Originally posted here.

By Alison Michalk

Quiip is thrilled to reach $100,000 in donations as part of our philanthropic commitment to give back with partner Pledge 1%.

As one of the first 250 companies in Australia to gain B Corp Certification – meeting the B Corp’s standards of verified social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency – Quiip, in 2018, joined other B Corp leaders, including Patagonia, Keep Cup and Who Gives a Crap, in the global movement to build a new economy. One that is inclusive, equitable, and regenerative.

At Quiip, we believe that social responsibility and economic sustainability are just as important as the bottom line and that companies can, and should, strive to impact positive change. As such, Quiip is proud to be part of a global mission of people who believe that companies should look after people, the environment, and communities.

Whilst Pledge 1% commitments can involve offering 1% of staff time, product, profit, and/or equity to a charity or social enterprise – Quiip goes beyond by pledging at least 1% of revenue each year. And we’re proud to admit we’ve just reached the milestone of passing $100,000 in donations since launching as a B Corp in 2018.

In response to the current climate emergency as a company, we have used the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework, and focused on donations that related to Climate Action and/or Reduced Inequalities. For the latter we have chosen to support First Nations organisations operating in the climate space.

Mimal Ranger shows fire scar maps to Learning On Country students. Photo by Amelia Ellerton, Karrkad Kanjdji Trust.

Of course these are still broad focus areas, so it’s important to us that everyone at Quiip has input into how we invest our revenue and which charities we choose to support as part of our philanthropic commitment. Choosing where we donate our 1% is a team effort, engaging and empowering our staff with the knowledge that we are making a real time difference. An initial shortlist of non-profit organisations is pulled together from staff suggestions of charities they have come across, supported, or been involved in. This process doubles as a great team building exercise as we learn about the why behind the charities that make the list. Our wonderfully diverse team put forward a multifarious collection of charity suggestions covering unique interests and passions, lived experience, charities that are local to the areas they live in (we are, and always have been, a fully remote workforce) and charities that align with individual visions and beliefs.

The final shortlist is then put up for a company wide vote, with the four charities that receive the most votes becoming the major recipients of our 1% Pledge. One such charity selected by this process is Seed Mob, Australia’s First Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth-led climate justice network.

Generous support from Quiip has enabled us to train and up-skill young mob to lead strategic actions and campaigns to protect country, culture and our futures, and we are so excited to see what more we can achieve together.

– Eleanor Guerra, Seed Mobs Business Development Manager

The additional recipients this year were the Climate Council, Karrkad Kanjjdji Trust and Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA).

In addition to financial donations Quiip also offers selected not-for-profits support via our Pro-Bono Purpose Project (PPP) initiative. We also operate with a “cross-subsidisation model” which sees significant discounts for non-profit clients. In FY23 we offered over $100,000 in discounts alone in addition to our donations.

There’s no doubt that Pledge 1% is a win-win situation. As a company, we know we are living our values and witnessing first-hand how this translates to making a tangible impact.

“Donating a percentage of our revenue, and our skills, to support the great work of these organisations is both a privilege and in my mind, a necessity. I strongly believe that B Corps can create a new economy and drive the systemic change the world needs. And I love being inspired by the philanthropy within the movement,”

– Quiip founder and CEO, Alison Michalk.

To learn more about Quiip’s impact, stay tuned for our FY23 Impact Report to be published shortly. You can view our FY22 Impact Report here on the Quiip blog.

Originally posted here.

Today, we released Splunk’s third annual Global Impact Report, which shares our progress across four key Global Impact pillars: data responsibility, ethical and inclusive growth, environmental sustainability and social impact. Our purpose-led work is foundational to Splunk’s growth strategy and opportunities, and lives up to our values and the mission-critical resilience we deliver to our customers every day.

Our four-pillar strategy reflects the issues that matter most to our key stakeholders, as well as the values of our company. As we celebrate Splunk’s 20th anniversary and reflect on what makes Splunk an enduring and iconic company, I’m thrilled to share some of our FY23 achievements and highlights.

