By Igor Sereda. Originally published on the ALM Works blog.
Today, we are pleased to announce that ALM Works has joined the Pledge 1%, a global movement creating new normal where companies of all sizes integrate giving back into their culture and values.
Pledge 1% empowers companies to donate 1% of product, 1% of equity, 1% of profit or 1% of employee time to causes of their choice. Over 1,500 companies in 40 countries have taken the Pledge and committed to give to communities around the world. We are excited to join Pledge 1%’s network of founders, entrepreneurs and companies around the globe that have committed to giving back.
We have committed to pledging 1% of Equity, Product and Time to a good cause. We have already started in December 2016, when our 3-day Delivery Week hackathon was also used as a fundraiser for two local charity funds in St. Petersburg, Russia — «Кислород» (Oxygen), a charity fund that supports children with cystic fibrosis, and AdVita, which funds expensive cancer treatments unavailable under the public health service. ALM Works and our employees together raised and donated an equivalent of 8,000 USD to these funds. (For more details on this hackathon, see our Facebook post.)
By joining Pledge 1%, we intend to make such events regular in our company and we encourage our friends in other enterprises to join too. For more information about Pledge 1%, visit www.pledge1percent.org.
Igor Sereda
CEO, ALM Works
Originally posted on PR Newswire.
DALLAS, Aug. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Tim Houlne, CEO of leading business process and technology outsourcer Humach, will be participating in the upcoming Over the Edge charity event at the Plaza Towers in Iowa City, IA.
The event, which will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, occurs on September 15, 2017. Houlne joins 8 other participants in repelling down the largest building in downtown Iowa City. Together, Houlne and Humach are actively raising funds for the event.
“It sounded easy until I saw the 13-story building. But when it’s for such a fantastic cause it’s worth it,” said Houlne. “Humach has service woven into the fabric of its charter, and this is a great chance to exemplify that.”
Over the Edge is the latest in a series of community service activities in which Humach has participated as a part of the Random Acts of Humach Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization devoted to improving the lives of local communities through service and corporate philanthropy. As an official member of the Pledge 1% initiative, Humach is changing the world by pledging to donate 1% of their time, 1% of their resources, and 1% of their founders’ equity to charitable organizations around the world.
Humach employees have participated in over 100 Random Acts of Humach sponsored events this year, such as hosting blood drives for the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center and the LifeServe Blood Center, delivering Meals on Wheels, participating in Relay for Life events, and volunteering at Minnie’s Food Pantry.
To learn more about the event, please visit here.
ABOUT HUMACH
Humach helps its clients find more innovative ways to engage, acquire and support their customers by combining business intelligence, experienced agents and machine automation. They offer best-in-class multi-channel contact center services leveraging numerous patents spanning cloud-based, scalable infrastructure and experienced agents. Humach provides contact center services to some of the world’s largest brands. Learn more at www.humach.com.
Hindsight Software is proud to have joined the corporate philanthropy movement Pledge 1% and we have pledged FREE licenses of our hero tool Behave Pro to charities. Behave Pro is already helping hundreds of organisations across many different sectors around the world to deliver successful Agile projects, including several charities.
A clear understanding of user requirements by the whole Agile team, from the beginning, greatly increases the chances of project success (annual Chaos Report, Standish Group). Behave Pro directly addresses the clarification and agreement of user requirements and ensures they’re met.
The end result is timely delivery of successful Agile software projects.
Get Behave Pro totally free for your team
If you work for a registered charity, simply fill in the form here we’ll guide you through the process so you can be up and running with Behave Pro in no time at all.
By Olive Keogh. Originally published in The Irish Times.
When it comes to their careers, most millennials (roughly those born between 1980 and 2000) are not driven by money. They are natural job hoppers and they “hop” more for learning and personal development opportunities than they do for higher salaries.
Income is typically not even in the top five reasons why millennials change jobs.
“They need to be convinced why and how an organisation will help them learn, grow and develop, and further their careers,” say the authors of What Millennials Want from a New Job, Brandon Rigoni and Amy Adkins of Gallup.
The authors also point out that millennials comprise the fastest-growing consumer group and are willing to pay more for ethical products, are more prepared to share than buy and will take a pay cut to work for companies they believe demonstrate responsibility and strong social values.
One of the ways to millennials’ hearts is through good corporate social engagement. But it must be relevant and real rather than lip service. Companies have to put their money where their mouth is. If they don’t, millennials will see through the flam and move on.
What has changed in the world of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is how the process is structured. In the past, it was mainly about giving money. Now it’s a combination of money and people’s time. Employees want to get stuck in and to make a tangible difference.
