Originally published on Airbnb.

Airbnb is committed to building a 21st century company that serves all stakeholders, and that includes sharing our success and benefits with the Hosts, guests, communities and employees that helped build Airbnb into the global company it is today.

Today, as part of our existing commitments to give back to the stakeholders that make the company’s success possible, Airbnb is proud to announce that we are joining  Pledge 1%– a global network of companies committed to launching or growing their social impact programs.

Airbnb has made a series of commitments that meet Pledge 1%’s mission to empower companies to donate 1% of product, profit, equity, and/or employee time to improve their local communities.

Last year the Airbnb Board of Directors established a Stakeholder Committee to assist the Board in considering the interests of Airbnb’s stakeholders and to advise it regarding our stakeholder approach. The company has also linked incentive compensation to stakeholder priorities and Airbnb Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky made a commitment to donate the net proceeds from his multi-year equity award to community, philanthropic and charitable causes.

In addition to the company’s stakeholder approach, all three Airbnb co-founders– Brian Chesky, Nate Blecharczyk, and Joe Gebbia- have signed The Giving Pledge to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes. Since then, each has made meaningful commitments to social impact causes and non-profit organizations.

Last year, Brian Chesky committed to personally donate $10 million to non-profit organizations that support frontline workers responding to the COVID-19 crisis and an additional $5 million to Frontline stays, a program launched at the onset of the pandemic to allow Hosts to open their homes to first responders and frontline workers. Nate Blecharczyk and his wife donated $1 million each to Code.org and his high school alma mater Boston Latin Academy, and are actively engaged in other charitable efforts to support education, science and technology programs. In December 2020, Joe Gebbia donated $25 million to expand local San Francisco efforts to house homeless youth, and has donated to initiatives including those to support refugees and expand education access to girls around the world.

Building an enduringly successful business goes hand-in-hand with making a positive contribution to society. As part of our multi-stakeholder approach, Airbnb has also developed programs with the goal of strengthening the communities we serve.

Supporting the communities Hosts and guests call home

Airbnb.org is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that connects evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline workers to comfortable temporary stays. Airbnb, Inc. pledged 400,000 shares of Airbnb stock to support Airbnb.org’s emergency response and refugee programs. In addition, Airbnb co-founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nate Blecharczyk committed $6 million to support impacted communities.

To build on its ongoing work with refugee communities, last month Airbnb.org announced it will provide temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide – the cost of which is funded through contributions to Airbnb.org from Airbnb and Brian Chesky, as well as donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund.

To support local communities, we created the Airbnb Community Fund to provide $100 million in grants to local initiatives around the world over the next 10 years. Airbnb announced the inaugural grant recipients earlier this year, which include awards to over 150 organizations from more than 40 countries and six continents.

Giving back is also embedded across Airbnb’s culture. To promote generosity among employees, Airbnb matches employee donations and volunteer time to eligible charities of their choice. Since November 2017, our employee social impact program has raised over $4 million for causes our employees care about, including over $500,000 for civil rights organizations in the summer of 2020.

Our commitment to hosts

To support the Hosts who make Airbnb unique, last October, Airbnb created the Airbnb Host Endowment, designed to provide education, financial resources and other support to Hosts for generations to come. Airbnb seeded the Endowment with 9.2 million shares of Airbnb Class H common stock, and it now has a market value of more than $1 billion. Brian Chesky is putting plans in place to make an additional personal contribution of shares of Airbnb common stock worth over $100 million at the time of the contribution to support the Endowment.

These are just some of the initiatives Airbnb has taken to support our stakeholders. We look forward to many more opportunities ahead.

Originally posted: September 9th, 2021

Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.

What is your name and title?

Ebony Vaz, Founder and CEO at Above Promotions.

Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.

I am the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Above Promotions, a marketing technology and public relations company located in the Tampa, FL area. I am also the author of the book titled, “Because You’re Small: Effective Marketing Strategies for Immediate Implementation” and a marketing instructor for startup programs as well as marketing professionals.

How did you get here? Please share any quick stories from past work experiences.

My path is different than most. Not many engineers who have been published for password information security and virtual reality pivot into the marketing and public relations arena. I struggled for many years trying to find a way to marry my scientific background with creativity and communications. When I first started, not many in the marketing industry were embracing my technical background. Today it is sought after. I am glad I stayed the course and grew into my current path. I’m not through yet, but I’m satisfied with the direction I’m headed in.