Data Responsibility
Splunk is committed to driving our customers’ digital resilience – the ability to prevent, detect, react, recover and respond to events that have the potential to disrupt their business processes and vital services. We play a critical role in protecting customer data by keeping systems secure, trusted and available. With the explosive growth of generative AI, we continuously engage in critical dialog on AI and data ethics policy through our work with BSA | The Software Alliance, the Future of Privacy Forum and the World Economic Forum. As BSA’s Board Chair, I believe Splunk’s voice and leadership within these influential organizations ensures short and long term business opportunities, fuels our growth, and highlights our unique and powerful voice.

Ethical & Inclusive Growth
Splunk remains committed to ethical and inclusive growth, and during FY23 we expanded our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) focus to embrace ‘belonging’ as a central tenant within our rich company culture. Our new multi-year Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) strategy includes an enhanced internal career mobility platform as well as hiring practices, talent development programs and recruitment programs to increase the representation of women and underrepresented groups. In addition, we directed 5.7% of our addressable procurement spend to small and diverse businesses in FY23, exceeding our 4% goal. These investments reflect our belief that attracting and nurturing a diverse workforce fuels our innovation, expands our opportunities, and creates an environment with depth and affiliation.

Environmental Sustainability
In FY23, we also advanced our sustainability journey by completing a climate risk assessment and identifying potential climate targets. To support our work, we launched an internal Sustainability Collaborative. This internal working group coordinates our sustainability work across our Global Impact, Global Spend Management, Workforce Experience and Real Estate teams as well as our relatively new employee-led Splunk Earth Alliance group.

Social Impact
We continued our 10-year Splunk Pledge commitment, donating $4.48 million in Splunk licenses – a 20% increase in organizations served from FY22. We continued to partner across the nonprofit and academic sectors to improve digital skills and increase students’ employability, growing the number of learners taking donated courses 55% year-over-year – a total value of $3.2 million in training services.

Additionally, I’m pleased to share that Splunkers are more engaged in volunteering and participating in social impact programs than ever before. In FY23, Splunk and individual contributors jointly donated $3.6 million to support 3,960 nonprofit organizations. We increased Splunker volunteer hours by 126% over FY22. All of this work allowed us to reach 49% of our $100 million, 10-year FY17 Splunk Pledge commitment.

While these numbers demonstrate our commitment, I’m particularly proud of Splunk’s real-world impact in bridging the data divide. I encourage you to explore our partnership with Ersilia and bitsIO as we help create data equity to drive global healthcare outcomes in the fight against infectious diseases.

Resilience in Action
We are heartened to have achieved so much in a year of tremendous change. Indeed, we were awarded a EcoVadis Bronze medal for our commitment to sustainable business operations across all categories. Our values and focus on ethics, purpose and impact continue to serve as a foundation for our business while supporting key elements of our growth strategy and contributing to our own resilience.

While we are proud of our progress, we know we have much more to do. Our vision to support resilience in action inspires us to innovate and to be a trusted partner to our customers, investors, communities, employees and society. We thank you for contributing to this exciting and impactful journey.

Originally posted here.

Bpeneur announced today that it has joined Pledge 1%, a global movement to create a new normal for companies of all sizes and stages to have a positive social impact through their business. Bpeneur is joining over 18,000 companies around the world who have committed to Pledge 1% of either their product, profit, equity, and/or staff time to whatever charity of their choosing.

The primary objective of Bpeneur revolves around strengthening startups, boosting their long-term viability, and elevating their prospects for success. This platform acts as a vital link between AI innovation and real-world solutions, aiming to tackle the widespread challenge of elevated failure rates among startups.

According to Bpeneur Founder and CEO, Loughlin Nestor “With an annual rate of 305 million aspiring startups entering the market, we’ve observed countless promising ideas falter due to a lack of adequate support. Our platform aims to change that narrative by leveraging AI to provide startups with a competitive edge.”

“We are proud to join the Pledge 1% community and encourage other companies to consider this opportunity to use their business as a positive force for good”

For more information about the Bpeneur program, please visit https://www.bpeneur.com/

About Bpeneur
Bpeneur is an AI-powered catalyst for startup success, offering a wealth of knowledge, tailored AI tools, and insights to entrepreneurs and startup founders. Our platform is dedicated to empowering the next generation of business leaders with the tools, strategies, and inspiration they need to succeed. Join our community today and take the first step towards turning your startup into a sustainable venture.

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 18,000 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 posted here.

