Originally published on Appfire.com. Written by Cody Wooten.

In 2015, Appfire formally joined an impressive network of organizations across the globe who have committed to philanthropic efforts through the Pledge 1% movement. Since 2018, across all Appfire products, we have donated millions of dollars in free products to non-profit and educational organizations around the world.

We have contributed donations to charities such as Feeding America, Rise Against Hunger, Room to Read, Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society, and many others. Giving back is an integral part of our business and a key component of our company DNA.

Further elevating our philanthropic commitments was a critical element of entering into our new partnership with TA Associates and the strategic investment they made in Appfire earlier this year. Today Appfire is excited to officially announce that we will donate 1% of the equity in our business to Pledge 1% to continue their movement to inspire, educate, and empower companies to leverage their assets to be a force for good. This also means that Appfire has grown our Pledge 1% program to all four pledge types — product, profit, equity, and employee time.

“From day one, we’ve been committed to giving back — not just once we grew larger and could afford to do so, but starting day one, wherever we could, however we could,” said Randall Ward, co-founder and CEO, Appfire. “We strongly believe in the Pledge 1% movement and are thrilled to enter into this next phase of charitable giving.”

As a Pledge 1% Builder, Appfire invests time developing program content, supporting local communities, and helping spread the word about Pledge 1% to recruit new member organizations. Pledge 1% membership has grown to over 12,000 companies in 100+ countries thanks in large part to its flexible framework.

“Many of today’s hottest and most successful companies are setting aside equity for social impact on their road to a liquidity event. By formalizing their equity pledge, Appfire is once again demonstrating their leadership in the Pledge 1% movement and inspiring other companies to join them in leveraging all of their assets for good,” said Amy Lesnick, Chief Executive of Pledge 1%.

“By generously directing their equity to fund Pledge 1%, Appfire is taking this new normal a step further and helping propel the Pledge 1% movement forward. This is setting a strong example for how today’s business leaders can have an exponential impact. We are immensely grateful to Appfire — it’s through leaders like Randall and the Appfire team that we can accelerate the movement today and for years to come.”

We are so proud to be a part of the Pledge 1% community and encourage other companies to take the pledge. Learn more at www.pledge1percent.org.

(Author’s note: We want to give a big THANK YOU & CONGRATS to Randall Ward and the Appfire team for formalizing their #Pledge1 commitment! We are so grateful for your leadership. -Pledge 1%)

Originally published on Lob.org. Written by Christina Louie Dyer.

Lob Launches Lob.org to Leverage Our Direct Mail Platform for Good

Today, we are excited to share that Lob has launched Lob.org, our dedicated social impact arm. Through Lob.org, we are committed to driving change through more sustainable and strategic direct mail. Our focus will be on racial justice, civic action, and sustainability.

Lob.org’s work aligns with the heart of Lob and our core values, and builds upon employee-led initiatives. Last year, this work started when a group of passionate employees launched a product program for organizations fighting against racial injustice. Two program recipients, JustFix.nyc and MuckRock, use Lob to save time and ease administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on more mission-critical work. More than 20,000 mail pieces have been sent by impact organizations to date through the product program.

Our social impact strategy will continue to leverage our core competencies. We’ve joined the Pledge 1% movement, committing 1% of employee time and product towards our impact work. A new policy gives Lobsters three days of paid volunteer time off to engage with the organizations they are passionate about. This time is not limited to volunteering with nonprofits and includes participation in peaceful civil liberties movements that advocate for freedom and equal rights, as well as in schools. In addition to the organizations fighting for racial justice, we’re expanding our discounted product offer to more nonprofits and to organizations whose missions align with our focus areas of racial justice and civic action. We hope to help many other nonprofits use Lob to meet their goals, similar to Ameelio who employs Lob to disrupt the prison telecommunications industry and helps people stay connected with incarcerated loved ones. We’re also looking to expand our partnerships to deepen our impact. While we’re experts in direct mail, we have a lot to learn from frontline organizations whose expertise will help guide the actions we take and what we invest in.