In your opinion, what’s the #1 decision or move you’ve made that has helped advance your career?

Working with Techstars Startup Week Tampa Bay to create and organize the PR/Marketing Track for the past few years. It was great not only being able to help hundreds of small and established businesses over the years, but it also led me to the Techstars Venture Deals course which has started me on my path of working towards becoming an accredited investor. It has also connected me with other organizers and investors from various cities across the world who are also helping to grow their local startup ecosystem.

What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?

Never be afraid to venture into an area you desire to work in to make a difference. This may mean going down an unchartered path where others will wonder what you’re doing. Don’t conform or bend to others’ ideas of a career for you. By the time they’ll realize your worth, you will be worth more and can get more.

Is there a cause that is particularly close to you? If so, why this cause and how did you get involved?

One of the local causes outside of helping companies grow is to help families become successful. We work closely with Winners’ Resource Center in the Tampa Bay area. They focus on feeding families, providing clothes, furniture, cars, bill payments, and even monetary assistance to families. Outside of helping with these items, they also host training sessions from ESL to budgeting and healthy relationships. Additionally, feeding and clothing the homeless. We recently were able to participate in helping to furnish an apartment for someone who was homeless that regularly volunteered with Winners’. I have been working with its founders for almost two decades and I’m proud of the work they are doing in the community.

When did your company join Pledge 1%? What does your impact program mean to you?

While we have always committed to helping the community, our founder, team members, even interns, participate in some form of giving back. We took the pledge at the end of 2018 and began to roll out our discussions with other entrepreneurs to do the same in 2019.

What do you like to do outside of the office? Any interesting (or unique) habits or interests?

Not many people know, I paint on canvas. I have artwork up in our home, some in pads and in a case. My paintings will range from abstract to places and people. I’m currently working on finishing one on Grogu (Baby Yoda) which is the first character painting I’ve attempted.

Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!

The Gentlemen of Crypto daily on YouTube and the Mocha in the Morning Show every Friday on Facebook. I tend to not miss these two shows each week. One feeds my finance tech side and the other is where I get my pop culture information. LOL I like the balance of the two.

What’s been the one (or two!) things that have helped you navigate this past year? Any tips or tricks to dealing with remote work?

We have always been a remote work company. However, remaining focused during things that were in a politically charged environment in the middle of a pandemic, meant having to consider additional tools to keep focus. We generated some playlists for the team with sources like FreeCodeCamp, SomaFM, Endel x Smartbeats and more through Spotify and Pandora. It’s been very helpful for getting deep focus work completed timely and with renewed creativity.

Originally posted: September 8th, 2021

Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.

What is your name and title?

So-Young Kang, Founder & CEO (known as Chief Energizer) at Gnowbe.

Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.

I energize my teams, partners, advisors, investors and collaborators to continue pioneering the microlearning and micro-authoring revolution to maximize human performance.

How did you get here? Please share any quick stories from past work experiences.

After leaving McKinsey in 2009, I founded my first company, Awaken Group, a human-centered Transformation Design (TD) firm that advises companies on how to align people with purpose and performance. We needed a digital solution to scale this impact to billions which led to the launch and creation of Gnowbe which stands for ‘Grow Knowledge Into Being.’

In your opinion, what’s the #1 decision or move you’ve made that has helped advance your career?

Curiosity and the desire to solve real problems. I’m motivated by impact and coming up with creative solutions to solve really large global problems. We have a global challenge with how to maximize and encourage continuous human flourishing and do this in ‘human’ ways using technology. This is a challenge worth solving.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned this past year?

We need technology to enhance the human experience, not to replace it.

With the inability to connect physically and socially, it has made us appreciate and value the ability to connect and engage in more authentic ways. That’s always a good thing.

What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?

I’m not part of the ‘tech bro culture’ and that’s ok. As an Asian-American non-tech founder, it can be challenging to gain credibility and the interest of some investors who may not know me or the work we have done. It requires patience and creativity to connect with those that do support and believe in our vision. It’s also an opportunity for me to learn and adapt. It’s a continuous learning journey and I’m grateful for mentors and advisors to guide me along the way.

Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?

I have many mentors and many mentees. Mentorship is ultimately about a relationship built on trust. It’s about a willingness and ability to advise, guide and help the mentee develop and grow as a person, a leader, and/or a founder.