Author: Shradha Sharma

In Conversation with Shradha Sharma, Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO, Atlassian talks about the company’s efforts to develop conducive policies to motivate and engage employees.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Atlassian wants its employees to feel pride in their work without being restricted by hierarchical structures of decision-making.


• Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO, Atlassian, believes in encouraging employees to do more than what they thought was possible.


• Atlassian believes in trusting employees, allowing them to choose where they work through it’s remote-first policy, Team Anywhere.

Australia was a completely different place in 2002. The technology ecosystem barely existed and working at a startup was still considered a glorified version of being unemployed. Scott Farquhar, then a 23-year-old science graduate from the University of New South Wales, was keen to pursue a career in technology but was not excited at the prospect of working in a rigid corporate environment. Why not start building software, he thought? That one profound idea changed the course of the technology landscape, in Australia and beyond.

Scott teamed up with Mike Cannon-Brookes, a fellow University of New South Wales graduate and thus was born Atlassian. “We didn’t want to get a real job, we wanted to work in technology. And then Mike and I realised that we could build software from Australia and build a technology company,” says Scott, co-founder and co-CEO, Atlassian, in a conversation with Shradha Sharma.

Atlassian’s first product was Jira, a project management tool. Scott and Mike found early success with Jira and decided that growing Atlassian was going to be their future career path. They started with nothing and 21 years later, Atlassian has over 11,000 employees.

It is no longer just an Australian company anymore, as its presence has expanded across the world, including in India where it employs over 1,700 people.

Building teams with trust

Technology jobs are often known for their “hustle culture”, a term used to describe the 24/7 office work environment where unrealistic expectations overlook employee well-being. Scott and Mike had hustled too, when they coded at stretch for multiple days and nights during Atlassian’s early days. Their definition of hustle, however, is slightly different.

“Leadership is about making people feel uncomfortable at a rate that they can absorb. At Atlassian, it basically involves stretching people to do things that they couldn’t do otherwise. My job as a leader is to push everyone 20% more than they thought was possible,” says Scott.

For Scott, this “hustle” has to be sustainable and meaningful. A sample of this belief is the contra-view Atlassian has taken at a time when technology majors across the world have asked their employees to come back to office. Atlassian allows its employees to choose where they work through its remote-first policy, Team Anywhere: whether remote, in an office, or a mixture of the two. Not just that, Scott also wants to inspire other companies to allow their employees to work from anywhere.

“You ask people to commute two hours to come to work. Then they sit on a Zoom call for another two hours. It doesn’t make sense. Having said that, even with remote work, our people build social bonds together,” adds Scott.

This policy works especially well for employees who do not have the luxury of spending hours in daily commute to the workplace. Scott shares the example of a female employee whose husband works in the armed forces. Prior to joining Atlassian, this woman had to relocate or change jobs every two years when her husband was transferred to another location. At Atlassian, she has the flexibility to relocate when needed and continue to build her career.

The company believes in a work setting where employees feel trusted, nurtured, and are given responsibilities beyond the traditional job descriptions. It means that employees have a say in the decision making process, irrespective of their position in the hierarchy.

“Mike and I tell everyone that their job is to come in and make a difference at Atlassian. So we make sure there is nothing that is sacred, there is nothing that can’t be touched. There is no decision that is off limits here at Atlassian,” says Scott.

Another strategy the company uses is to give a lot of responsibility to young employees. Explaining the rationale behind this decision, the co-CEO says that the younger generation joining the workforce will shape the technology of the future.

Getting to the core of culture

Developing this workplace culture took time. Scott and Mike hired the first 50 people, who in turn were given the responsibility to hire the next 50. What the duo found was that the next set of 50 weren’t joining for the right reasons. So in 2006, the team got together and created Atlassian’s core values.

“Our five core values include some swear words. So it either attracts people or repels them. One of the values is ‘open company, no bullshit’, which is all about being transparent,” he adds.

So even as workplace trends change constantly, the core values stay intact. Scott explains that the company chooses people who are not just yearning to make change happen, but also being the change that they seek to bring about.

Scott believes curiosity builds companies. In fact, that is also his advice to other entrepreneurs is to keep the inquisitive spirit burning.

“Sometimes, companies are calcified, it is easy to keep doing one thing well, and just keep doing that for years. And you have to actively fight that because inertia is a really hard thing to fight against,” he says.

