This year’s Sandra Schmirler Foundation Annual Telethon, serviced by net2phone Canada, was held completely virtually, across Canada. Volunteers and supporters came together to make 2021 another record year! The Sandra Schmirler Foundation, named after curling champion and Olympic gold medallist Sandra Schmirler, contributes to Canadian hospitals by donating life-saving NICU equipment to care for critically ill newborns. On February 21st, 2021, the telethon hit a major milestone, raising over $700,000.
As the phone service provider chosen to power the telethon for the eighth consecutive year; where the event was normally held each year in a different Canadian city, this past year’s remote-based telethon meant we had to think differently to support this wonderful cause. net2phone Canada team was proud to send out our VoIP phones to volunteers in locations across the country. Along with equipment donated, net2phone Canada staff worked with the foundation and volunteers to ensure the phones kept ringing and could take donations for this excellent cause from 9:00 am to midnight. This was accomplished with 80 volunteers across various provinces.
Watch an interview with net2phone Canada’s President and COO, Jonathan Moody, as he discusses the telethon and upholding #Pledge1% values. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVQy7IvxI-g)
The Sandra Schmirler Foundation Telethon volunteers were flooded with a whopping 3,600 calls, which bested last year’s total by over 400 donor calls. We set up insight dashboards, which allowed us to visualize important metrics and call data in real time, such as number of calls handled, average talk time, call volume, and wait times. These statistics enable the Foundation to track caller’s behaviours in reference to the TSN coverage and prepare the appropriate resources for the following years’ telethons.
“Telethon day is always stressful for all of us at the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. It is our biggest fundraiser of the year. In past years, our phone system was a massive challenge. Since we partnered with net2Phone Canada all those challenges have disappeared! They deal with any issue that arises, so quickly and professionally. We are so grateful for their support over the last 8 years.”
– Brenda Gallagher, Director of Operations, Sandra Schmirler Foundation.
2020 was a hard year for most because of the COVID pandemic. But for Rosalee (not her real name), it became a prison where she was trapped with her abuser, unable to escape or call for help. The courts were closed. Shelters were closed. Life felt closed. The only light was social media groups where she could escape for a moment and connect with others like her.
As the pandemic shut life down, VictimsVoice realized what this meant for victims of domestic violence like Rosalee. We had people using our documentation tool across the US and watched usage rates spike in each state as it issued stay-at-home orders. We also knew that others who would need the VictimsVoice application would not be able to get to one of our partners to get a free license.
Being a new startup, we’ve pledged 1% of our product to all of our Partner Members, victim and survivor-serving organizations and agencies who pre-pay for our licenses to give to those who cannot afford the annual fee. We also pledge 25% of donation purchases from private individuals, turning that into interest-free loans for those who need to get out and feel safe through our VictimsVoice Halo Fund.
Already a member of over 50 victim and survivor groups on social media, we made the decision to put revenue aside and, during the entire month of May, offered free licenses to anyone in the US who was trapped with their abuser and needed the legal documentation to get a protective order or seek legal justice. No questions asked – we provided activation codes and onboarding instructions for anyone who said they needed it.
With government funding stripped bare for 501c3’s, we saw a new need in 2021. Nonprofits were struggling to meet the overwhelming needs of those survivors who were finally able to get out and seek help. We partnered with DomesticShelters.org and their Purple Ribbon Awards to ensure the US-based, grassroots nonprofit shelters who were doing the hard work to help those like Rosalee had access to provide our tool to those in their community and onboarded 69 new Partner Members at no cost. This was much more than 1%, but the need was so great that we had to step up.
Today is Giving Tuesday, November 30th, and it’s my birthday. What better gift could anyone ask for than to have people all over the world dedicating donations of time, money, and products to so many amazing nonprofits.
My company may not be in a position to donate equity (yet), but I am proud to be able to donate an important product to so many nonprofits across the US that are saving lives and those of their children. You can learn more about the VictimsVoice Partner Members on our website here.
Sheri Kurdakul, CEO, VictimsVoice
Victims by Force. Survivor by Choice. Activist by Design.
PhoenixDX met Zer0hunger during a global OutSystems Hackathon in February 2021. As part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, they dedicate a percentage of time, human potential and profits to causes that they believe will make a difference to local and global communities.
PhoenixDX believed in the Zer0hunger project and knew their team could help them. They built a groundbreaking custom build application that can eradicate hunger in Malaysia and hopefully further afield.
Zer0hunger is a non-profit organisation founded in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the pandemic started and Malaysia had their first lockdown, two of Zer0hunger’s founders decided to send meals to 3000 students who were stranded. They mobilised at one university and were amazed by how difficult it was to help these students. People were screaming that we needed a system to streamline the process, and they thought that all of the NGOs could benefit from a platform.
