By Heather Glancy. Originally published in Fortune.
When I perused Fortune’s latest “Change the World” ranking of companies tackling major societal problems over the weekend, I was dismayed to see how few information technology companies made the list. I wasn’t surprised, however, by the inclusion of cloud software giant Salesforce.
Philanthropy was baked into Salesforce’s business model when it was founded 17 years ago, when the company dedicated 1% of its equity, 1% of its employees’ time, and 1% of its product toward causes around the world. Even though many skeptics suggested that this sensibility would be downplayed as the company surpassed the $1 billion mark, it’s still a huge part of the $6.7 billion software giant’s corporate culture. The specific reason Salesforce (CRM, +1.76%) made this year’s list? Its willingness to spend $3 million on closing its gender pay gap, after discovering that 6.6% of its employees needed an adjustment.
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Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has also made plenty of headlines over the past year as an outspoken critic of state laws in Georgia, North Carolina, and Indiana that threatened gay and lesbian rights. What you might not realize, however, is that there is a whole wave of up-and-coming companies—900 and counting—eager to follow in Salesforce’s footsteps through the “Pledge 1%” movement.
Two names stood out for me, because both of them are business software companies that managed to pull off successful IPOs within the past 12 months: Atlassian (TEAM, -0.29%), which co-founded the initiative along with Salesforce; and Twilio (TWLO, +1.11%), which took its pledge to donate 1% of its equity to corporate philanthropy and social causes during the run-up to its initial public offering. Yes, co-founder Jeff Lawson convinced his backers to dilute their investment by participating in the pledge.
Would it be such a bad thing if doing business to change the world became the new normal?
By Anais Stickland. Originally published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Pledge 1%
Amy Lesnick, founder and managing partner at Crowdkick Strategies, a consultancy, and former head of social innovation at the international crowdfunding website Indiegogo, was named chief executive of Pledge 1%, which encourages businesses and individuals to pledge 1 percent of equity, product, or employee time to their communities.
The effort has also joined Tides as a special strategic program to expand its global reach. Pledge 1% was created in 2014 by software companies Atlassian and Rally, the nonprofit Salesforce.org, and the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, part of the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County. Since its launch, Pledge 1% has enlisted more than 700 companies to its cause.
Change.org Foundation
Sara El-Amine, executive director of Organizing for Action, was appointed founding executive director.
Choral Arts Society of Washington
Tad Czyzewski, business and development director for Washington Revels, has been named executive director.
Jonas Family Fund
Darlene Curley, executive director of the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, was appointed to an additional position, chief executive.
New Profit
Marco Davis, former deputy director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, was named partner.
Pro Bono Institute
Eve Runyon, project director of Corporate Pro Bono, will become chief executive.
Sempervirens Fund
Sara Barth, deputy vice president for conservation at the Wilderness Society, will be executive director.
Trust for the National Mall
Catherine Townsend, an independent consultant and former executive director of the DC Public Education Fund, was appointed president.
Upstart Co-Lab
Laura Callanan, an independent consultant and former senior deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will lead Upstart Co-Lab, a collaboration that connects artists, impact investors, and social entrepreneurs.
Other notable changes:
Sue Davies, associate vice president for development at Montclair State University, will be senior vice president and chief development officer for the United Way of New York City.
Loren Harris, director of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich., will be vice president for programs at the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Departures:
Neal Cuthbert, vice president for program at the McKnight Foundation, has retired after more than 25 years of service.
Jed Bernstein, president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, abruptly resigned.
Send an email to people@philanthropy.com.
San Francisco, April 12, 2016—Pledge 1%, a corporate philanthropy movement dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business, today announced that Amy Lesnick has joined the organization as its first chief executive and president. Pledge 1% also announced today that it has joined Tides as a special strategic initiative to expand its global reach.