For Scott and Mike, it is all about having a big vision. “We decided that we are going to focus on a human problem, which is getting people to collaborate better and track work and share knowledge,” adds Scott.

While finding ideas is crucial, what’s more important is putting bright minds to work on it. Scott has seen it happen at his own company too.

In 2012, Atlassian acquired an online private messaging service called Hipchat. Five years later, Hipchat was replaced by a business communication tool called Stride. Hipchat and Stride were considered precursors to Slack.

Scott admits that while their product was better and the first to launch in the market, they didn’t invest enough into it. Eventually, in July 2018, Hipchat and Stride were sold to Slack, with Atlassian making an undisclosed investment in Slack.

Giving back to society

Even as Scott is passionate about technology, he is also aware of the need to give back to the community.

By 2004-05, Atlassian started to donate 1% of its profit, products and people’s time to philanthropic causes. This is part of Pledge 1%, a corporate philanthropy movement where Atlassian is a co-founder alongside other corporations. Pledge 1% is an initiative wherein companies can either pledge 1% of equity, time, product, or profit or a combination of these initiatives to give back to society. In addition, Atlassian has its philanthropic arm, the Atlassian Foundation, through which it donates funds, resources, and time.

“We started it as a pledge, at a time when we didn’t have any profits or any employees. Today, the Atlassian Foundation has donated $65 million, 135,000 free licences, and 230,000 hours of community service by employees. We have been able to create a huge impact,” says Scott.

Atlassian has come a long way, be it in terms of software products or making a meaningful contribution to society. Scott is immensely proud, but his work is far from over. He wants to unleash the potential of every team. As Scott says, it is a human problem that will always need solving.

SAN FRANCISCO, October 4, 2023 –  Pledge 1%, a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good, announced today that nearly 30% of this year’s Cloud 100 List, a prestigious ranking of top cloud companies made possible by Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Forbes, have committed assets to social impact as members of the Pledge 1% movement. 

“The Pledge 1% member companies on this year’s Cloud 100 List understand that leveraging their business to be a force for good is both the right and smart thing to do,” said Amy Lesnick, Chief Executive and President of Pledge 1%. “As industry leaders, these companies are demonstrating that giving back is not just good for the world, it’s also a great way to attract and retain top talent, minimize churn costs, and boost your bottom line. We are proud that so many of today’s top cloud companies are donating their time, profit, product, and/or equity as part of their Pledge 1% commitment.”

Over the past few years, more and more companies have started leveraging their assets to address some of today’s biggest challenges. In addition to the companies on the Cloud 100 List, Pledge 1% has seen a steady increase in membership, with over 18,000 companies in 100+ countries committed to giving their time, profit, product, and/or equity to causes they care about. We are especially proud to recognize the Pledge 1% companies celebrated today on the Cloud 100 List: 6sense, ActiveCampaign, Algolia, AppsFlyer, Arctic Wolf, Automation Anywhere, Automattic, Canva, Celonis, Checkr, Collibra, Contentful, Dialpad, Guild Education, Kong, LaunchDarkly, Mambu, Notion, OwnBackup, Personio, Rubrik, Sentry, ServiceTitan, Snyk, Talkdesk, Workato, and Yotpo.

In addition, each year, Pledge 1%, Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Forbes select one company on the Cloud 100 List to receive special recognition for their commitment to social impact. We are thrilled to announce that Checkr, which automates and speeds up the process of professional background checks, is the winner of this year’ Pledge 1% Impact Award. 

Checkr joined Pledge 1%  with a commitment to donate 1% of employee time, 1% of product, 1% of equity, and1% of company profits every year to the mission of enabling fair chances for all people, no matter their background. They have already donated over $2.7 Million in product through Better Future and its Expungement Initiative to empower people with arrest or conviction records  to access their own background checks for free and apply for a Checkr sponsored expungement for eligible records.  They have also enabled more than 1,800 justice impacted candidates to secure livable wage employment through their candidate story product. In addition, they provide discounts to non-profit customers to use their services and their team has volunteered over 5,000 hours towards building a fairer future of work by supporting initiatives that provide talent with records pathways to careers and economic mobility. 

Through their equity pledge, Checkr has committed current and future funding to fund their social impact programs (which include their own Fair Chance hiring and Apprenticeship programs) and to ensure the long-term sustainability and success of their mission to unlock talent and opportunity in the workforce.