Volunteers
In 2016, volunteers from aviation capital company SMBC helped build a children’s hostel in Malawi. This year the company is funding the construction of a feeding station there. The volunteers go to Malawi for five working days, two of which are taken as annual leave, with the company footing the bill for the other three.
Closer to home, more than 50 SMBC employees have been involved with lunchtime literacy and numeracy initiatives with the Irish-based education and social change organisation, Suas.
“SMBC’s contribution has made a very real difference,” says Suas interim chief executive Joanne Malone. “For example, an intensive eight-week input from a group of literacy mentors can help kick-start a child’s learning and improve their reading age by six months. The mentors also act as role models for the children who get to see a world (their ‘graduation’ event was held in SMBC’s offices) which is very different to what they are used to.”
Multinational CRM software solutions company Salesforce has had social engagement as one of its core values since its formation 17 years ago. “We have a 1-1-1 model of integrated philanthropy based around technology, people and resources,” explains Mark Stanley, vice-president for web marketing and marketing operations EMEA.
“We offer donated and discounted technologies to higher education and not for profits, we promote a culture of helping people give back and we provide grants. Last year, employees in Ireland (it has more than 1,000 staff here) donated more than 25,000 hours in volunteer time.
“Each employee gets seven paid days a year to volunteer with a cause they feel passionate about. I personally have been involved with a children’s literacy programme where we also provided funding to build a library and a wonderful multisensory room that is of huge benefit to children with special needs.
Helping others
“Apart from helping others, the volunteering is very good for employee morale,” Stanley adds. “It helps build teams and lets people interact in a different type of environment. Most of our staff members get involved and we also ask potential employees if they are willing to do so, as we want people who are a good cultural fit for our organisation.”
In an effort to get other companies actively involved in social projects, Salesforce has launched the Pledge 1% initiative to encourage all entrepreneurs to commit to integrating philanthropy into their businesses from an early stage. Since its foundation, Salesforce has given more than $160 million in grants, two million hours in community service and provided product donations to over 31,000 higher education and non-profit organisations.
The Irish operation of Big Four accountancy practice Deloitte has been involved in CSR programmes for more than 15 years.
Deloitte has about 2,300 people employed in Ireland and among other things it provides two volunteering days per year per employee matched to the same in personal leave. It also backs a two-week volunteering programme in Uganda by supporting half the time off.
Supported to volunteer
By far its biggest event is its Impact Day which takes place each September. “All staff are encouraged and supported to volunteer on that day and to provide their time, labour and expertise to our chosen projects,” says corporate responsibility manager, Claire Bergin.
“Impact is a fundamental part of Deloitte’s CR Strategy and one of the most popular days of the year for our people to get involved. Over 700 people took part in 2016.”
The skills contributed varied from helping with business strategy and marketing to decorating and gardening.
CSR used to be seen as something for big organisations with big budgets. Now companies of all sizes are beginning to recognise that, even in small doses, it’s good for their bottom line as well as for those being helped. It holds sway when it comes to recruiting millennials in particular, it promotes employee buy-in and it creates employee engagement.
Does that really matter? Yes. Companies with engaged workforces have higher turnovers, higher profits and lower staff attrition rates.
By Philip Rojc. Originally published on Inside Philanthropy.
It’s nothing new to see corporate donations that complement the company’s core business and reflect its worldview. A set of grants last month from cloud communications firm Twilio certainly fits the bill. Totaling $1 million, the grants represent part of the company’s 2015 pledge to commit 1 percent of its equity to social impact programs. At some point during this calendar year, Twilio plans to give out another $1 million in grants.
Established in 2007, Twilio sells a cloud communications platform, essentially taking care of underlying infrastructure like servers and databases. Through Twilio’s API (app programming interface), clients can then construct their own bespoke communications systems. In 2013, the company launched a social impact arm, twilio.org, catering to nonprofit B corp and social enterprise clients. These eight initial grants were awarded through the newly created Twilio.org Impact Fund.
Twilio’s commitments here underscore the growing embrace of philanthropy among newer tech companies. As we’ve reported, a great many such firms have joined the Pledge 1% campaign, which Salesforce developed to spread its 1+1+1 model.
Twilio’s recent grantees represent an array of constituencies and causes. Linking the projects together, unsurprisingly, is digital communications, as well as several plans to utilize Twilio’s service. Like a lot of corporate funders these days, Twilio is clearly keen to align its philanthropy with its core competencies—a strategy that has the added benefit of promoting its brand and products.