From a sustainability standpoint, we recognize that as a direct mail platform we have a clear responsibility to ensure that we become more sustainable in our practices and processes. As we realize our sustainability goals, we will help our customers and partners realize theirs. To begin, we’re running a materiality assessment to evaluate our current state. We want to better understand and identify what our most material issue areas are and where we have the greatest opportunity for impact. From there, we’ll work internally and with partners, current and new, to address those opportunity areas. In the meantime, we will continue to plant more trees than we use through our partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects and utilize Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper with a minimum 10% PCW content.

I personally joined Lob because I saw a huge opportunity for the product to support social impact organizations, and felt strong alignment with the culture and values of the company. This is truly a company that takes action. I’m proud that Lob proactively chose to invest in social impact at this stage, and optimistic about how we will be able to scale our work proportionately with our company’s growth. The work of Lob.org is core to what Lob does and requires the ongoing collaboration of passionate Lobsters across the organization and innovative partnerships. Stay tuned for more to come!

Written by Christina Franz. Originally published on twilio.com.

Just as COVID-19 has accelerated digital engagement, the pandemic has accelerated our responsibility to help others as companies and individuals. From helping a neighbor who is sick, to calling someone who is lonely, to giving what we can toward social causes, the pandemic has highlighted the many ways we depend on each other, both within our companies and across the communities we call home.

Twilio founded WePledge last year to support employees in making a positive impact. Through WePledge, Twilions give 1 percent of their time and resources to do good, and we support them by providing volunteer time off, accessible volunteer opportunities, and matching gifts. It’s a model that has proven to drive impact at scale. Over 1,000 Twilions have donated $1 million dollars and contributed 6,000 hours of service to social good.

A new global partnership for social impact

Now, we’re calling on you to join us. Starting today, WePledge is open to everyone—individuals and companies. We’re thrilled to announce that our inaugural company partners Atlassian, Okta, and Zoom are launching WePledge at their companies to enable 13,000 more employees to take action for social good. The social impact nonprofit, Pledge 1%, is also bringing WePledge to its global community of impact-led organizations. And finally, we’ve opened WePledge to every individual who wants to pledge to do good, even if you don’t work at one of these companies.

WePledge for individuals

We know many of you are volunteering and donating to social causes already. We want to help accelerate your impact by inviting you to join the WePledge movement. When you take the pledge, we’ll share easy ways to learn more about causes you care about and volunteer virtually.

To amplify the WePledge community’s impact, Twilio is donating $1 million USD from our donor advised fund toward organizations selected by WePledge members. The first 10,000 eligible individuals* who join WePledge by the end of 2020 can designate 1 of 10 nonprofit organizations to receive a $100 USD donation from Twilio’s donor advised fund when they sign up.

Learn more about joining WePledge as an individual.

WePledge for companies

WePledge is a proven framework to activate employees in social impact, whether your company is new to social impact initiatives or is already engaging employees. Mark Reading, Head of the Atlassian Foundation, explains, “WePledge is a great framework for extending the Pledge 1% movement to employees of both Pledge 1% members and companies that aren’t (yet) part of the Pledge 1% movement.”

In addition to doing good, research shows that when companies build cultures of giving, they also realize greater success. According to a study by the Babson Social Innovation Lab, a well-designed corporate social responsibility program can increase employee productivity by 13 percent, reduce employee turnover by 50 percent, and increase revenue by as much as 20 percent.

When you join WePledge as a company partner, we’ll provide resources and support to help you launch WePledge at your company. You’ll receive a program guidebook, tools to help motivate and inspire your employees, and more. Our goal is to equip you to level up your company’s impact by using proven tactics that scale. As Kelly Steckleberg, CFO of Zoom, describes, “By adopting the WePledge program we are able to support our employees’ commitments to give back, and make it easy to make an impact both individually and as a company.”

Learn more about launching WePledge at your company.