“We’re incredibly honored to be selected for the 2023 Impact Award, and I want to thank our Checkr team for their commitment to our mission of building a fairer future,” said Daniel Yanisse, Co-founder and CEO of Checkr. “Through the 1% Pledge, Checkr has been able to scale the impact of our mission by reducing bias from background data and enabling our customers to create work opportunities for justice-impacted individuals.”

By accepting this year’s Pledge 1% Impact Award, Checkr joins an esteemed group of past Impact Award winners, including Twilio, DocuSign, Slack, Procore, Canva, Guild Education, and Snyk.

The entire Pledge 1% and Cloud 100 community congratulates Checkr, along with the other companies featured on this year’s Cloud 100 List. We also thank the Pledge 1% Builders community for their ongoing leadership and support of the movement, and Pledge 1%’s Boardroom Allies, a network of venture capitalists who  support their portfolio companies in setting aside equity to fund their social impact work, helping unlock billions of dollars in new philanthropy.

To learn more about Pledge 1% visit pledge1percent.org.

Originally posted here 

We’ve always set out to ‘do the most good we can’, and as Canva turns 10, we’re shining a light on some milestones we’ve achieved so far.

Since the very beginning of Canva, we’ve been driven by the belief that it’s possible to build a great product while also having a lasting positive impact on the world. While lots has happened over the last decade, our aspiration to do the most good we can remains unchanged. Everything we do contributes to our Two-Step Plan as a company: Step One – to become one of the world’s most valuable companies; and Step Two –to do the most good we can.

As we reflect on our journey over the past decade, we’re incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made and feel more inspired than ever to supercharge our impact in the decades to come.

Here are 10 of our most momentous milestones achieved so far.

 A group of Sydney-based Canvanauts came together to make sandwiches and snack packs for those in need during our first-ever ‘Force for Good Week’ in June.

1. We joined Pledge 1%

In 2019 we embodied our value ‘be a force for good’ and joined Pledge 1%, a global initiative where companies pledge 1% of their time, profit, product, or equity to have a positive impact. We pledged all four. We do this day-to-day by donating our time through volunteering, donating funds through partnerships with organizations such as GiveDirectly, and empowering close to half a million nonprofits and over 45 million teachers and students with free access to our Canva Pro product.

In 2021, we took this 1% even further with the announcement that we’re committing an additional 30% of Canva towards doing good in the world. Today, more than 30% of Canva’s value has been pledged towards making a difference.

 As part of our first-ever ‘Force for Good Week’ in June, we partnered with OzHarvest to provide Canvanauts with the opportunity to cook meals for people facing food insecurity.

2. Launching the Canva Foundation

Step Two is made up of a number of initiatives including how we give away our core product, our company resources, and our team’s time and skills to create positive change. As our main charitable arm, The Canva Foundation is another one of the ways we bring our Two-Step Plan to life and is the vehicle for our philanthropic work.

We believe there’s enough money, goodwill, and creativity to help solve the world’s biggest challenges in our lifetime, so we’re proud to partner with a variety of organizations via the Canva Foundation to provide support to communities that need it the most.

 In 2022 we were proud to launch a two-week Aussies for Afghanistan appeal to provide urgent relief for the millions of Afghans facing a devastating humanitarian crisis.

From the Afghanistan crisis to the Ukraine war, and so many other crisis situations, we’ve been able to play a small part in assisting some of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises through the Canva Foundation. Our biggest project to date is our partnership with Give Directly, where we’ve worked together to send funds to provide direct cash transfers to some of the world’s poorest people in an effort to learn more about the most effective ways to contribute towards ending extreme poverty.

3. Empowering nonprofits with skills to make a difference

We’re now empowering close to half a million nonprofit organizations to champion important causes with Canva for Nonprofits. From workshops and design training sessions to social media webinars and resources such as marketing, sustainable development goals, or crisis toolkits, we’re proud to play a small role in the tremendous difference these organizations make.

We know for many nonprofits, finding the time and resources to produce visual materials can be a challenge. Forever Projects is an inspirational example of how nonprofits can use the resources we’ve created to achieve their goals.

4. Our commitment to GiveDirectly

We’re firm believers that nobody should live in poverty, yet 700 million people live on less than $2.15 per day (the daily amount required to meet your most basic needs). We have a bold and optimistic goal to help change this.

