This story was submitted by Addteq.

In the spirit of giving, Addteq is proud to announce its commitment to donate $5000 to Pledge 1% this Giving Tuesday. But this act of generosity is not just a corporate gesture; it is deeply rooted in the personal journey of Addteq’s CEO, Sukhbir Dhillon.

CEO Sukhbir’s Inspiring Journey
Sukhbir’s story begins in Sion Koliwada which is near Dharavi, Mumbai, where he faced challenging conditions growing up in pre-librealised India. As the first engineer in his household, Sukhbir recognized the transformative power of education in his own life, and of the people around him. This realization fueled his determination to make education accessible to those who needed it most.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
~Nelson Mandela

The Birth of Iris Foundation
Sukhbir’s commitment to education took a more personal turn when he founded the Iris Foundation. Named after his daughter, Iris, this initiative was launched when Iris was just one year old. Now, as Iris approaches her tenth birthday, and Addteq refocuses itself on its software tools to increase collaboration and accessibility in the workplace, Iris Foundation also refocuses itself, driven by the belief that education can be a powerful catalyst for change.

Iris: The Young Philanthropist
Iris, following in her father’s footsteps, has taken up the cause of philanthropy in her own unique way. Earning money through chores, Iris has pledged to donate 1% of her income to support the education of children in developing countries. Her commitment reflects the values instilled in her by Sukhbir and the Iris Foundation.

Addteq’s Support for Iris’s Cause
In a demonstration of solidarity with Iris’s initiative, Addteq is contributing an additional $5000 to Pledge 1% on Christmas. Furthermore, Addteq is launching a GoFundMe page, inviting everyone to participate in the collective effort to empower education. This initiative goes beyond a mere corporate donation; it’s a commitment to fostering a culture of giving within the Addteq community.

Conclusion
The power of education lies not only in its ability to transform individual lives but in its potential to create a ripple effect of positive change in communities around the world. Addteq, Sukhbir, and Iris stand united in their dedication to this cause, inviting others to join them in the collective effort to make education accessible to all.

As we approach the season of giving, let us remember that every contribution, no matter how small, has the potential to make a significant impact. Together, we can create a world where education is a universal right, empowering individuals and communities to build a brighter future.

Contribute to Go Fund me here: https://gofund.me/d96ff848

This story was submitted by Yelp

Beyond the usual philanthropic playbook, the Yelp Foundation pushes the boundaries of grant-making, focused on a trust-based approach and three guiding principles. These principles allowed us a more dynamic and collaborative strategy that created greater impact this year. These guiding principles include: first, it’s our job to find, research, and evaluate a nonprofit organization before we ask anything of them. Second, we trust the nonprofit to know much more about how funds should be spent than we do. As a result, we always give unrestricted funding. We want our nonprofit partners to keep their lights on, pay their employees fairly, and keep the organization’s wheels turning so they ultimately keep doing the work we want to support. Lastly, the Yelp Foundation has resources and expertise outside its grant funding that could help our nonprofit partners raise money, tell their story, and expand the reach of their efforts.

With our established principles in mind, we adopted a more dynamic and collaborative strategy which led to greater impact this year.

ONE: This year, we sought to deepen our relationships with our grantee partners. We wanted to do more than just write a check by using our resources to help them tell their stories. In partnership with Yelp’s Studios team, we spent a few months traveling to our grantees’ sites filming and interviewing nonprofit employees and their beneficiaries. We wove that footage into a short-form video for each of the Yelp Foundation’s strategic partners. These brief, punchy films tell the story of the organization through the eyes of a funder who believes in their mission and proudly promotes their efforts. Our aim was to help each organization raise money from other prospective donors by pointing to each respective video that ends with a statement of clear support by Yelp Foundation.

TWO: In partnership with two grantee partners, Yelp Foundation used its brand and voice to advocate for causes we mutually care about by co-authoring joint op-eds. In July, we co-wrote a two-part series in Triple Pundit in partnership with Hot Bread Kitchen entitled “How Supporting Gender Equality in the Workplace Supports Us All.” The second piece in the series was “Agency Begets Equity: A Holistic Approach to Help All Workers Succeed.” In partnership with i.c.stars, we published “Honoring Authenticity: The Key to a Thriving Workforce.” These articles not only serve as a touchpoint for meaningful partnerships we already have with these organizations, they also speak to our shared values. Yelp Foundation has and will continue to use our voice to advocate for causes that matter to us and our partners.

THREE: At the end of this year, we’ll celebrate the completion of our first-ever multi-year grant cycle. Each of our partners received $50,000 annually for three consecutive years. This time together enabled us to establish mutual trust. We received regular updates from our partners, keeping us informed of their programmatic wins and organizational changes. While obtaining the necessary information from them, we demonstrated clearly that we are committed for the long haul. In Yelp Foundation’s opinion, multi-year funding is not only generous, reasonable, and logical, but also the most effective way to showcase commitment to nonprofit partners, supporting and believing in both their operational effectiveness and their mission.