This October, let’s support good health and wellbeing

Each month, we’re providing giving and volunteering opportunities aligned to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which address global challenges including poverty, hunger, well-being, climate change, justice, and education. As the UN explains, the SDGs are “the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.”

World Mental Health Day is celebrated annually on October 10th and is a key initiative to achieving the third Sustainable Development Goal, Good Health and Wellbeing. One in four people will experience mental illness in their lifetimes, making mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health worldwide (WHO).

You can live your pledge by supporting the following mental health organizations. These global nonprofits provide crisis lines and behavioral health services, and are experiencing increased demand during the pandemic. By carrying out your pledge, you can change someone’s life.

• Centro de Valorização da Vida (Brazil) – Learn More


• Crisis Text Line (US, UK, Ireland) – Learn more / Volunteer US, UK, Ireland


• Lifeline (Australia) – Learn more / Volunteer


• ObjectiveZero (US Service members and veterans) – Learn more / Volunteer


• National Alliance on Mental Illness (US) – Learn more / Volunteer


• Trans Lifeline (Trans individuals in the US and Canada) – Learn more / Volunteer


• Trevor Project (US LGBTQ Youth) – Learn more / Volunteer


• Turn2Me (Europe) – Learn more / Volunteer


• Vibrant Emotional Health (US) – Learn more

If you or someone you know is struggling, here is a list of global crisis lines.

You can learn more about supporting these organizations by visiting the WePledge FAQ, and if you have other giving or volunteer ideas in support of mental health, drop us a note at wepledge1@twilio.com.

Take the Pledge Today

Are you ready to join the movement? Visit wepledge.org to sign up or text PLEDGE to 44663 (US phone numbers only). The first 10,000 eligible individuals* to sign up will have an opportunity to designate $100 to an organization helping to change the world for good.

We can’t wait to see the impact you build.

*Individuals must be 13 years or older to sign up. Residents of any country that is subject to an embargo of the United States government may sign up but will not be eligible to designate an organization to receive a $100 USD donation. Void where prohibited.

[May 5, 2020] This May 5th, organizations around the world are coming together for #GivingTuesdayNow, a new global day that celebrates generosity and unity in response to COVID-19. As a global philanthropy movement, Pledge 1% is committed to empowering companies of all sizes and stages to have an impact. Now–as we are faced with an unprecedented global pandemic and economic crises–our collective 1%s matter even more, and companies large and small are stepping up to leverage their 1% Pledge to stop the spread around the world.

From Salesforce who, among other things, played an instrumental role in mobilizing 24 Bay Area Tech companies to contribute $22 million in COVID response funding, to Flexport who leveraged its platform, relationships, and logistics expertise to ship 45+ million units of PPE and other much needed medical supplies to frontline workers around the world, to Atlassian who is providing crucial funding to global education organizations, to Techstars who is offering critical support to founders and startups as they navigate this new reality, Pledge 1% members are leveraging their teams, their talents, their product, and their partner and customer community to help.

To amplify these efforts Pledge 1% has:

• Created a COVID-19 response page, where individuals and companies can easily find valuable resources for to help them navigate this crisis, exchange learnings with their peers, and leverage their assets to support others in this time of need; 


• Called on our member community to share stories of how they are activating their Pledge 1% commitments to stop the spread. Over 54 companies responded and will be highlighted every 30 minutes during the 24 hours of #GivingTuesdayNow as part of a special Force for Good blog series;


• Rallied Pledge 1% members to join us in ringing the Nasdaq closing bell on May 5th, to express our gratitude for front line workers and recognition for companies large and small stepping up to make a difference during this crisis. Thanks to our partnership with Nasdaq, together, we also lit up Times Square with messages of encouragement from our community;


• Provided special #GivingTuesdayNow toolkits, ideas, and resources to help businesses, their teams, and their partner/customer community easily participate in this global day of unity from the safety of their homes.