Twilio’s niche is increasingly critical to nonprofits. As we’ve reported, communications can be the make-or-break factor for social service and aid campaigns. When information flows poorly, as is often the case in poverty-stricken or underprivileged communities, aid can be stalled. NetHope, an initiative to enhance connectivity amidst humanitarian crises, has gotten support from a range of tech titans like Google.org, Paul Allen, Gates and Intel. Cisco has also been a big player in global aid through tech. During the ongoing global refugee crisis, various tech and communications companies have stepped forward to address the connectivity needs of displaced people.
Many of Twilio’s grants benefit causes closer to home. Recipients like CareMessage and Mission Asset Fund serve underprivileged communities in the U.S., in part by engaging people via SMS and other mobile technologies. Trek Medics, an emergency care provider, is improving its dispatch system. And initiatives like Lesbians Who Tech and #YesWeCode present underrepresented communities with paths to potential tech employment. Another grantee, Fast Forward, serves tech entrepreneurs tackling social issues.
One interesting component of Twilio’s grants is a focus on civic engagement. A grant to the OpenGov Foundation supports open-source tools in the hope of decreasing the distance between elected officials and their constituents. Another grant to Democracy Works backs voter engagement by digital means (i.e. through messaging to remind voters when the polls open).
In a lot of ways, these kinds of grants come down to narrowing the digital divide, both in the United States and overseas. That’s a cause with significant traction among tech companies, carrying with it the bonus of potential new business along with their social investments.
By Mark Reading. Originally published on the Atlassian blog.
When I joined Atlassian as the Head of Foundation last December I knew I was becoming part of something very special. Atlassian’s 5 values really do drive behaviours (so much more than anything I have experienced elsewhere during a career spanning more than 35 years) and the passion of all Atlassians (from the founders, Scott and Mike, through to our most recent joiners) to make a difference in the world is something to behold.
It sounds a little corny, but this place gives me energy that I’ve not felt for a long time. Today, I’m excited to share an opportunity for people outside Atlassian to contribute their energy and ideas to the cause of educating disadvantaged children.
But wait: what’s the Atlassian Foundation?
At Atlassian, we believe in the power of both business and education as forces for good. In the very early days of Atlassian the two founders, Scott and Mike, pledged that if ever Atlassian was successful then 1% of Atlassian’s resources (equity, profit, employee time and products) would be used for the good of humanity. This pledge, which was made at a time when Atlassian had very little, evolved into what is now known as the Pledge 1% movement.
Because of the generosity of Scott and Mike and the subsequent success of Atlassian, the Atlassian Foundation is now very well resourced (at least by corporate Australian standards). The Foundation has about a $60m in net assets and all Atlassians are encouraged to use their 5 days per year of “foundation leave” for the good of the community.
From its beginning, the Atlassian Foundation has focused on maximizing its impact through education. This is because education is widely acknowledged as something that goes to the very core of addressing poverty, rather than relieving a symptom or consequence of poverty. Education changes lives and helps to break the cycle of poverty – not just for the current generation, but also for future generations. Educated parents appreciate the opportunities that education provides and therefore typically place great importance on the education of their children.
Education is the greatest weapon you can use to change the world. – Nelson Mandela
Over the last decade or so, the Atlassian Foundation has contributed to the education of children in Cambodia – primarily through our support for a truly inspiring organization, Room to Read. We’ve also supported local education initiatives in the locations in which we have an office.
Recently, we have substantially increased our ambitions around education. We have now set a bold goal: to help prepare 10 million disadvantaged youth for the workforce of the future – within 10 years. We refer to this as our “10 million in 10 years” goal.
Great achievements come from teams
Atlassian is fundamentally a team company – our core software products are designed to improve team collaboration and productively. Our NASDAQ ticker is not “ATL” or something similar. It’s “TEAM”.
To achieve our “10 million in 10 years” goal, we need to create a great team by identifying and supporting the most innovative, scalable, technology-based approaches to the education of disadvantaged youth (children and young adults up to the very early twenties). That’s where you come in.
We have committed up to US$1 million in funding the first year and we intend to be long-term supporters of whatever initiatives are best placed to have the impact we’re seeking. We also plan to bring the skills of Atlassians to the table in order to provide as much support as possible. The Australian Government, through DFAT’s Innovation Xchange has matched this funding. Together, we have partnered with MIT (through their “Solve at MIT” initiative) to launch the Youth, Skills and Workforce of the Future challenge.
If you are working on a great scalable education initiative that benefits disadvantaged youth, please apply. If you know someone who would be interested, please share this post with them. Even if you don’t know someone who would be interested, please consider sharing this post anyway. We want the people behind the very best education initiatives to learn of our desire to support them.
We hope to hear from you soon!
By Lucia Maffei. Originally published on BostInno.
TripAdvisor is now part of the Boston chapter of the Pledge 1% movement, a national philanthropic organization encouraging companies to give 1 percent of their equity, employee time and products to good causes. Specifically, the travel website company is committing money and resources to support underserved populations around the world, but also locally.
