Paul English, CEO and Co-Founder of Lola Travel and former CTO and Co-Founder of Kayak, has announced his commitment of at least 10% of his stake in Lola being set aside for giving back to communities locally and globally. Lola is a new kind of travel service that provides real human travel expertise on-demand through a smartphone app. Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners recently led Lola’s $19.7M Series A round. Kayak was acquired by Priceline.com for $1.8B in 2012; a sale that served as a catalyst for English’s notable local and global philanthropic efforts.
“Joining Pledge 1% Boston was an easy choice for me personally. I have seen the impact giving back can have on communities around the world, and I hope to encourage other entrepreneurs and leaders in technology and related industries to make this pledge. Marc Benioff has done a stellar job sharing the Salesforce.com model with other companies and executives, and I am proud to be a voice for Pledge 1% here in the Greater Boston region and beyond,” English shares.
While Lola is an emerging company, English is not new to giving back. Paul co-founded and chairs Summits Education, a network of schools in Haiti that now reaches over 10,000 students in the central plateau region. English also serves on the boards of Partners in Health and Village Health Works. He is an active funder and mentor to emerging and established nonprofits as well.
“Paul English is one of the most notable and savvy entrepreneurs in our region. Having Paul make such a significant commitment to giving back is an example for how we can bridge our innovation economy with communities in need both here and around the world. We look forward to working with Paul and his team on these efforts. We are thrilled and proud to have Paul English as a member of Pledge 1% Boston” noted Paul Grogan, the Boston Foundation’s President & CEO.
English’s life and philanthropy are covered in Tracy Kidder’s A Truck Full of Money.
Originally posted: November 29, 2016
Addteq was proud to take the pledge a year ago. Since then, Addteq has founded the Iris Foundation. The Iris Foundation was created in an attempt to build philanthropy awareness within the IT industry.
Pledge 1%, allowed us to pledge 1% of our time and software products to companies in need. Within the short year after we took the pledge, the Iris Foundation was able to become the official sponsors of the New Jersey Chapter of Room To Read.
Some of our other recent initiatives include:
- Volunteering at various local venues to contribute our time for efforts they may need
- Hosted a charity picnic to raise funds for Room to Read
- Created a four year scholarship program to tech students in India. We are currently sponsoring our first student’s full four-year tuition.
- Sponsorship of a local World of Music concert with Room to Read on September 11th.
It turns out, those first few team activities inspired Addteq founder Sukhbir Dhillon to do more. Because of his upbringing in India, he’s very aware of the lack of opportunity for the under privileged. And he knows what opportunities can do. That’s how the Iris Foundation was born.
Its first initiative was to form a scholarship program at RAIT (Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology), where Sukhbir also happens to be an alumni. Its mission is to bring out the genius in everyone, no matter his or her circumstances. In other words, it seeks out the Einsteins from anywhere to give them an opportunity to change the world. The Iris Foundation’s mission is to find the Einstein in everybody and provide him or her the opportunity to change the world. Check out the video from the scholarship ceremony.
“Our participation has had a real snowball effect. Now alumni at the university are offering to get involved and help contribute to The Iris Foundation, too.” – Jaclyn DePinho, Marketing Specialist at Addteq
Addteq encourages other tech industry experts to take the pledge and join a great network of people willing to spread their philanthropy across the world. Read more about how Addteq and other Atlassian partners were able to take our pledges to the next level.
Interested in what we do or have an idea and want to get involved with us? Contact us today!
Originally posted: November 29, 2016
By Allison Riggs, Global Marketing Manager at e-Core. Originally published on the Atlassian blog as part of their #TeamUp4Good series.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Ghandi
When the call to action came to join the Pledge 1% Initiative, the e-Core leadership team realized that this was more than just a chance to do good in our communities, but also an opportunity to inspire our teams to do good together.
Getting started as a team
Our first project started with a small community center, Casinha, or “little house”, for children in the impoverished area outside of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Since e-Core’s largest office and main service delivery center is located in downtown Porto Alegre, it made sense for us to start there. During our first visit to the center we noticed they had a lot of great computer equipment that hadn’t been set up or used yet.