We firmly believe that as our program evolves, grows, and expands its reach, that we can be better partners, better supporters, and better advocates by leveraging creativity and building a foundation of trust.

This story was submitted by Pacific Point

Pacific Point, a Salesforce consulting partner headquartered in Hawaii, has had a long history of having a positive social impact to the community from youth mentorship to beach clean-ups. In 2020 Pacific Point made their commitment official by joining the Pledge 1% movement with a focus on inspiring youth to pursue careers in technology. Deena Tearney, CEO of Pacific Point is personally invested in supporting youth programs focused on women in business and technology enablement. She shares, “What I have found through my time speaking to and mentoring youth is that this next generation is truly empowered professionally and will fearlessly try new things. I’d like to help inspire young people to follow their career dreams and develop their global consciousness.”

Since 2020, Pacific Point’s Pledge 1% commitment has grown beyond Hawaii into other states and globally! Their team of consultants volunteers at the Hawaii STEM Conference annually and finds themselves inspired by the energy and enthusiasm (and smarts!) of the junior high students. Pacific Point’s team additionally supports university level student mentorship at the University of Hawaii and the University of Colorado in a variety of ways from mentoring, mock interviews, networking, and Salesforce student group workshops. Pacific Point has been 3-year sponsor for the University of Colorado Low-Code Hackathon and the team jumped in with their time too supporting the teams with their apps and pitches.

Pacific Point, in partnership with Mile High United Way, has an annual tradition of ending the year with holiday cheer by hosting a toy drive in Denver to help families in need each holiday season. Mile High United Way makes it easy for Pacific Point’s global team to show support through online donations or Amazon Wish List. This December marks the 3rd Annual Pacific Point x Mile High United Way Toy Drive.

This theme of giving has now gone global as the Pacific Point Singapore team volunteered at the United Women Singapore STEM Fest focused on empowering young women to enter explore and enter technology fields.

Investing in future technology and business leaders is something Pacific Point continues to prioritize for its Pledge 1% commitment.

This story was submitted by Appfire

By Fabian Lopez, Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Appfire

At Appfire, we believe in the power of doing good. We’re committed to giving back and we do so in a variety of meaningful and tangible ways to support initiatives and philanthropic organizations both big and small. It’s why we were drawn to the Pledge 1% community and why we established our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, Appfire Town.

Now in its second year, Appfire Town continues to deliver on what it originally set out to do — to ignite a social impact movement. We do this by supporting any individual who wants to propose an idea and see it through. We like to say, “If it’s big in your heart, it’s big to us.”

Since launching Appfire Town, we have seen our own team members fully embrace the concept and rally around one another to support causes important to each other. Over the past year, this has led to a 77% engagement rate by Appfire team members, and we are very proud of that.

But engagement with Appfire Town doesn’t stop with our own team. The program also invites our partners, customers, community members, family, and friends — a group we call “our neighbors” — to let us know what’s important to them. We look for ways to support them in giving back, and provide access to resources and encouragement from Appfire Town.

In fact, Appfire Town impacted over 940 organizations, volunteered 4,369 hours, and donated $450,000 to support a vast range of causes worldwide in the last year.

Here are just some of the important initiatives we supported in 2023 thanks to our team members and neighbors who came forward to highlight the causes that are important to them:

• Hosting the second “Resilience and Empathy” music festival in Argentina to support International Day of Persons with Disabilities.


• Participating in Adrenaline Therapy Sessions with California-based Warfighter Made, a program that supports veterans and their families.


• Packing “welcome home” kits for Transition House clients impacted by domestic violence in Cambridge, MA.


• Planting trees and building amenities in Ecuador with CHOICE Humanitarian.


• Teaming up with Ocean Rescue Alliance International to protect marine life by working on an artificial reef in South Florida.


• Partnering with ENGin, a nonprofit organization that pairs youth and young adult Ukrainians affected by the war with English speakers for free online conversation practice and cross-cultural connection so they can practice English and prepare for future global work opportunities.


• Refurbishing a school and a home for the elderly in Hyderabad, India.


• Conducting a kayak excursion to clean up Dushantsi Lake in Bulgaria.


• Providing assistance following natural disasters by purchasing and organizing emergency kit supplies through Global Empowerment Mission, collecting monetary donations for relief funds, and assisting local families with housing.


• Mentoring high school students in Boston, Palm Beach, and New York City during a business competition designed to help nurture their interests and goals, in partnership with SuitUp.


• Supporting the Jean Maggi Foundation through adapted bike-building events globally.


• Making stuffed animals with patients at children’s hospitals throughout the US.