Zer0hunger was created to systematically address hunger in Malaysia through a platform that could connect people in need with donors and NGOs.
“We could see that NGOs were working off Google Sheets and Google Forms which meant that many people were touching fields, data and databases. Sometimes 20 or more people. This increased human error and made it difficult to verify information.
We tried to build our own solution using a few freemium platforms, but it wasn’t sophisticated or nimble enough. We realised that we had to build a customised application, but we didn’t have the resources. We reached out to our local developer companies, but they did not share our passion.
While we were going through this process, we came across OutSystems. They got in touch to ask if we would like to be considered for a hackathon. I was like, yes, let’s do it.” – Sharizal Shaarani, Director and Co-Founder of Zer0hunger.
The hackathon connected Zerohunger with OutSystems partners from around the world, and PhoenixDX created the best prototype out of all of the competitors… and won the hackathon. After the hackathon was over, Pedro Carrilho, PhoenixDX managing director, reached out to Sharizal and offered to keep working on the prototype.
On Malaysia Day 2021, 16th September, Zer0hunger launched its mobile app. We continue to work with Zer0hunger to develop the platform and their application further to fulfil their dream of ending hunger in Malaysia.
To find out more about the PhoenixDX project, watch this video:
Already since our foundation in 2017, we are a proud Pledge 1% member to support non-profit organizations and other charitable causes with our social commitment and entrepreneurial success. Taking responsibility and showing social commitment is very important to us as a company and we stand up for our values. Pledge 1% as a global movement, drives the shared vision that every company gives back a part – 1% – e.g. of its time, product, service or profit to society. We have decided to take our time to do good and make a difference.
Each year, our colleagues from Eigenherd GmbH collectively choose which organization can be supported with our work time. One of the two available days for Pledge 1%, for example, was used by our employees from the team in Berlin to collect garbage together in the Hasenheide which is a park there. Together with an initiative of the city cleaning in Berlin (BSR=Berliner Stadtreinigung) which is called “Kehrenbürger” they helped to keep the city a bit cleaner. With the support of BSR, this initiative offers a platform in Berlin that promotes volunteer beautification and cleaning campaigns in neighborhoods where the city cleaning BSR itself is not responsible for cleaning. Since 2005, they are a member of the international action alliance “Clean up the World”; which campaigns worldwide for cleaner cities.
“I am part of the team in Berlin and participated in the cleaning day which was my
first experience with Pledge 1% since I joined Eigenherd more recently. It was
nice and sunny so we had a lovely day cleaning the Hasenheide park in Berlin!
My highlight of our cleaning initiative was a random guy who saw our work and
wanted to support us. We gave him some of the tools and he started cleaning too
– so we inspired him! Hopefully more people get inspired by this.”
– Sebastian Christoph
We could not agree more with Sebastian and are proud to use our work time with Pledge 1% to help nonprofit organizations and make a visible difference in our local home. That is one step towards a more sustainable and socially aware future that we are more than happy to be a part of.
VRP shares 14 stories of giving from this last year
Giving children a bike, planting trees.
The VRP Volunteer Club was very active, with several different initiatives. Our #VRPpeople from Minsk and Vitebsk visited a boarding school in Begoml. We planted some trees at a school and delighted children with some sweet treats and gifts. Meanwhile, our team in Mogilev visited the oncological dispensary there and planted more trees as part of our Pledge 1% commitment. Thank you to all participants. Your support is invaluable! Check out our photo collection from these events.
Minsk orphanage – giving gifts to children
We believe in giving back to society and are proud to be part of the Pledge 1% initiative. Our VRP people regularly donate blood with Belarus Red Cross, we support causes like SZLACHETNA PACZKA, aiding families in need, we donated our time to improve Save the Children Netherland’s volunteer recruitment solution, and recently we visited one of the Belarussian orphanages in Minsk, bringing gifts to children. Check out the video of our #VRPVolunteers in action!
As part of our pledge 1% commitment, our #VRPPeople in Krakow participated in a charity run organized by Fundacja Poland Business Run. The purpose of the event is to collect donations to help people with motor disabilities but this year it was socially distanced, with participants recording their times using run tracking apps. We’re proud to have helped. And we had a lot of fun, running in different locations Check out our photo collection
Our #VRPPeople came together to commemorate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, taking part in the #CranesOfOurFuture project. We’ve made origami cranes, writing our wishes for a brighter future inside each of them. Join in and deliver a message of hope -> share your crane in a comment
“Give blood and keep the world beating”. For #WorldBloodDonorDay many of our #VRPpeople became blood donors with the Red Cross. This small act can save lives. Join in and make a difference!