“There has never been a more important time for a movement like Pledge 1%, that inspires, educates, and empowers companies to creatively and collaboratively leverage their assets to tackle some of the toughest social issues of our time,” says Pledge 1% Chief Executive Amy Lesnick. “Pledge 1% is proud to be working side by side with our members as well as our COVID Coalition partners, comprised of Pledge 1% Builders and Social Impact leaders from 90+ top companies, who have been convening weekly since mid-March to share resources and address issues ranging from virtual volunteerism to PPE shortages to non profit sustainability, food insecurity, the growing challenges of small businesses, and more.” 

This pandemic is affecting every person on Earth. Only together, will we heal and recover. Whether it’s #GivingTuesday, or any day, we encourage you to join us and other members of the business community in giving whatever you can to help. Together, we are a force for good.

To learn more about Pledge 1% or to access their tools and resources for companies to navigate this pandemic visit www.pledge1percent.org.covid19. 

…..

About Pledge 1%

Pledge 1% is a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 10,000 members in 100 countries have used Pledge 1%’s flexible framework to ignite half a billion dollars in new philanthropy. To learn more about Pledge 1% and to take the pledge visit www.pledge1percent.org.

Originally published on businessswire.com

Zuora, Inc., the leading cloud-based subscription management platform provider, today announced that the Zuora Impact Fund, through Zuora.org, the company’s philanthropic arm, is now accepting applications for its first public grant cycle, through May 31, 2020.

Zuora is seeking to fund organizations that align with the goal of this grant cycle: to support the communities where its employees live and work. Zuora will make strategic grants to global nonprofits and social enterprises focused on creating more equitable and prosperous communities, including those which strengthen educational foundations, create innovative workforce development opportunities, and stimulate local economies.

“At Zuora we know that we can only succeed if our employees and communities are thriving. Given the current COVID-19 crisis, organizations are changing the way they reach and support their constituents, and we want to help accelerate that work. While we’ve had this grant cycle planned for some time, launching now couldn’t be more critical,” said Rory Ihlamur, Director of Zuora.org.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zuora joined the COVID-19 Tech Collaborative, a collective of 25 Bay Area based companies, to immediately disperse an initial $22 million in collective funding to those most impacted. And, through Zuora.org, employees are engaged in virtual volunteer opportunities around the world.

“The Subscription Economy is having a tremendous impact on society. As consumers shift their preference from ownership to usership, everything will eventually become a service. At Zuora, we want to not only support the businesses making this shift, but do our part to ensure that the opportunities of this new economy are accessible to everyone,” said Tien Tzuo, CEO and Founder of Zuora. “The mission of Zuora.org is to ensure that the Subscription Economy benefits individuals and communities, as much as it does businesses.”

In an effort to create more inclusive economies, last year Zuora committed an initial $1,000,000 to provide funding to organizations that are working tirelessly to help bridge socioeconomic opportunity gaps. The company’s philanthropic arm, Zuora.org, will use the funds to fuel two initiatives: the Zuora Impact Fund which invests in mission-aligned nonprofits and social enterprises and employee-driven volunteer and fundraising activation.

This work is the actualization of Zuora’s commitment to the Pledge 1% movement, in which Zuora will allocate 1% of equity and employee time to philanthropic endeavors.

Recipients of the first public grant cycle will receive grants ranging from $10,000 – $50,000 to put their plans into action. Zuora will accept applications through May 31, 2020 and will announce recipients later this June. For more information on how to apply, or to read more about Zuora’s philanthropic work, visit Zuora.org.

Originally published on Forbes.com

Mr. Rogers once said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mom would say to me ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” And that can be no truer than now. I live in the Bay Area where there has been a mandatory shutdown. It is bizarre to see the grocery store ransacked, the schools empty, and the explosion of mass hysteria on social media. Most people’s lives have been completely upended by the Corona Virus or COVID-19 sweeping the world. That said, today I’m highlighting 50 helpers. When the pressure is on, and governments are overloaded, it is up to businesses large and small to do things that will better their employees, customers and the community at large, until this difficult time passes. We’ve even seen famous musicians like John Legend, Keith Urban and Pink play free concerts for people isolated at home. From a business and government perspective, what we have seen in the last few weeks and days, is how fast we can move and make decisions when we want to affect change as a society. But let’s get to the recognition.