• Continuing ongoing efforts in Moshi, Tanzania, by purchasing land, building a daycare, and providing other community support.


• Purchasing necessities for The Women’s Rights Center and Shelters for the Homeless in Warsaw, Poland.

None of this would be possible if it weren’t for the individuals who raised their hand and shared their ideas, their interests, and their willingness to give their time for these causes.

We refer to Appfire Town as “The Global Town with Heart and Soul,” since it encourages everyone to come together to generate a strong social impact in our local and global communities, and we’re always looking for ways to expand our reach in doing good. With a strong engagement rate from Appfire and such thoughtful ideas and actions from our neighbors and broader community, we’re excited to see where Appfire Town will help next.

Learn more about Appfire Town.

Story submitted by Chime Financial.

Chime Financial has pledged 1% of its equity to fund the Chime Scholars Foundation (CSF). CSF has operated as a pilot program for one school year, and has already awarded more than 350 scholarships. Going into 2024, CSF plans on expanding the program by welcoming over 100 new scholars.

CSF awards annual renewable scholarships of up to $5,000 to kids pursuing education after high school, and is built to fund college and other post-secondary programs for those with a passion to pursue a brighter future through higher education. CSF scholarships are designed to lend a hand to ambitious, everyday people so they can pursue careers without the heavy debt burden facing so many graduates.

Learn more: https://www.chime.com/blog/scholarship-spotlight-chime-scholars-foundation/

This story was submitted by DocuSign

Our goal is to make a difference in the global communities where our employees and customers live and work.

At DocuSign, we believe in the power of giving back. Our commitment to positively impacting communities is not just a corporate goal; it’s a core part of our culture. We embody this commitment through our employee volunteer and corporate matching programs. This initiative is more than a corporate responsibility program; it’s a journey that empowers our employees, strengthens team connection, and makes a tangible difference in people’s lives.

The Heart of Our Program: Empowering Employees

A key focus of the DocuSign IMPACT programs is employee empowerment. We encourage volunteering by providing 24 hours of paid time off each year for employees to work alongside their favorite organizations. In addition, the DocuSign IMPACT Foundation offers a 100% match for employee donations to eligible nonprofit organizations. We recognize that our employees have diverse interests and causes they care deeply about; this approach allows DocuSign employees the freedom to support the areas and organizations they are most passionate about.

Global Impact Moments

Our commitment to impact extends throughout the entire year. In addition to the many events and opportunities that our IMPACT Team organizes, we see hundreds of volunteer events and giving opportunities organized by employees each year. In 2023 alone, DocuSign employees have collectively contributed more than 12,000 volunteer hours! Twice per year, DocuSign supercharges our IMPACT programs by organizing dedicated global initiatives such as Earth Month and Global IMPACT Week. During these global impact moments, thousands of employees come together, in-person and virtually, to drive positive impact and learn from each other and from our nonprofit partners.

Building a Community within Our Company

Volunteering together with our community partners has helped build a stronger, more connected DocuSign culture. Team volunteer days are not only a way to give back, but also an opportunity for team building. Employees often share that volunteering alongside their colleagues brings a sense of connection and deepens relationships within teams, offices, regions and ERGs (Employee Resource Group). DocuSign employees often share the immense pride they feel in working for a company that encourages and curates opportunities for them to contribute to, and connect with, their community.

Looking Ahead
At DocuSign, giving back is an integral part of who we are. By empowering our employees to give back in meaningful ways, we are not just contributing to the communities we serve but also fostering a culture of compassion and responsibility within our organization.

This story was submitted by SANS MATIN. 

At SANS MATIN we feel it is important to give back. That is why we donate 2% of all sales to charity. We partner with charities we feel resonate with us and align with our key values and brand ethos. Children Change Colombia (CCC). 

CCC is the largest UK charity working exclusively in Colombia, working with children and their families to challenge poverty, inequality, discrimination, and violence. We chose CCC after having spoken to many of our shoemakers in Medellin about the issues facing Colombia, particularly relating to the young population. Being a family business, this particularly resonated with us and our key values. The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT): Hand-in-hand with indigenous and other local people, ACT applies the power of innovation and time-tested traditional practices to protect the forests and watersheds of South America.

Over the last 25 years, ACT has expanded and created over 1.9 million acres of indigenous reserves. In that same time they have partnered with 78 local communities to work together to preserve and replant the Amazon Rainforest. An incredible charity that is doing so much to protect our natural world. The PolG Foundation: As a recently founded non-profit, The POLG Foundation’s mission is to support & accelerate research to find effective treatments & a cure for POLG-related mitochondrial disorders. This non-profit organisation is close to our hearts at SANS MATIN. The foundation was started after a family member of one of our Co-Founders was diagnosed with Mitochondrial disease in 2016.

We are delighted to support our three fantastic charitable partners and look forward to our continued work together!