“The reality [is] that there are underserved communities in our own backyard here in New England,” Tali Golan, Director for Philanthropy and Inclusion at TripAdvisor, wrote in an email to BostInno. “We know we can be doing more to understand and address local needs, and for this reason, we are eager to join Pledge 1% Boston and work with The Boston Foundation.”
As a national organization, Pledge 1% is backed by such tech names as Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman. Launched in October 2016, Pledge 1% Boston – the local chapter of the movement – is a joint program of the Boston Foundation and Technology Underwriting Greater Good (TUGG), with other partners including MassChallenge, Accomplice and Holland & Knight. At the time of the launch, local supporters included Accomplice General Partner Jeff Fagnan, Gravyty co-founder Adam Martel, Ovuline CEO Paris Wallace, Sigma Prime Ventures Managing Director John Simon and _Underscore.VC co-founder C.A. Webb.
Globally, over 1,000 companies in more than 30 cities have already pledged 1% to nonprofit causes and programs, and dozens have made the pledge locally in Boston, from Freebird and LovePop to TripAdvisor and InsightSquared.
Currently, TripAdvisor has a market cap of $5.33 billion and said that it already exceeds the 1% giving minimum each year since 2010 and will continue to do so. “There is no new monetary commitment as part of our joining,” Golan wrote.
Thanks to the TripAdvisor Charitable Foundation, the company said it has donated more than $25 million to nonprofits globally to “address critical human needs, disaster aid and crisis relief” since 2010.
According to TripAdvisor, the refugee crisis is a major initiative where corporations can play a role. “We know that no single group or organization can tackle this crisis singlehandedly, but we hope that by working together to offer support and raise awareness, we can play a small part in helping those most in need,” Golan said.
“Pledge 1% Boston is an accessible, easy-to-implement way for tech companies of all sizes to make giving back a part of their culture,” Zoe Anetakis, Executive Director at TUGG, said in a statement. “TUGG, together with TBF, is actively harnessing Boston tech’s existing leadership and momentum around the community to establish the largest concentration of pledging companies nationally. In the 10 years we have worked with Boston tech, we know one thing for sure: our community always rises to the challenge.”
The formal announcement of TripAdvisor joining Pledge 1% Boston will be made at the Pledging with Purpose event on Monday evening at MassChallenge.
See original post here.
As part of Boulder Startup Week last night, attendees of “Boulder Community Night: Innovation + Impact” filled the house at the Boulder Theater. The free and open event recognized entrepreneurial and innovative nonprofit ideas to solve pressing problems and critical issues facing Boulder County.
“…an ethos that I’m extremely proud to be a part of.” ~Brad Feld
- Boulder Day Nursery
- Boulder Food Rescue
- Community Cycles
- El Centro Amidstad
- “I Have a Dream” Foundation of Boulder County
- Imagine!
Today, we are thrilled to announce that Pledge 1% co-founder Salesforce.com has launched a new AppExchange Trailblazer Score to reward points to companies that are also Pledge 1% members.
The new score will be a point-based system that rewards Salesforce partners for their results and activities, including their participation in Pledge 1%. Partners that join the Pledge 1% movement will receive points towards their Trailblazer score. Full details of the Trailblazer Score metrics will be shared with Salesforce partners at this year’s Dreamforce, and the program will be effective starting on March 1, 2018.
Since our founding, Salesforce has been a terrific role model and leader for the Pledge 1% movement, creating new and innovative ways to engage their network in giving 1%. Already 192 Salesforce partners have taken the pledge. This announcement–shared onstage at today’s New York World Tour keynote–further demonstrates Salesforce’s leadership, especially when it comes to the #PledgeItForward ethos. As Pledge 1% Chief Executive Amy Lesnick explains, “The idea driving #PledgeItForward is for companies to not just take the pledge, but to invite, encourage and empower others in their ecosystem to also join and give back.” Salesforce has not just embraced Pledge 1% by integrating giving into every part of their business, but they have constantly looked to #PledgeItForward and share the ohana of giving with their wider network.
Salesforce is the first company to take their partner program to the next level by integrating Pledge 1% into their partner program. We are proud to work with the Salesforce team on this initiative, and congratulate the entire Salesforce partner community for their leadership and commitment to Pledge 1%.
For more information about the AppExchange Trailblazer Score and this announcement, click here to read the full announcement from Salesforce.
For Salesforce partners interested in getting an early start on building their score, we invite you to take the pledge here.
If you are interested in learning more about how your company can adopt this model for your partner program, please contact Lisa at lisa@pledge1percent.org.