What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and seek out as many mentors as you can (both male and female). Not everyone will be a good fit. Remain curious and don’t get discouraged. Don’t apologize for asking for people’s time. Oftentimes, they are delighted to spend time helping you out. You are NOT a burden. You will find your way. Be open to learning and adapting.

What is one thing companies can do, big or small, to help create an environment that advances women into leadership positions?

It’s hard to not be biased but being aware of unconscious bias is a starting point. Sharing stories of other female leaders can be very inspiring and being intentional about calling out examples of successful women in tech like the Wojcicki sisters (CEO of YouTube, Founder of 23 and me) and Whitney Wolfe (CEO of Bumble), etc. can be a good starting point for shifting mindsets and images of what a leader looks like.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish in the next year?

Triple the impact we have on our clients and their employees.

Is there a cause that is particularly close to you? If so, why this cause and how did you get involved?

The Young Professionals’ Group is a character-based scholarship and mentorship program that I co-founded 20 years ago because I believe in investing in character to help young people achieve their dreams. We have mentored hundreds of young people from the US and all across Asia (Singapore, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia) to experience the power of mentorship to guide them on their careers.

When did your company join Pledge 1%? What does your impact program mean to you?

Since we started beta testing our products in 2017. We call our impact program GnowMe. GnowYou. and we are proud to have contributed our product to support over 30k people from helping unemployed youth in South Africa get jobs, to training Syrian refugees, to equipping volunteers in Pakistan during Covid. Impact is part of our DNA.

What do you like to do outside of the office? Any interesting (or unique) habits or interests?

Travel to unusual places and do unusual things in places like introducing surfing to North Korea and connecting with female leaders and members of royalty in Saudi Arabia to understand human rights and cultural differences. I’m an active snowboarder, wakeboarder and diver. I love exploring new places, people and things. I’m also a musician who started playing the piano when I was 4. I often describe myself as a ‘musician who happens to do business.’

Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!

“How We Love” by Kay Yerkovich and Milan Yerkovich is a must-read to understand yourself better. “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz is awesome for tech founders. “Sapiens” by Yuval Harari is an interesting look at human history. I love reading very different kinds of books.

What’s been the one (or two!) things that have helped you navigate this past year? Any tips or tricks to dealing with remote work?

Be intentional with staying emotionally connected with your teams. Our team is global and we created a “Weekly Mood Meter” using Gnowbe to check in on how our people were feeling and to humanize the work experience through jokes, games, and non-work related sharing. That helped improve our culture and keep us connected.

As part of our summer learning series on ESG, our fourth session addressed how pre-IPO and post-IPO companies pick ESG frameworks and report, disclose, and communicate them. Read the recap below and access the workshop resources here. 

In Part 3 of our summer learning series on ESG, we learned about conducting materiality needed for ESG initiatives. We understood that in order to solidify our ESG roadmap, we need to bring in stakeholders, build a team with various responsibilities, and stick to our vision and values when conducting analysis.

In this third session, Kari Hayden Pendoley moderated our conversation with Danielle Conkling of Silicon Valley Bank, Marian Macindoe of Uber, Sunya Norman of Salesforce, and Lindsay Vignoles of Rodan+Fields as they talked about what material issues their companies report and disclose on. Here are our 3 takeaways from the event:

1. Your ESG strategy must be grounded in a materiality assessment.

Philanthropy has been around for a long time with people improving natural and human capital, however ESG as a function is fairly new. There are numerous world crises. Focus on the material issue that impacts your stakeholders the most, develop and execute a strategy around it, and then manage and report with concrete data.

2. Data collection and reporting is an evolving cross-functional process.

Reporting and managing ESG statistics is a long process that involves a number of teams and different stakeholders. It’s a journey that might feel difficult to go through, especially if you’re a one-person team or leading a new initiative in the company. Sharing your ESG commitments with your stakeholders will be more effective using credibly obtained data.

3. Recognize that ESG reporting brings more opportunities for social impact.

With your knowledge of world issues, what your specific industry is tackling, and by understanding the demands of your stakeholders, your ESG program should reflect your company’s unique element or superpower and disclose what is material to you. ESG and social impact encourages collaboration rather than competition, and by working together with other businesses, governments and regulators can help maximize your impact.

To learn more, watch the full recording of the conversation below.

Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.

What is your name and title?

Erin Angerer, Co-founder & COO at Floodlight Invest.

Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.

Floodlight is an early-stage fintech startup, which means my co-founder and I wear many of the hats required to operate the business. My background and passion have led me to focus extra attention on our product and customers.

How did you get here? Please share any quick stories from past work experiences.

I spent more than 10 years in banking, first in wealth management and later in corporate banking where I covered fintech and enterprise software companies. I spent my time in wealth management trying to innovate around impact investing, but I like to say, I was in the right place, but at the wrong time (I can tell you many stories of pitches I made to management). After wealth management, I started covering venture-backed startups which landed me a job with a fantastic team at Silicon Valley Bank. Working for the bank of innovation made it all too tempting to join the entrepreneurial party. I left SVB in 2019 and launched Floodlight with my good friend and co-founder.

In your opinion, what’s the #1 decision or move you’ve made that has helped advance your career?

It took until I was well into my career to own my personal brand. It took me a while, but once I leaned in and allowed myself to voice my opinions things really took off.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned this past year?

With hardship comes resilience, and when you make it to the other side the feeling of satisfaction is incredibly powerful. And that feeling will carry you through the next hurdle you encounter. #theyearof2020

What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?

UNCONSCIOUS bias. I capitalize unconscious because it is the people who say they are huge supporters of women, but who act in opposition to that statement that creates the biggest challenge because they really think they are supporters. It takes a really special person to break down their bias and learn how to support women and act accordingly.

Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?

Mentors/friends/confidants. I’m incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by inspiring, thoughtful and ambitious people. The best mentors in my life aren’t the people who celebrate everything I do. The best mentors, in my experience, point out my missteps and challenge me to do better.

What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?

Be confident and be yourself. The tides are changing in corporate America and the highest value you bring is your unique perspective. Don’t be timid, the world needs to hear from you.

What is one thing companies can do, big or small, to help create an environment that advances women into leadership positions?

Get women in the room where decisions are made. If you have an MD meeting at your company and you don’t have any female MDs, bring a female Director or a VP into the room, count her vote and listen to her.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish in the next year?

As an early-stage company in the middle of the Barclays Techstars Fintech program, my goal is for Floodlight to find product-market fit.

Is there a cause that is particularly close to you? If so, why this cause and how did you get involved?

Best Buddies. This organization holds a special place in my heart because of the incredible people it serves, who I’ve been fortunate enough to meet. BB is dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). I originally learned about the organization through Silicon Valley Bank who sponsors the annual century bike ride fundraiser in California.

When did your company join Pledge 1%? What does your impact program mean to you?

Floodlight officially joined Pledge 1% when we were accepted into Techstars in Q1 2021. Pledge 1% is a perfect complement to our corporate mission to leave the industry we serve better than we found it. One way we are committed to this mission is to actively engage communities with less access to resources and do our best to share the prosperity afforded to our company.

What do you like to do outside of the office? Any interesting (or unique) habits or interests?

I absolutely love spending time outside, I ride bikes, play tennis, golf, and love long walks. But as a new mom with a 3-month-old baby, many of my hobbies now include staring at him for awkwardly long periods of time 

Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!

A Promised Land by Obama (must read). A friend recently turned me on to the Smartless podcast, and those guys are hilarious. I want to be their friend to just hang out and laugh at all their low key jokes.

What’s been the one (or two!) things that have helped you navigate this past year? Any tips or tricks to dealing with remote work?

Ha! Be pregnant during the pandemic, it means you can work in sweats and have your feet up during all calls. But more seriously, I couldn’t have survived this last year without my village of amazing women.

Originally published on App Solve. 

On our second experience for Pledge 1%—a global movement that encourages companies to donate 1% of their time, profit, product, or equity—we decided to work with GlobalMedic, a registered Canadian charity that has provided disaster relief and life-saving humanitarian aid since 2002.

Who Is GlobalMedic And What They Do

The David McAntony Gibson Foundation, which operates as GlobalMedic, saves lives by providing short-term, rapid response in the wake of disasters and crises, both at home and abroad. Professional emergency workers along with other professional and skilled volunteers help deliver their programs to the people who need them most.

While GlobalMedic has run many non-emergency and capacity-building programs, the majority of their work continues to be critical intervention in the wake of disaster and crisis. GlobalMedic operates 6 primary Emergency Programs:

• Water: Deployment and operation of ‘point of source’ or ‘community’ water purification systems to ensure groups have access to large volumes of clean drinking water. GlobalMedic also runs hygiene programs to support the health of those facing emergencies.