This story was submitted by Solution Junkies

When Solution Junkies was founded 4 years ago, they knew they wanted to do business in a different way- by weaving giving back into the fabric of the company.

Solution Junkies is a Salesforce consultancy, focused on transforming businesses using the power of the Salesforce platform. The company slogan is ‘Projects for Purpose’, which represents a number of things about the way in which they operate.

Focusing consulting projects on business impact, delivering real transformational change for customers.
The ENABLE methodology- teaching customers to become Salesforce experts, empowering them instead of tying them in to long term development costs. Volunteering and giving back, including profit, employee time and supporting client’s causes as well as their own.

Part of the Projects for Purpose methodology, as well as their own volunteering efforts, includes co-volunteering with clients at the end of every implementation phase. Over the past year the team have got involved with a variety of activities including:

• A Night Walk for client Maggie’s Cancer Centres, walking 18km through London at night.


• 100 Miles for client RSPCA, with internal mile logging competitions.


• Volunteering providing support for the homeless at Ace of Clubs with client Zoopla.


• A team day restoring biodiversity at Nottingham Nature Reserve.


• Building new shelving as a team at Stepney City Farm.

In total, across 33 employees the team racked up an impressive 1200 volunteer hours in 12 short months. Here are their tips on how to achieve something similar:

• Build giving back into your company mission and vision.


• Share your ethos with your clients and donate hours to do something worthwhile with them, it’s a great relationship building activity and a chance to work on something you both value.


• Set targets for volunteering hours, monetary donations and suggestion sharing.


• Include volunteering objectives in annual reviews.


• Have fun, celebrate success and share pictures with each other.

Solution Junkies is proud to pledge their time and profit to supporting the communities around them, and will continue to grow their impact as the business grows over the coming year.

This story was submitted by Canva

Since the very beginning of Canva, we’ve been driven by the belief that it’s possible to build a valuable product while also having a lasting positive impact on the world. While plenty has happened over the last decade, our aspiration to do the most good we can remains unchanged. Everything we do contributes to our Two-Step Plan as a company: Step One – to become one of the world’s most valuable companies; and Step Two – to do the most good we can.

An important way we’re moving Step Two forward is by empowering nonprofits with access to our premium visual communication tools for free to amplify their impact and achieve their goals. We’re proud to share that our nonprofit community recently reached a very special milestone: 500,000 incredible organizations designing with Canva for Nonprofits.

Being a force for good
In 2019 we embodied our value ‘be a force for good’ and joined Pledge 1%, committing 1% of our time, profit, product, and equity to have a positive impact. As well as supporting nonprofits with our product, we do this day-to-day by donating our time through volunteering, donating funds through partnerships with organizations such as GiveDirectly, and empowering over 50 million teachers and students with free access to Canva.

Since launching Canva for Nonprofits, we’ve been constantly inspired by the positive impact our community has in every corner of the globe. Every day, we see changemakers, advocates, and leaders use Canva to create real change – and together, these nonprofit teams have created over 150 million designs!

Designs that make a difference
From workshops and design training sessions to social media webinars and resources such as marketing, sustainable development goals, or crisis toolkits, we’re proud to play a small role in the tremendous difference these organizations make.
For Andrea Lytle Peet, life was turned upside down following an ALS diagnosis – but she’s made it her mission to encourage others to appreciate the gift of life and help others facing ALS through the Team Drea Foundation.

Establishing the Foundation from scratch, and with 10 volunteers as staff, Canva has been an essential visual communication tool for Andrea and her team to grow awareness, spread their mission, and drive fundraising efforts. They’ve utilized Canva for Nonprofits to create social media posts that have driven record fundraising results, and have easily developed videos in Canva’s video editor without needing specialized capabilities. To date, Andrea and her team have raised more than $750,000 USD for ALS research.

Forever Projects is on a mission to help women in Tanzania break the cycle of poverty and create a self-sustaining future. It does this through locally-led change: by partnering with local teams on the ground in Tanzania to empower women to build strong, connected families and live with dignity and hope. Like most nonprofits, Forever Projects relies on the generosity of donors to continue operating.

Visual communication is helping Forever Projects build awareness and connect with more donors than ever before. Founder Mark Dombkins and his team are creating visually engaging content to scale their mission, secure critical funding, and keep fundraising partners and donors informed about the impact they’re having – think presentations, videos, funding proposals, and thank-you cards.

Designing a better world, together
We’re humbled and inspired by the profound impact the 500,000 nonprofits in the Canva community are having.

We truly believe communication and design are critical when taking action on solving the most pressing issues of our time, so we’re proud to host hundreds of resources and templates for nonprofits in our content library to help design real change. As we celebrate this milestone with our nonprofit community, we’re excited about the next 500,000 and many more to come.

Find out more about Canva for Nonprofits today.