Here are 50 Examples of Companies Doing Good For The World During This Corona Virus Pandemic:

1.  Microsoft announced that they will keep paying the hourly workers who support their campus.

2. Google established a COVID-19 fund that enables all temporary staff and vendors, globally, to take paid sick leave if they have potential symptoms of COVID-19, or can’t come into work because they’re quarantined. They have also made their video conferencing service, Hangouts Meet, available for all G-suite customers until July 1, 2020.

3. Loom, a video recording and sharing service has made Loom Pro free for teachers and students at K-12 schools, universities, and educational institutions. They have also removed the recording limit on free plans and have cut the price for Loom Pro in half.

4. Mark Cuban announced that any of his employees (including those who work for the Mavericks) will be reimbursed for any lunch and coffee purchases from local, independent small businesses.

5. Forbes8 is hosting a free digital summit on March 20, 2020 under the theme of Business Resilience: Thriving in Crucial Times. The speaker roster includes top experts and best-selling authors such as Chris Brogan, Rohit Bhargava, and Dorie Clark. Many of the speakers were slated to speak at the cancelled SXSW this year.

6. Shine Distillery in Portland started making and giving away hand sanitizer in an acute shortage.

7. The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy’s in-house team of literacy and education experts has created a toolkit of high-quality online resources that can be used anytime, anywhere, helping parents navigate the vast amount of available options.

8. LinkedIn is opening up 16 of its learning courses for free. Courses that provide tips on how to stay productive, build relationships when you’re not face-to-face, use virtual meeting tools and balance family and work dynamics in a healthy way.

9. Jamm, an audio-visual communication tool used by remote and distributed teams is offering it free of charge.

10. Adobe is giving higher education and K-12 institutional customers of their Creative Cloud apps the ability to request temporary “at-home” access for their students and educators. This is being granted through May 31, 2020 at no additional cost and is available globally.

11. Meero, a file transfer service, is offering free large-file transfers to ease remote working.

12. OneDine is offering a free Tap & Pay Touchless Payment system to restaurants during the COVID-19 crisis.

13. Amazon is hiring 100,000 more workers and giving raises to current staff to deal with coronavirus demands.

14. Chef José Andrés of LA set up shop in California earlier this month to feed cruise ship guests quarantined from the outbreak. Andrés announced this week he will transform eight of his New York and Washington, DC, restaurants into community kitchens for those struggling during the pandemic.

15. Sweetgreen has announced it will start dedicating Outpost operations and teams to support “those on the front lines” (meaning hospital workers and medical personnel) by delivering free salads and bowls to hospitals in the cities it serves.

16. &Pizza’s CEO Michael Lastoria notified employees last week that the company is offering free, unlimited pizzas to them and their immediate families, as well as to hospital workers who show identification. The company is also raising hourly pay by $1 and 14 days of “health and safety pay” to employees who have tested positive or who have come in contact with someone with coronavirus.

17. Everytable, a Los Angeles-based café launched a helpline to ensure that everyone in its market has access to healthy meals during this time.

18. Starbucks has extended its mental health benefits. In partnership with Lyra Health, Starbucks is offering its partners personalized, confidential mental health care, 20 free in-person or video sessions every year for partners and each of their eligible family members, online scheduling with most providers available within two weeks, and access to a provider network of mental health therapists and coaches.

19. UberEats and DoorDash have waived commission fees for independent restaurant partners, while Postmates has launched a pilot program for small businesses that temporarily waives commission fees for businesses in the SF Bay Area.

20. Dolce & Gabbana announced that it has partnered with Humanitas University to fund a coronavirus research project.

21. Giorgio Armani has donated $1.43 million dollars to four hospitals in Rome and Milan, as well as to the Civil Protection Agency.