VRP Goes Green initiative – sustainable activities
On #InternationalEarthDay we celebrate the activities our VRP global teams accomplished as part of our April’s #VRPGoesGreen Challenge.
Take a look at our list of initiatives and let us know if and how you took part too:
planted trees in neighborhoods
growing a couple of kitchen gardens
♀️ riding bikes instead of driving
refusing to buy new clothing
avoiding plastic wrapping and tableware
taking care of stray animals (see our new friend – The Cat)
Collecting plastic bottle caps and batteries
picking litter from the streets and in the forests
Why do we take part in pledge 1% – insights by Roman
Why do we take part in the pledge 1% initiative?
We asked Roman Medvedev, Founder and CEO of VRP Consulting, for his insights on being part of this corporate philanthropy:
“The volunteer movement to support various nonprofits is strong among the whole Salesforce ecosystem, VRP included. We believe in giving back to society and are motivated to help those less fortunate.
We want to make a difference to the ones in need. Thus, we encourage our employees to regularly engage in blood donations, mentoring programs, or assist poor families in everyday activities. Last year we were active in support both global and national charities including, SZLACHETNA PACZKA, Save the Children International, International Committee of the Red Cross – ICRC, World Health Organization, to name a few.
This year we have transferred our charitable assistance online so that even with the pandemic, employees can take part in the campaigns without leaving their homes. This opportunity has received high uptake and we are proud to be actively supporting those in need, especially during challenging times like today.
I hope more companies will join in to be a force for good.”
The Mogilev Regional Center for Correctional Development Training and Rehabilitation – renovation
The Mogilev Regional Center for Correctional Development Training and Rehabilitation provides crucial support and treatment to children with disabilities. To ensure their vital work continued, VRP contributed to the renovation of their center. After the opening ceremony, we celebrated with center staff, proteges and guests having an exciting entertainment program including dancing and special performances. Check out our photo collection.
Choose to challenge – gender bias inequalities
“We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.” ~ International Women’s Day 2021
Today, we would like to participate in the challenge to support the fight against inequalities. We want to be part of the inclusive world, where everyone feels comfortable.
Donating animal food to a local zoo in Vitebsk
How much food do you need to feed a zoo?
Our volunteer club found out when they donated food to a city zoo in Vitebsk. As part of our #pledge1 commitment, more than 180 kg of food was bought for the animals.
Kobrin Regional Training center – gifts
Great job, VRP Brest team. They supported the Kobrin regional training center by bringing some joy to the children there. As part of our #pledge1 commitment, we gave each child a gift package including household items, toys, books, sweets and coloring kits.
Congratulations VRPBelarus Team, for organizing a #charity campaign together with Belarus Red Cross.
We collected books, clothes, and other necessities in our Minsk office to give those away to families in need.
See the photos.
You know how busy it must be for Santa this time of the year. We wanted to help, so together with SZLACHETNA PACZKA, we have organized gifts for the family in need as part of our pledge 1% commitment. Szlachetna Paczka is a polish social project to materially and mentally support people in a difficult situation.
During pandemic we all noticed how studying from home can leave a negative psychological and academic effects on young students, especially on those already most vulnerable – troubled adolescents from problematic social environment.
As a part of our Pledge 1% commitment, eazyBI donated funds to the local charity foundation “R.R.” and facilitated access to the Adventure Therapy for kids that go through challenges and face various behavioral and psychological issues, every day. By experiencing a variety of fun and educational activities outdoors, such as hiking, expeditions in canoe or ropes courses, adolescents can get an emotional healing, take refuge from heir unhealthy environment and boost their social and collaborative skills. Adventure Therapy is a modern approach that has just recently been introduced in Latvia and we are glad that our support can open new doors to teenagers from our community. However, we see that it is only beginning and more support is needed in order to help all kids that would benefit from this powerful and inspirational program.
We, the team of eazyBI, believe that education is the driving force of development and by supporting people in individual level, we can start to experience an improvement in wellbeing of the whole community. Education can mean different things but for the last two years we largely see it as raising mental health awareness. We hope that by spreading the word we can inspire others to look for ways to help their community maintain positive state of wellbeing.
darwinLabs takes as one of its core values Add Value to our customers, to our community, and to society in general. It is within this scope that every year, darwinLabs contributes to, at least, one social cause.
Regarding the pandemic and working indoors, during 2021 darwinLabs chose to motivate each employee to exercise for a social cause. It was a very good way to keep people motivated in the need of others, and for themselves, getting out of their houses and their comfort zones.
3 times this year we’ve launched a Strava event, where people could choose to walk, run or cycle. In the end, a total of 2945.72 km were converted in Euros and given to three different non-profit organizations contributing to social good.