Pledge 1% was launched in 2014 by leaders in corporate philanthropy from Atlassian, Rally, Salesforce, and the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, a program of The Community Foundation. Since its launch, more than 700 companies in more than 20 countries—including Glassdoor, NewVoiceMedia, PopSugar, Twilio, and Yelp—have joined the Pledge 1% movement and committed to making the community a key stakeholder in their businesses. With the addition of Amy Lesnick and by joining Tides as a special strategic initiative, Pledge 1% enters its next phase of growth as it scales to reach more companies around the globe.
Lesnick is a technology industry veteran and a recognized leader in social innovation. Prior to joining Pledge 1%, Lesnick spent two years leading cause-related world-wide growth at Indiegogo. Before Indiegogo, Lesnick served as CEO of Full Circle Fund for six years. Lesnick co-founded and instructed the Strategic Philanthropy course at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, regularly advises foundations on the integration of technology and social change and serves as a mentor at Stanford’s StartX Accelerator. She has been named to the San Francisco Business Times Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business List.
Comments on the news:
- “I’m incredibly excited to lead the Pledge 1% team,” said Amy Lesnick, chief executive and president, Pledge 1%. “Together, we can change the status quo—ensuring philanthropy is baked into the DNA of every company from the beginning and giving back is endorsed and encouraged by successful entrepreneurs, industry leaders and investors alike.”
- “CEOs and entrepreneurs are realizing that to build a great company, you need to include giving back at the core,” said Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and chief philanthropy officer, Salesforce. “We’re thrilled to have Amy Lesnick at the helm of Pledge 1% during a critical moment for corporate philanthropy.”
- “Pledge 1% can change the face of corporate philanthropy and shape the culture of companies that take the pledge,” said Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian. “Everyone benefits when a company builds giving back into its DNA. It’s one of the best decisions we ever made.”
- “Pledge 1% is a movement full of immense possibilities that will be unleashed with new leadership,” said Ryan Martens, co-founder and CEO, EFCO, and co-founder and CTO, Rally, now part of CA Technologies. “Amy is a strategic, inspirational and experienced leader who can build on our early momentum and help us to transform Pledge 1% participants into engaged ambassadors.”
- “At Tides, we know impact doesn’t happen when we act alone,” said Kriss Deiglmeier, CEO of Tides. “Pledge 1% is an example of the kind of cross-sector work that is critical if we want to achieve social change goals.”
Pledge 1% is also joining Tides, a San Francisco-based foundation and social enterprise committed to accelerating social change, as a special strategic initiative. Pledge 1% will be leveraging Tides’ broad domestic and international reach, corporate philanthropy expertise, and experience in scaling social ventures as it continues to grow.
About Pledge 1% Pledge 1% is a movement spearheaded by Atlassian, Salesforce.org and Tides to accelerate the integration of philanthropy into businesses around the world. Pledge 1% encourages and challenges individuals and companies to pledge 1% of equity, product and employee time for their communities, because pledging a small portion of future success can have a huge impact on tomorrow. Pledge 1% offers companies turnkey tools and best practices, making it accessible for any company to incorporate philanthropy into their business model. To learn more or to take the pledge, please visit www.pledge1percent.org.
By Melanie May. Originally published on UK Fundraising.
A corporate philanthropy movement which assists companies in donating 1% of their product, equity, profit, or employee time to help communities around the world, launched in the UK this month.
Pledge 1% is spearheaded by Atlassian, Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, Rally for Impact, Salesforce.org and Tides and aims to help organisations integrate philanthropy into their businesses. It launched in the US in 2014.
More than 25 UK companies have signed up so far, including NewVoiceMedia, Quibit, and GoSquared. Pledge 1% hopes to secure 50 new UK pledges and 1,000 new pledges globally in 2016.
Charlotte Finn, vice president EMEA, Salesforce.org said:
“Pledge 1% is a great example of the power that business has to effect positive change.”
Companies can find out more about how Pledge 1% works, as well as take the pledge online at http://www.pledge1percent.org/.
Originally published on City Philanthropy.