Our tech teams knew this was the best way they could begin helping by building computer stations and putting desktop computers together. After setting up their computer room, our teams starting providing computer classes for kids after school.
This one small idea then turned into a dedication to bettering the home in multiple areas, including offering music classes, organizing soccer games, and eventually funding and painting the entire house. Our employees turned one small project into an ongoing partnership including monthly events with Casinha.
As the teams in Brazil became more involved, the inspiration spread to our other offices in the U.S. Choosing to combat the issue of local hunger, our New York and Tampa, Florida offices started working with food banks and shelters to package and deliver healthy meals to families in need. In just the past five months, our teams across our four global offices have completed over 190 hours of volunteer hours with four different organizations.
My Pledge 1% story
My personal journey with the Pledge 1% program started when I joined our e-Core Committee for giving back. The first project I worked on was with a few co-workers at the distribution center of Feeding Tampa Bay, where we stocked shelves of food for local food pantries. After this first small effort, I knew I could give more to people in need.
My husband and I started talking about what we could do for a village that he visited earlier this year in Las Salinas, Nicaragua. Like most under-developed countries, only 20% of Nicaragua’s population has consistent and affordable access to clean water. Contaminated water mainly affects children, often leading to months of missed school and/or serious medical conditions.
This is where we knew we could make an impact. Through my husband’s work in Central America over the last nine years, we had purchased three simple, small, and highly-effective water systems. One of these water systems can provide clean water for up to 70 homes, or an entire school, in a community indefinitely.
With our expedition bags, the water systems, and our determination to make a difference, we left for Las Salinas for one full week. Working as a team with friends in Las Salinas, we were introduced to Erno, the director of seven schools, and Martita, the director of the local medical clinic. In less than an hour, we had trained them both on how to use the systems in each of their locations.
Martita explained to us that every month she travels to even more remote villages to provide check-ups and health education to families. She was excited to bring the water system with her to provide a solution for children and pregnant women in desperate need of clean water. Their hope for their communities was visible, as laughter, hugs and tears were shared over the next few days. We realized that together we each had a small piece of the puzzle to bringing these water systems to where they needed to be and providing clean water to thousands of people.
Giving back is part of teamwork
My story is just one of many at e-Core where people are coming together as teams or individuals to make an impact around the world. The Pledge 1% program has provided the opportunities for our team to interact in a new way as people from different departments come together to drive efforts forward. Support engineers, HR Analysts, IT Teams and executives stand side-by-side giving back to those in need.
Here are some ways your team can get started:
- Just start! Once we made the Pledge, we created a committee of only four people to implement the program company-wide. Our first project consisted of a few team members who showed the kids at Casinha how to use Google to help with their homework. It doesn’t have to be a big idea to make a big impact in the lives of others.
- Create easy ways for your employees to get involved. Provide a few examples of places to volunteer and make signing up easy. We use JIRA to request, approve and track our volunteer hours.
- Create a culture of sharing your experiences. We ask our teams to share their stories on Confluence. Teams are motivated to encourage each other and talk about how they are giving back.
We are thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the Pledge 1% community and we hope you will join us and take the pledge!
Originally posted: November 29, 2016
Pledge 1% Boston, spearheaded by the Boston Foundation and a network of community leaders, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Life Science Cares. Since launching two months ago, Pledge 1% Boston has recruited almost 20 companies to pledge 1% for their communities. We are excited to parlay this initial success into an alliance with the life sciences community, one of Greater Boston’s most influential sectors. This kind of industry-specific partnership is a new approach for Pledge 1%, and we are excited to be blazing the trail in this region.
The life sciences sector in here is far-reaching and substantial. According to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, all of the world’s top 10 biopharmaceutical firms maintain facilities in the state. More than 500 other biopharma companies and 400 medical device makers also call Massachusetts home. With this burgeoning and growing economy in our region, we have an opportunity and obligation to connect leaders with the practice of giving back from an early stage.