• Food: Production and delivery of Emergency Food Kits designed to provide families with an easy-to-make, ready-to-cook meal option.


• RescUAV: GlobalMedic’s RescUAV Program uses sophisticated technology to collect important information fast following a disaster. Their specialty team deploys Unmanned Aerial Vehicles into disaster situations to collect this information. The UAVs are used to provide situational awareness, emergency mapping, and search and rescue.


• Flood: GlobalMedic works to aid those affected by flooding in Canada using a multi-pronged approach to support both flood mitigation and recovery.


• Medical: Donation and setup of field hospitals to restore access to medical care in a disaster or crisis-affected region.


• Shelter: Provision of tents and inflatable units that are used for temporary family housing, schools, child-friendly spaces, and even animal rescues.

App Solve In Action

Apart from providing clean water, GlobalMedic runs hygiene programs to support the health of those facing emergencies.

In this opportunity, we helped GlobalMedic in the assembling and final packing of family hygiene kits containing full-sized items including soaps, toothpaste, and toothbrushes to be given to vulnerable communities.

“This volunteer experience allows us to bond with each other around a cause which is aligned with the company’s values and vision,” says David Brabrook, CEO & Founder of App Solve.

“I am really happy we chose GlobalMedic to work with this quarter. It feels great to contribute to our community and help those who are in need,” says Natalia Monsalve, Digital Presence Coordinator at App Solve.

 

 

We want to thank Laura Garrioch, Emergency Programs Officer from GlobalMedic, and the rest of her team, for this opportunity to help our community. Thank you for letting us contribute to your amazing work!

GlobalMedic relies on donations and volunteers in order to carry out its mandate. Visit globalmedic.ca to join their team by volunteering, or making a donation. You can help make a difference in the lives of people affected by disaster and conflict.

Originally published at Rockcontent.com. Written by Luana Dias.

In another major step towards accelerating social transformation, we have committed to donating 1% of Rock Content’s shares for social impact purposes.

Through the global organization Pledge 1%, the company is formalizing the reserve of 1% of shares to support and finance projects aimed at social impact.

The first step was the approval of this initiative by the Rock Content Board.

Our decision was inspired by global companies we admire, such as Twilio, Crunchbase and Atlassian.

In practice, what does this mean for society and the corporate market? 

A Brief Retrospective

Since 2019, Rock Content has been committed to making a positive impact in its community.

With this goal, Rock.org, our social impact initiative, was created. 

Despite being a new industry, the company’s commitment to social impact has advanced significantly over the years.

According to our Rock Content CEO, Diego Gomes, the commitment to giving back to our community has always been in the company’s DNA.

“We’ve always cared about creating growth opportunities. It’s in our mission. We started with Digital Marketing education and creating opportunities for our talents to make money while doing what they love. It has always been a driving force, and today we have amazing stories of people who joined us in this dream and had their lives transformed: people who found their first job or even managed to support their family and pay for their studies. We want to continue on this trajectory, ensuring that our commitment to impact will be a key part of our legacy!”

In terms of commitment to social impact, our first initiative was to encourage employees to be a force for good by donating 1% of their work time to give back to the community.

This means that Rockers — as we call our employees — have the option of donating 1% of their time (3 days per year) within the company to internal or external volunteer actions.

In addition, since the creation of Rock.org in 2019, we have held an annual Volunteer Day to support institutions aligned with our education and employability causes.

Currently, our engagement rate for those activities covers 66% of our team.

In 2020, we founded our social impact mission: sharing knowledge to accelerate social transformation.

To this end, we began donating Rock University courses to socially and economically underrepresented groups — in this case, women, the black community, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Through this commitment, we were able to impact over 50,000 students from 2020 through June 2021.

This way, we enable countless individuals to become great trained professionals and bring more diversity and inclusion to the job market.

Now, we are going further! Through the Pledge 1% initiative, Rock Content has committed to donating 1% of its social capital.

Equity Pledge Commitment

 

What is the Equity Pledge?

The Equity Pledge commitment means setting aside 1% of Rock Content’s equity (i.e., the company’s shares) to invest in social impact.

This action demonstrates our long-term commitment to giving back to the community and sustainably funding social work for years to come.

Check out other global companies committed to the Pledge 1% initiative:

• Twilio.