The American movement for businesses to Pledge 1% of their equity, product and employee time for community benefit has arrived in the UK. Building a movement of corporate philanthropy the Pledge 1% campaign is dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business and integrating philanthropy into business globally.
Twenty-five companies have joined the UK Pledge 1% including, Salesforce, Sage Group Plc and NewVoiceMedia. The consortium of organisations behind Pledge 1% wants to see philanthropic leadership and a culture of giving throughout business. They believe the Pledge 1% model is flexible enough to suit every business. The companies who have Pledged 1% are attracting and retaining top talent – especially among millennial employees – highly successfully. Their research shows corporate citizenship is a powerful recruitment and retention tool; Pledge 1% companies have 2.3 times the employee retention rate and an increase of 29% in new hire commitment compared to those who are not. They also highlight how this delivers a business competitive edge. A giving culture is also a great attracter for millennials: according to Deloitte’s 2015 Millennial Survey, six out of 10 millennial employees say that a “sense of purpose” is part of the reason that they chose to work for their current employers.
If you want to join the Pledge 1% in the UK find out more here: www.pledge1percent.org
Originally published on the Salesforce blog.
Yesterday, Pledge 1% launched in the UK. The event, hosted at St James’s Palace by The Duke of York welcomed 150+ professionals and businesses passionate about corporate philanthropy and keen to make giving-back a core part of their company culture. “By participating in Pledge 1%, you will be acting as an accelerant for a number of different people and a number of different streams of activity. The most significant one will be acting as an accelerant to your own entrepreneurial business,” said HRH The Duke of York.
We’re pleased to announce that more than 25 companies in the UK took the Pledge at launch, including NewVoiceMedia, Qubit, Sage Group Plc, Idio, CloudShift Group, GoSquared and Adaptavist.
Graham Cooke, co-founder and CEO, Qubit says: “We are delighted to be one of the first UK companies to support the Pledge 1% movement. Donating equity, time, and product fits with our goal of being a socially responsible company. We’re fully committed to fulfilling our pledge, and as we grow, giving back more and more to the local and global community we’re part of.”
608,100 new business started in the UK in 2015, an increase of 4.6% year-over-year. Salesforce.org recognizes the potential power for the growing number of UK companies to create a lasting impact in the world and looks forward to supporting them in doing this, through Pledge 1%.
“Salesforce.org is dedicated to changing the way companies think about corporate philanthropy,” said Charlotte Finn, vice president EMEA, Salesforce.org. “Pledge 1% is a great example of the power that business has to effect positive change.”
In its first year, Pledge 1% hopes to secure 50 new UK pledges and 1,000 new pledges globally in 2016.
What is Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% is an effort spearheaded by Atlassian, Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, Rally for Impact, Salesforce.org and Tides to accelerate their shared vision around integrating philanthropy into businesses around the world. Pledge 1% is dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business and provides the tools and best practices to empower companies to dedicate 1 percent of employee time, equity, product or profit to improve communities around the world — making it easy for companies of all sizes to incorporate philanthropy into their business models.
Why Pledge?
Companies and their employees today want to be civically minded and aligned with a social mission that prioritises having a positive impact on the world. In Salesforce’s case, when employees are asked why they chose Salesforce over the myriad opportunities in tech, they most often cite the company’s focus on giving back. Taking the 1% pledge helps companies and individuals demonstrate their philanthropic intent and hold themselves accountable for turning a pledge into action.
Thinking about building giving back into your company culture? Pledge 1% can help. Take the pledge today at www.pledge1percent.org.
By Chris Player. Originally published on ARN.
The Pledge 1% campaign that encourages companies to dedicate 1 per cent of employee time, equity, product or profit to improve communities around the world, has garnered support from over 500 companies in its first year.
The corporate philanthropy movement founded by Atlassian, Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, Rally for Impact and Salesforce.org, said companies such as DocuSign, Glassdoor, Lookout, Twilio, Xactly and Zuora were among those to offer support.