In 2021, we first partnered with GiveDirectly, a global nonprofit dedicated to enabling the world’s poorest households to improve their lives through direct cash transfers. Our first partnership saw us distribute $10 million to 12,800 people living in extreme poverty in rural Malawi. Studies have shown that an effective way to help someone who has no money, is to give them money, as it not only enables recipients to buy what they need, but it provides them to make the choice for themselves on how best to improve their lives.

From the research we conducted, we’ve learned that cash transfers are having an immediate positive impact on recipients, and a long-term positive uplift for their entire community. We were extraordinarily proud and grateful to have been in a position to further back this with an additional $20 million dollar cash transfer earlier this year.

 5. Our first-ever ‘Force for Good Week’

Volunteering is baked into our culture at Canva. Each year, every Canvanaut is given three days of paid ‘Force for Good leave’ to use to give back to the world, and we empower our team to take time out of their busy schedules each month through dedicated ‘Force for Good Fridays’. In June this year, we were thrilled to take our volunteering program to the next level with our first-ever ‘Force for Good Week’: a week-long takeover of our quarterly ‘Season Opener’, where Canvanauts lent a helping hand across more than 100 events dedicated to assisting those experiencing homelessness and hardship.

More than 1,500 Canvanauts came together to give back and provided more than 20,000 individuals with food; created more than 2,100 moments of connection for those facing disconnection or loneliness; and more than 450 moments of dignity for those experiencing hardship.

6. Growing the minds of the future

We know education is often the key to a brighter future, which is why we’re passionate about equipping educators and classrooms with design and digital literacy skills through Canva for Education – our free program for K-12 students and teachers around the world.

We’re now empowering more than 45 million teachers and students with Canva, and supporting educators with thousands of in-built lesson plans and templates to inspire creativity in their classrooms. One element of our education program we’re particularly proud of is our partnership with Upschool, where together we developed a 10-week course aimed at educating students on the importance of protecting our planet, and how they can be the change agents we need for the future.

 Our 10-week course with UpSchool aimed at educating students on how to be change agents for the future.

7. Planting seeds of the future with One Print, One Tree

A huge part of our efforts to make the world a better place is championing sustainability and helping to protect the environment, both now and in the future. Since launching our One Print, One Tree program almost two years ago, where for each Canva Print order we plant a tree, we’ve planted over 4 million trees as part of our efforts to support environmental recuperation.

 Children in Tanzania helping to plant trees as part of our One Print, One Tree partnership.

Through One Print, One Tree, we’ve been able to plant more than 200 different species of trees across 22 individual sites, with more than 4,500 hectares of land planned for restoration. The program has also provided employment opportunities for more than 170 people across 10 countries. As we look to the future, we’re excited to continue to create social and ecological change.

8. Shaping a sustainable future

Over time at Canva, we’ve achieved a number of important sustainability milestones including participating in the Australian Government’s Climate Active program in both 2020 and 2021, and supporting our Beyond New Zero phase, where we focus on regeneration and restoration. We were also proud to sign The Climate Pledge in 2021 for the opportunity to combat climate change alongside a number of global organizations.

Our two Australian campuses also serve daily breakfast and lunch sourced from fresh food farms that practice regenerative agriculture, and snacks from some of our favorite social enterprises. In Sydney, we partner with Food for Change to donate our food waste, and the campus is even home to some rooftop bees, with our hives having produced hundreds of kilos of honey!

 One of the local farms that provided Canva with sustainable produce for our kitchen.

Our commitment to solving some of the world’s biggest problems goes beyond what we do at Canva. We know we need to join forces with others, so we’re thrilled to have extended our partnership with Watershed to support Frontier: a collection of forward-thinking companies who are making the commitment to scale a portfolio of world-class carbon removal solutions.

9. Helping those in crisis

When a crisis hits, we strive to support vulnerable communities in the areas of the world that need it most. Examples include the Aussie Tech for India call to action we launched during the Covid-19 pandemic and the urgent relief we provided to millions of Afghans facing a humanitarian crisis in 2022 through the Aussies for Afghanistan Appeal.

