space. This has been through their recruitment strategies, policies and training, but most importantly by starting the conversation and committing to the movement.

Both of these movements are very much in their infancy but some progress is being made. It now takes the agitators and leaders to show this staunch commitment.

Are you going to be a leader of this movement also?

If you are leader in this space and want to start the conversation, we would like to invite you to the launch of Our Race in Sydney on Thursday 4^th December or organise another time to be part of this movement.

Xpand IT announces that it’s joining to the global social movement, Pledge 1%. The company intends to integrate corporate philanthropy into its business model officially and will donate 1% of its product and profit to non-profit organisations every year.

Lisbon, 10 November 2017 – Xpand IT has the privilege to announce their joining of the international corporate philanthropic movement, Pledge 1%. The company has committed to donating 1% of product and 1% of profit annually, giving to charitable organisations a part of what has been the business’s success throughout the years. Taking this pledge is a small commitment, adopted by more than 2750 companies around the world, in nearly 60 countries, and it can have a significant impact on the future.

Pledge 1% was founded in 2014 by some of the world’s largest technology companies, such as Atlassian and Salesforce, and by a non-profit organisation, Tides. Their goal was to spread a philanthropic vision around the globe and to encourage other companies to share 1% of their product, 1% of employee time, 1% of profit or 1% of equity.

According to Amy Lesnick, Executive Director of Pledge 1%: “We are incredibly excited that Xpand IT has taken the pledge. We believe the company 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.”

To Paulo Lopes, CEO of Xpand IT, “The Pledge’s essence is, precisely, the evangelisation of the movement. It may seem a little, but if we all take the pledge and contribute 1% of what we generate, in the end, it will be a lot and will bring value to the entire ecosystem.”

For Pedro Gonçalves, CTO of Xpand IT, joining this movement was also a natural step for the company and a formalisation of what Xpand IT already does concerning social responsibility.  “This membership allows us to create a much more structured approach to social responsibility, and, in addition to our role in giving back to the community, we will use our stature to entice other companies to follow our steps and join Pledge 1%.”

For further information about this movement, please go to https://www.xpand-it.com/pledge- 1/.

Pledge 1% is proud to have partnered with India Dreamin this past September to inspire greater giving and philanthropy across the India Dreaming community.  As part of the event, Pledge 1% was featured as the nonprofit partner for India Dreamin and all attendees were invited to take the pledge as part of this registration process.  Through this integration, nearly a dozen startups joined the movement and shared their intent to give back through their business.

This exciting partnership is providing a new pathway for startups and companies around India to get involved in Pledge 1%, and give either 1% of their staff time, product, profit, or equity to charity.  We are honored to have been featured as the nonprofit partner and we look forward to welcoming more of the India Dreamin community to Pledge 1%!

If you are interested in learning more about India Dreamin visit here or Pledge 1% for your company at p1.today.

Originally published on PR Newswire.

Each year, the Women Tech Council recognizes Utah’s finest women who are driving innovation, impacting companies, creating new technologies and inspiring the technology community. During the 10th annual Women in Tech Awards, seven women were recognized for forging new paths in technology.

“We are proud to have two of our deserving leaders earn this recognition,” said Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and CEO of Pluralsight. “Mariah and Lindsey have cemented their careers in improving the lives of others. Their professional and personal contributions are invaluable to both the success of our company and our community.”

As VP of product, Hay leads six co-located product teams and challenges and inspires each one to understand the daily life of Pluralsight customers, guiding the design of a human-centered product from the ground up. Under her leadership, Pluralsight successfully launched its technology learning platform, which now serves 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies. Hay founded and co-organizes Ladies that UX Salt Lake City, a collaborative community of women that pushes boundaries, promotes women and discusses UX. She also spends her time as a co-organizer for Product Hive, a community of product managers, strategists and designers who learn, contribute and connect through volunteer-led opportunities.

In her position as head of social impact, Kneuven plays a vital role in creating and implementing strategies that align Pluralsight’s product, culture, community, people and brand to make a meaningful impact on the way the world learns. Less than six months after joining Pluralsight, Lindsey oversaw the creation of Pluralsight One: a social initiative that supports nonprofit organizations around the world. Under this initiative, Pluralsight joined the Pledge 1% integrated philanthropy movement and has committed one percent of its product, time, equity and profits to uplift communities in need. Kneuven has been recognized by Utah Business as one of 30 Women to Watch and listed by the Community Foundation of Utah as an Enlightened 50.

Originally published by Samanage.

Samanage, a Service Success Company, today announced that they will partner with Make-A-Wish, a Samanage customer, at Dreamforce 2017.

Samanage will donate $10,000 to Make-A-Wish Eastern North Carolina, which is local to their Cary, North Carolina headquarters, with $1 donated for each attendee that is scanned at one of the Samanage booths and $5 donated for every on-site survey that is completed during the event.

Samanage made a Pledge 1% commitment earlier this year, joining hundreds of other organizations in the corporate philanthropy movement that’s dedicated to making the community a stakeholder in every business. Social responsibility has always been a key part of Samanage’s culture, and through Pledge 1%, Samanage promised to dedicate at least 12 volunteer hours per employee annually to causes that make a measurable difference in children’s causes.

Following Dreamforce, Samanage’s donation to Make-A-Wish will fund the wish of a local child with a life-threatening medical condition. Make-A-Wish of Eastern North Carolina covers 49 counties and grants wishes to children between the ages of 2.5 to 18. Since its founding in 1986, the chapter has granted wishes to more than 3,400 kids.

Comments on the News

“At Samanage we are deeply committed to giving back to the communities we operate in. By sponsoring Make-A-Wish, Samanage is strengthening its commitment to improve the lives of children in our community,” said Doron Gordon, founder and CEO, Samanage. “As a long-time Samanage customer, Make-A-Wish and it’s efforts hold a special place in our hearts. As we donate a dollar to Make-A-Wish for every scan at our booth, we are excited to give attendees of Dreamforce the opportunity to be a part of changing a child’s life for the better.”

“We’re thrilled to be involved with this campaign which will create much-needed awareness for our chapter’s mission,” said Jerry Peters, Vice President of Brand Advancement for Make-A-Eastern North Carolina. “As both a customer and partner, our chapter is fortunate to have the dedicated support from Samanage and their employees.”

Salesforce, Dreamforce and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.

Originally posted on the Our Big Kitchen blog by Jeff Newton.