Its founding partners have set goal of securing 1,000 new pledges in the next year
Salesforce.org president and co-founder, Suzanne DiBianca, described the momentum the organisation has seen as ‘incredible.”
“There’s been a groundswell when it comes to the next generation of companies adopting philanthropy as a key value. We truly believe that giving back is a key component to building a great company,” she said.
Atlassian co-chief executive and co-founder, Scott Farquhar, added that the real power of Pledge 1% is that it inspires companies to bake corporate philanthropy into their business model from day one.
“It becomes a core part of their culture, not just another box to tick off. Having reached the initial goal of 500 companies, we’re excited to triple the number by the end of next year.”
Of the first 500+ companies that have joined the movement, 59 per cent committed a percentage of equity, 54 per cent pledged a percentage of employee time, 39 per cent pledged a percentage of product and 18 per cent pledged a percentage of profit.
Companies that joined the Pledge 1% movement in its first year include: 6sense, AppNexus, Campaign Monitor, DocuSign, Dstillery, General Assembly, Glassdoor, Hampton Creek, Lookout, MediaMath, Planet Labs, Sage, Twilio, Weebly, Xactly and Zuora.
The organisation has also partnered with venture capital firms including Bessemer Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Foundry Group, Obvious Ventures and SV Angel and startup accelerators including Techstars to include Pledge 1% as a part of the startup process.
Originally posted: December 12, 2015
By Terry Collins. Originally published on CNET.
Silicon Valley is giving more than ever before.
In a culture with a reputation for being selfish, some tech heavyweights are using their clout and money to affect change.
On Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, celebrated the birth of their daughter by saying they will create and fund a new initiative worth about $45 billion.
In a “letter to our daughter,” Zuckerberg described his and his wife’s planned investments. “Can our generation cure disease so you live much longer and healthier lives? Can we connect the world so you have access to every idea, person and opportunity? Can we harness more clean energy so you can invent things we can’t conceive of today while protecting the environment?”
Zuckerberg said they hope to answer yes to each question.
The man in charge of the world’s largest social network made his announcement on Giving Tuesday, a global day of philanthropy at the start of the Christmas and holiday season. It’s also on the heels of Monday’s news that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Zuckerberg, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and other industry titans are pooling their resources to create a fund pushing clean energy.
The donations are just the latest examples of tech industry leaders using their influence and their money to solve the world’s problems. Saleforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, for example, has donated $200 million since 2010 to create two children’s hospitals, one in San Francisco and another across the Bay in Oakland, California. In February, Zuckerberg and his wife donated $75 million to San Francisco General Hospital, which will be renamed after them.
In addition to saying he’ll donate most of his wealth, Apple CEO Tim Cook has influenced change through his actions. In October 2014, Cook wrote an opinion piece in Bloomberg Businessweek where he announced he is gay and advocated for human rights and equality. In March, he wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post where he railed against state laws that would have discriminated against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities.
Cook, along with Benioff and more than 100 tech executives from Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Yelp, criticized laws in Indiana and Arkansas that threaten to “allow people to discriminate against their neighbors.” The following month, lawmakers in both Indiana and Arkansas bowed to pressure and amended their “religious freedom” laws.
“Certainly Tim has been willing to take courageous positions on a number of issues,” said Harvard Business School professor David Yoffie. “Apple is progressive on many fronts and I give him enormous credit to both his leadership and culture of the company.”
On Monday, the Robert F. Kennedy Center announced that it will honor Cook for his efforts.
The head of the world’s most valuable company, Cook will receive the RFK Ripple of Hope Award for demonstrating a commitment to social change during a ceremony on December 8 in New York. He will be recognized along with Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), a key figure during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Evercore Partners co-founder and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Roger Altman and UNESCO Ambassador Marianna Vardinoyannis.
Past recipients include former President Bill Clinton, his wife, former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and entertainers George Clooney and Taylor Swift.
Originally posted: December 2, 2015