• Crunchbase.


• Atlassian.

Why do we commit?

We are increasingly looking to align growth and purpose, and the 1% Pledge commitment represents the path Rock Content wants to take to make a positive impact on the world.

For Patrícia Moraes, our board member, investor and founder of Unbox Capital, the decision of Rock Content’s Board to support the Equity Pledge was a natural development for the company.

In this sense, the decision was made to complement the culture of giving back that already exists among Rockers.

“The Equity Pledge is very straightforward in that sense. As you generate value in your business, you also distribute it to others. It’s part of the company’s culture. This passion has always been one of the pillars that stood out at Rock Content.”

The Equity Pledge is another way of reaffirming our values.

With this, we are leading by example, encouraging other companies to get to know initiatives like Pledge 1% and truly commit to social impact.

How did we make this commitment?

The Pledge 1% organization supported Rock Content throughout the shares donation commitment process, providing materials, references and advice.

For those who don’t know, Pledge 1% is a global movement to create a new reality, where giving back becomes part of the structure of companies of all sizes and stages.

Its role is to inspire, educate and empower all businesses to be a force for good.

Rock Content’s commitment is:

To pledge 1% of TIME

We offer our employees the possibility of donating 1% of their work time to volunteer activities internally or externally.

To pledge 1% of PRODUCT

We donate one of our products — in this case, paid courses from Rock University, our education platform, to under-represented and economically vulnerable groups.

To pledge 1% of EQUITY

In our most recent commitment, we donate 1% of Rock Content’s shares.

The Impact of the Equity Pledge

According to Diego, it is clear that customers, employees and the surrounding community care about being connected to a company that wants to leave its mark on the world.

“For us, the Equity Pledge means that we are committed to donating part of the value created by Rock Content to causes we believe in. We believe this is very important to ensure that our legacy of impact is preserved. Success for us is building an impactful company that will outlast us!”

The Equity Pledge commitment is related to all of our stakeholders — and that’s very important to us. After all, the way in which investments are made increasingly reflects the impact that we seek in this world.

Therefore, we want to present how the Equity Pledge positively impacts our stakeholders:

The community

Once the donation has liquidity, such as in the case of an IPO or a secondary share sale, we will donate strategically to non-profit organizations and projects around the world that share our mission, focusing on education and employability.

This way, we will have more resources to scale our impact, donating consistently to those who need quality education and better job opportunities.

The Rockers

Diego Gomes points to Rockers as the main drivers of social impact within Rock Content.

“Our biggest drivers are the Rockers, from the board to the frontline. They not only care about impact as much as I do personally, but they work with a focus on making a meaningful impact on the communities around us. They are the ones who make it happen.”

Regarding his role in this, Diego puts himself as a facilitator.

“I care a lot about creating a positive impact on the world, and that is a significant part of what we want for our legacy. My role as the CEO of Rock Content is to be an impact facilitator!”

Diego says that whenever he talks to the employees about Rock Content’s social impact, they usually point out that it is one of the main reasons they chose to work at the company.

“Rockers come to work more motivated, excited, and feel proud of their work, of what we are building here. Today, wearing a Rock Content shirt means ‘we care about making a difference, we care about our legacy’. And because of that, we continue to deliver great business results. To me, that’s the best of both worlds. Impact means having a business with a purpose, and this commitment ensures that those things go hand in hand.”

 

To our investors and market

The decision means that our current investors’ mission and long-term goals are aligned with ours.

The commitment has received a positive response from the board, which means that investors are fully involved in the initiative.

Future investors will also share this belief with us. This demonstrates how social impact is in our DNA at all levels and is a priority for us.

For Ricardo Coelho Duarte, our board member and investor:

“Rock Content is the living proof of how doing business and social responsibility are more than ever one integrated, strategic action. Maturing the Pledge 1% to its full commitment is 100% aligned with the leadership and more importantly, with the company’s current and future talents. We expect the best people to be engaged, achieving greatness at Rock, and as a result, change the world for the better.”

Bostjan Spetic, also a member of our board, uses the metaphor of an ecosystem to explain the Equity Pledge commitment and what it means for society as a whole.