Life Science Cares is an emerging nonprofit that engages leaders and companies in the space with giving back. The mission of Life Science Cares , is to “put the true good that life sciences companies represent into action—not just for human health, but for human potential.” In just the last year, Life Science Cares has recruited more than 70 leaders and companies to unite their human and financial resources to end poverty in greater Boston. The organization has attracted leaders from across the industry to its Board of Advisors, including Alnylam Pharmaceuticals CEO John Maraganore, Vertex Pharmaceuticals CEO Jeffrey Leiden, Mass Bio CEO Bob Coughlin, Ovascience founder and chairwoman Michelle Dipp, and Mass Life Sciences CEO Travis McReady. Other notable Greater Boston community leaders on Life Science Care’s Board of Advisors include Deval Patrick and Greg Shell from Bain Capital,, former Millennium and Forum Pharmaceuticals CEO Deborah Dunsire and former Cubist Pharmaceuticals CEO Mike Bonney. Initial nonprofit grant partners include Citizen Schools, Bottom Line, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay.
“Pledge 1% Boston is an important initiative for this community, and the broader Greater Boston region”, said Rob Perez, Founder and Chairman of Life Science Cares. “Engaging founders and companies to set aside 1% of equity or other resources for giving back to communities from an early stage is a terrific way to provide meaningful resources for the future of Greater Boston. We are excited to partner with Pledge 1% Boston and the Boston Foundation to embed giving back into the DNA of life sciences companies.”
We will be formally announcing this partnership in early December at a reception for the life sciences community hosted by the Boston Foundation.
Originally posted: November 29, 2016
Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of Salesforce, is one of Pledge 1%’s founding partners. Over the years, their 1% commitment to charity has grown and they have been–and continue to be–a key partner for Room to Read. Since its earliest days, Room to Read has been able to leverage Salesforce’s technology, people, and resources to help them reach as many children as possible throughout Asia and Africa.
As a way to thank Salesforce employees for their dedication to volunteering, Room to Read hosted a group of Salesforce employees from around the world on a trip to Cambodia. Together, they visited Room to Read’s Literacy Program schools as well as Girls’ Education Program participants, volunteering in local communities and learning about Room to Read’s work.
Thanks to partners like Salesforce, Room to Read is able to further their mission to support children, providing them educational opportunities to help them succeed in life. To learn more about Room to Read, and to donate, visit www.roomtoread.org.
Originally posted: November 29, 2016
Watch this video to hear why Michael Carter, co-founder at Kahuso, decided to Pledge 1%.
Originally posted: November 29, 2016
The holiday season brings with it the season of giving, and at Comalatech that means fondly remembering the opportunities we’ve had to give back to our communities. We are ardent believers that our success as a team comes with an obligation to return some of that good fortune to the places we call home. We are all so proud to share the various ways we’ve supported charities and non-profit organizations this year, including an update on our “Pledge 1%” promise we made last year.
Spreading Joy Worldwide
Since 2008 Comalatech has been fortunate enough to contribute over $130,000 to a variety of local and international charities. This year, as a part of our Pledge 1% initiative, we expanded our efforts to include more charities, in more countries, than we’ve ever been able to help before.
We chose seven Canadian charities to support, including the Crisis Centre of BC, David Suzuki Foundation, Union Gospel Mission, Sierra Club of BC, RAVEN Trust, Greater Vancouver Foodbank, and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. In Spain we are proud to have donated to the Fundación Nido, Fundación Masnatur, Sant Joan de Deu Hospital, Asociación Navarra de Autismo, and Fundación Barraquer. Somewhere on the coast of Australia there are 40 turtle hatchlings that will be protected thanks to our sponsorship of the Queensland Trust for Nature. And we are also contributors to charities active around the globe, such as Médecins Sans Frontières, Amnesty International. and Proactiva Open Arms.
All told we contributed to sixteen different charities in 2016, and that doesn’t include the free product licenses we provided to more than 140 non-profit organizations, bringing our active total to over 600. The entire Comalatech team is pleased to have helped so many people, but we’re not done yet.
100% Committed to Pledge 1%
At the end of 2015, Comalatech followed the lead of tech companies like Atlassian, Salesforce, and CA Technologies to make a vow regarding our corporate giving – we committed ourselves to Pledge 1%. For our objective we chose to pledge 1% of our profits to charity, and we’re proud to report that we met and actually exceeded the 1% mark in 2016! We are such big believers in this movement that we are once again publicly committing to Pledge 1% in 2017, and we would encourage other business in our space to do the same.