We have started the year donating to Ajuda de Berço, which works with new mothers and babies in need, then, Terra dos Sonhos, which fulfills the dreams of kids with cancer and in the 3rd round, we ended this year’s cycle, helping elders to feel less lonely through many types of volunteering, through Coração Amarelo.
I’m Nicola Askham, I’m known as The Data Governance Coach. I help organisations understand and manage their data better. Typically people turn to me because their data is a mess and they need help unravelling it or because they realise they are pouring cash into new initiatives that are failing because of poor quality data.
I have been designing and implementing Data Governance frameworks for almost two decades and have helped hundreds of organisations implement Data Governance, giving me a unique level of experience and insight into the typical challenges they face.
From my experience it is clear that a lot of organisations don’t value their data as an asset. As a result they don’t manage it correctly and this can lead to rising costs and inefficiencies and wrong decisions being made. This is not good news for any organisation, but is really bad news for a charity and the causes they are helping.
Having worked with a number of charities, it is clear to me that Data Governance can make such a difference and enable them to help more. Yet charities find it hard to justify the costs of getting training on how to do Data Governance.
A few years ago I started offering free places on my training courses to charities, because I feel it is important to give charities the skills to make sure that data is used to solve problems and make better informed decisions.
I am so passionate about the value that Data Governance can bring to the charity sector that I recently joined Pledge 1%. My pledge is to offer a free place to a different charity organisation on every single one of my public Data Governance courses.
I want to be part of a world where everyone understands the value of data and uses it to make a positive impact.
I’m thrilled to be part of Pledge 1% and committing to supporting charities on their Data Governance journeys and truly harnessing the power of their data.
As COVID-19 spread over the world and consequently over Britain, many organisations were affected and needed to act fast to adapt to their new realities. Such a challenge heavily resonated with Volunteer Edinburgh (VE).
Located in the centre of Edinburgh, VE is a Not for Profit organisation that manages volunteering opportunities across Scotland. In a matter of just a couple of days, the volunteering managers at VE were quickly overwhelmed and unfortunately not prepared for the enormous influx of volunteering enquiries that came in. They had to think of a quick solution to efficiently sort, manage and deploy their volunteers more than ever before.
At the forefront of the pandemic, VE’s volunteers would be crucial in helping reduce the spread of the pandemic and in helping the NHS manage the global crisis at a local level. Due to the urgency of the issue at hand, Color decided to deliver this project pro bono to VE as part of their Pledge 1% initiative and to show generosity in this time of need and to help the most vulnerable.
A New Reality
Through a series of conversations, Color and VE decided the most crucial area of work to focus on is their Response Pipeline or ‘Taskforce’ Management System. VE utilises a vetting process to sort through and make sure the appropriate and most qualified volunteer is matched to the right opportunity, delivering maximum value. This is accomplished via a number of different steps which include the gathering of information through forms from Survey Monkey, questionnaires, email exchanges, and the scheduling of interviews.
“The support that Color gave Volunteer Edinburgh was invaluable to our Covid-19
Pandemic response. Color’s commitment, skill and understanding of our business needs and
their work done on our Salesforce org enabled us to respond to a genuinely unprecedented
demand and enabled us to efficiently process a huge number of prospective volunteers and
deploy them in record time so they could support vulnerable people during the heights of
lockdown. Without Color’s support, we would not have been able to react as efficiently and
effectively as we did.”
Paul Wilson | Chief Officer, Volunteer Edinburgh
A Platform for Growth
In a matter of a couple of weeks, Color delivered VE’s very own Taskforce Management system. It integrated Survey Monkey’s contact information into their Salesforce org, a streamlined process to help Volunteer Managers sort through the numerous enquiries and volunteer tasks, create Contact records and schedule phone interviews through automation in a matter of a couple of clicks.
This collaboration enabled Volunteer Edinburgh to adapt to their organisation’s new increasing demand in volunteer enquiries efficiently and to deliver maximum value to their community. VE was able to train their Volunteer Managers quickly due to the new intuitive user interface and to ultimately deploy their volunteers in the most needed sectors and areas of Scotland.
This consequently reduced the onboarding time of Volunteer Managers, the processing time of the volunteers themselves and finally, the solution helped Volunteer Edinburgh to be a positive influence in Scotland and reduce the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To demonstrate the positive impact of the solution to VE’s internal processes, below is a chart that shows the number of volunteer records they were able to manage within the first few weeks using the system. Insights like these are instrumental for Volunteer Edinburgh in understanding their social impact in the community as well as tracking their efforts and to ultimately send help to the most vulnerable places in their region.