22. French luxury group Kering, which owns brands like Gucci and Bottega Veneta, has donated 2 million euros to help the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

23. Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, the CEO of Prada, came to the region’s aid by donating two full intensive care and resuscitation units each to three Milanese hospitals.

24. Alphabet (Google’s parent company) created a COVID-19 fund to provide sick leave to affected workers globally, including all temporary staff, contractors, and vendors.

25. Amazon just announced that it will offer unlimited paid sick leave over the next month, but only for those who test positive for COVID-19.

26. Apple is now offering its retail staff unlimited paid sick leave to anyone experiencing coronavirus systems.

27. Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, others) has announced paid sick leave for all of its hourly workers not currently covered by a corporate policy.

28. McDonald’s has stated that it will cover sick leave for any employees at corporate-owned locations who are asked to quarantine for two weeks.

29. Walmart has deployed an Emergency Leave program, which provides time-off for employees depending on various coronavirus threat levels.

30. Uber announced they will provide 14 days of sick pay for drivers or delivery workers – technically considered independent contractors who have not previously qualified for paid leave or benefits – who are sick with the coronavirus or are required to be isolated.

31. Amazon created a $25M fund to help its delivery drivers and seasonal workers cope with coronavirus, and a $5M dollar fund to help affected small businesses in Seattle.

32. Amazon and Microsoft have each pledged $2.5 million, with the possibility of more, to help out those afflicted by the disease in Seattle.

33. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and Wells Fargo have stopped all stock buybacks for the 2nd quarter in order to maintain their solvency and liquidity for customers during the outbreak.

34. Comcast, Charter, Verizon, Google, T-Mobile and Sprint have signed a pledge to keep Americans internet-connected for the next 60 days, even if people cannot afford to pay.

35. Delta’s CEO is forgoing his salary for the year to try and diminish layoffs.

36. Disney has closed its parks and cruises in response to coronavirus. They have promised to continue paying their employees during the closure, and will give refunds to all those who had planned on visiting.

37. Hilton is waiving cancellation fees to their hotels for people in coronavirus infected countries.

38. Salesforce has created a $1.5 million dollar coronavirus fund for affected citizens in San Francisco.

39. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly has taken a 10% pay cut as a preliminary measure to offset the decreased demand for flights.

40. U-Haul has announced 30 days of free self-storage to all college students who have been impacted by schedule changes at their universities.

41. United’s CEO and President said they would forgo their base salaries until at least June 30.

42. Workday is giving their employees an additional 2 weeks of pay in order to help them during the coronavirus fallout.

43. Apple has closed all of its stores outside of Greater China, and will re-open in several weeks after an extensive deep cleaning. All employees will be paid for the duration of the closure.

44. Lululemon is closing all of their stores in North America and Europe for the next two weeks. Their employees will be paid for all of the hours they were scheduled to work.

45. REI is closing their stores until March 27th, and all of their employees will be paid during this temporary closure.

46. Starbucks has moved to a “to-go” model until the end of March in all of their U.S. and Canadian stores. They will also close stores in heavily infected areas.

47. VF Corp is closing all of their stores until April 5th. All of their employees will continue to get paid through the closure.

48. LVMH, the parent company of Christian Dior, Guerlain and Givenchy, wants to help French health authorities by manufacturing hand sanitizer and providing it to them for free. LVMH said it will use all the production facilities of its perfumes and cosmetics brands to produce large quantities of hydroalcoholic gel, or hand sanitizer, starting Monday.

49. NBCUniversal is now offering its newest movies including The Hunt and The Invisible Man for affordable rates on demand.

50. Restaurants like Ideal Bite Community Kitchen are donating food to organizations like Cass Community Social Services (CCSS), a nonprofit organization working with at-risk communities in Detroit.

Let these fifty examples of giving back inspire you to see how you can help people in your community, or in your business. Helping and being of service to others is a positive way to counter the anxiety and negativity swirling around in the media constantly. Look around and consider how you can step up and be a leader during this challenging time for the world.

Originally posted: March 18, 2020

Originally posted: March 5, 2020