Our CEO, Roberto Dominguez, is a proponent of corporate responsibility and he feels strongly about the vision of Pledge 1%.
We’ve been committed to corporate giving since the day Comalatech opened its doors. When I saw the organizations that were the driving force behind Pledge 1% I got excited about the possibilities of the movement. It’s been very gratifying to see other like-minded businesses in the tech space take part, and I have no doubt that even more will join us in 2017.
As 2016 draws to a close we are simultaneously proud of how we’ve helped our communities, and also aware that there’s still more to be done. 2017 will bring more milestones for Comalatech, including our 10 year anniversary, but our commitment to Pledge 1% will always be one of our highest priorities.
Originally posted: November 29, 2016
How did you hear about pledge 1%?
As an add-on developer for Atlassian’s JIRA product, we are very familiar with a lot of what Atlassian does. The Pledge 1% movement caught our attention before incorporating ThinkTilt, as a great and straightforward way to encourage corporate philanthropy.
What have you pledged?
During the initial planning stage of ThinkTilt, I was considering the various options for structuring the venture that might help us succeed. The two other people that I wanted to entice to join me to lead ThinkTilt had worked with me at a large social enterprise in Australia, and I knew from experience that being part of a social enterprise was one of the big rewards for doing the work we did. I considered seeking BCorp certification; however, the administrative and compliance burden was such that we did not think it was appropriate for a new enterprise. That is why we looked to the Pledge 1% movement as a means of demonstrating our commitment to supporting the communities we operate in.
So as I drafted the business plan and made the pitch to my now fellow directors, we incorporated a provision stating that we would pledge 5%. Initially, the pledge only covers 5% of equity (on a non-diluting basis); however, as our operations expand we will incorporate time contributions and also product contributions.
Why did you pledge 5% instead of 1%?
We wanted to bake into our organisation’s DNA that giving back is a key value. We felt that 5% was of a sufficient size that it would impact how we manage our team, especially when we take on more staff and have to provide for their contributions of time. Also pledging 5% was no different to allocating 1% of equity at the outset, as the actual value of the pledge was negligible. We have also made a binding commitment that, if we take on outside investors in the future they will be similarly bound by our pledge.
What are your plans for the future?
As we take on more employees we will have to look to incorporating their contribution of time. We will probably look to direct their time contribution to give back in the fields that they are experts in. For us, that is software development, and process and form design. We are also looking to work with Atlassian to explore different options for allowing the contribution of our product through the Atlassian Marketplace.
Originally posted: November 29, 2016
By Jessie VanderVeen, CMO, Tempo
Tempo has been a partner of Room to Read for more than six years now as part of our corporate culture of community service and philanthropic leadership to empower others within the global community.
To date, we have donated more than $75,000 to Room to Read through Tempo’s Starter License Program–$100 for annual 10-user starter licenses for Atlassian JIRA–which has provided approximately 1,800 children with education.
“Like many of our peers, Tempo is experiencing rapid growth. With that growth comes a responsibility to help those in
our industry and the communities we serve,” said Agust Einarsson, CEO, Tempo.
Sharing is Caring: Tempo Gives Back
As one of the largest, award-winning, and top-selling developers in the Atlassian Ecosystem, Tempo has at our core a
focus on collaboration.
“Building solutions that help teams extends naturally to our corporate desire of helping others – whether customers or individuals living in various communities around the world,” Agust said.
A Small Act of Kindness Goes A Long Way…
At the beginning of this year, the Tempo staff was given an opportunity to vote on a country where Room to Read would publish a book in honor of Tempo and we went with Nepal.
Hence, the birth of Mom Became Happy in Nepali.
Written by local author, Krishna Dip Sigdel, the story of Mom Became Happy was brought to life by Ubahang Limbu with his beautiful and heartwarming illustrations. The first print of the book counts 5,000 copies and is distributed in Room to Read libraries and schools in Nepal.
We were so thrilled to flip through it when we received our copy of the book at the Tempo office. A few of us even had difficulties putting it down!
Originally posted: November 29, 2016