“No individual, no team and no entrepreneurial endeavor exists in social isolation. We are extremely aware that it is the society as a whole, the community we take inspiration from and the environment that supports our explorations that take our actions to the next level and help us stay on course. It is our duty and also our passion to ensure the ecosystem that sustains our growth is able to flourish alongside us. We take this reciprocity as a ground condition of a symbiosis without which the world would be utterly unrecognizable to us. We are honored and humbled by the opportunity to support Pledge 1% movement and commit 1% of our equity for social impact to keep improving the state of the world.”

 

The Future of Social Impact

While it is difficult to imagine the ideal scenario for the best version of the world, steps like the ones Rock Content has taken indicate that a significant social transformation is underway.

In Diego’s opinion, the commitment to equity donation is an important step in ensuring that our impact initiatives grow in the future.

“The impact we create now is tied to the growth of the business. The equity commitment for us means that in a liquidity event, in a future round or (most likely) in an IPO, we will have a significant amount of resources to continue funding these important initiatives.”

Moreover, the impact commitment for the coming years strengthens Rock Content’s globalization strategy and culture.

For Diego, commitments like this bring the company closer to people who think about impact the same way we do.

Thus, we have a very positive formula as an organization before the market and society:

More talents + More cultural alignment = More impact

For board member Patrícia Moraes, there is undoubtedly a normalization of social impact and ESG taking place in the corporate market.

And, in the future, this will be even more noticeable.

This is why we need “companies with a soul” — an expression she uses to define companies that have purpose and a strong culture.

According to the board member, one possible path for companies to follow is to look inside first, find the important gaps that can change the company’s level, and then implement actions that can transform the culture and the company.

“Rock Content has always been very consistent in this, since the beginning of Rock.org, because the company has been developing an awareness”.

With great expectations for the future, Gabriela Crego, Rock Content’s Social Impact Leader, states:

“Since its creation, the Rock.org team has been concerned with doing a coherent and consistent work in terms of impact and results. In 2021, we are ready to expand our social impact efforts: we have committed our equity. And going forward, we are working to see even more results and actions in this sense.”

Want to learn more about our social impact efforts? Check out our page!

Originally published at Salesforce.com.

As Salesforce and Slack come together to create the digital HQ, helping companies adapt to a new work-from-anywhere world, they are also committed to creating a more just and equitable society.

When Salesforce completed its acquisition, Slack donated $54M, the balance of the value of its Pledge 1% share reserve, to the Salesforce Foundation, solidifying the change both companies can make together. The Salesforce Foundation helps young people reach their full potential by supporting Education and Workforce Development programs. To date, Salesforce has given more than $475M to support communities in need around the world.

Both Salesforce and Slack are deeply committed to Pledge 1%, a global movement co-founded by Salesforce, to inspire, educate, and empower all businesses to leverage their assets and make social impact an integral part of their company. A pledge can include any combination of product, equity, profit, or time to any charity of their choice.

Since 2014, more than 12,000 companies in over 100 countries have joined the Pledge 1% movement. These companies have generated more than $1 billion in new philanthropy and continue to go above and beyond initial commitments as crises arise.

For instance, in May, a global coalition of Pledge 1% companies responded to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in India by unlocking over $28M worth of donations to provide medical supplies, food relief, and vaccine awareness and distribution.

Slack for Good, which includes Slack’s commitment to increase the number of historically underrepresented individuals in the technology industry, will continue to be a part of Slack, and its strategic grant-making will be integrated into the Salesforce Foundation.

Committing to a culture of philanthropy

Giving back isn’t just about giving money. Salesforce takes a holistic approach by putting the full power of the company behind its philanthropic model. This includes amplifying impact through grants, employee engagement, partnerships, and technology.

In fact, Salesforce employees are the driving force behind how the company contributes to improving the world. Citizen philanthropy is Salesforce’s approach to giving back via employee engagement and is centered on the belief that individuals have the power to make a difference through their time, talent, and resources. Salesforce offers 56 hours of paid Volunteer Time Off (VTO) each year for employees, and this program has resulted in 6.2M volunteer hours over the years. And now, Slack employees will be able to participate in Salesforce’s VTO program as well to drive further impact in communities in which we live and work.

More than 52,000 nonprofits, educational institutions, and philanthropic organizations use Salesforce for social good, and Slack offers free or discounted software to nonprofits through its Slack for Nonprofits program. Together, Salesforce and Slack are committed to opening the doors of opportunity so that everyone has equal access to a quality education, a meaningful career, and the ability to reach their full potential.

Learn more about the Salesforce Foundation here.