We’ve been proud to donate funds to communities battling natural disasters, including the Philippines following Typhoon Rai and Nalgae; $500,000 toward the destructive Australian bushfires in 2020; three days’ worth of proceeds from Canva Marketplace purchases to the victims of the 2023 Türkiye and Syria earthquakes; and just last week, $100,000 to aid crisis responses for the devastating Moroccan earthquake and the Libya flood. One of the biggest crises our world has seen in recent times is the heartbreaking illegal war in Ukraine. We strongly oppose the ongoing war and provided support in a variety of ways, including blocking access to Canva in Russia.

 A Community Pantry volunteer in Maginhawa, Philippines, holding a sign created in Canva.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Filipinos lost their livelihood, with some left hungry and unable to meet their daily needs. A community pantry movement, sparked by Ana Patricia Non, inspired communities across the country to come together to share food supplies. The Canva Philippines team helped the cause by designing and printing signages for the community pantries, and donated 18 tons of vegetable produce sourced from local farmers, benefitting more than 900 community pantry locations.

10. Developing a resource-rich content library

An important part of our work at Canva is helping to provide our community with design templates to scale their ability to champion important causes and make a difference. From Ukraine peace templates, to GivingTuesday Creator templates, and even bespoke nonprofit billboard templates to help nonprofits scale their impact, we’re always looking to equip nonprofits with assets to help show support and spark change.

A range of different poster templates available for free in Canva to assist our community in supporting Ukraine and promoting peace.

We’re incredibly proud to house hundreds of education templates and nonprofit toolkits and resources within our Canva library, free for our education and nonprofit communities to use. From webinars to workshops, we’re regularly connecting with these groups to better understand their needs and equip them with impactful tools and resources.

 We’re proud to empower more than 45 million students through Canva for Education, providing them with visual communication tools to create engaging educational resources and posters like the above.

Thank you

If you’re familiar with Canva, you’ll know we often say we’re only 1% of the way there – and with so much left to do, it’s something that will forever be the case. We’re incredibly grateful, proud and humbled to have been able to bring our Two-Step Plan to life over the past decade – but we know there’s still so much left to do.

None of this would be possible without our extraordinary team of Canvanauts, and our amazing global community of 150 million people who’ve been instrumental in our ability to make a difference. Thank you for designing with Canva and for being a part of our Two-Step Plan. We truly couldn’t have done it without you, and we hope we can continue to make you proud as we look towards the 99% ahead.

Originally posted: LINK

ALEGRANT announced today that it has joined Pledge 1%, a global movement to create a new normal for companies of all sizes and stages to have a positive social impact through their business. ALEGRANT is joining over 18,000 companies around the world who have committed to Pledge 1% of either their product, profit, equity, and/or staff time to whatever charity of their choosing.

ALEGRANT is proud to announce its commitment to donate 1% of TIME to Scottish SMEs.

ALEGRANT pledges to donate 1% of our time by dedicating its Customs expertise to help local businesses navigate the complex landscape of Customs regulatory and legal requirements.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in our local economy. However, understanding and adhering to the ever-evolving Customs regulations, particularly post-Brexit, can be a barrier to global ambitions. ALEGRANT recognises these challenges and is committed to work with local trade associations, advisers and charities to assist local businesses trade globally in a safe, compliant and profitable manner.

“We are delighted to help small businesses, from talented fashion designers to first-class start-ups, to bring their products to foreign customers.” says Catherine Truel, director of ALEGRANT.” We hope to contribute to their international success, ultimately benefiting our entire community.”

ALEGRANT is proud to join the Pledge 1% community and encourages other companies to take the pledge and leverage their business as a force for good. To learn more about ALEGRANT’s program contact Percy at info@alegrant.com.

ABOUT ALEGRANT
ALEGRANT is an award-winning advisory firm in Customs law and international trade law with experts in over 25 countries. Based in Glasgow and Marseille, ALEGRANT’s experts have been working for more than 30 years with companies and Customs authorities around the world. To learn more about ALEGRANT visit www.alegrant.eu.

ABOUT PLEDGE 1%
Pledge 1% is a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every business, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 18,000 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.

This release was published on openPR.

Alegrant Ltd | UHatch GCU, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA, Scotland, United Kingdom
Media Contact
Percy Knightsbridge
info@alegrant.com

Originally posted on PR Newswire

Scaled Agile, Inc. Donates to Rocky Mountain Institute and Maui Strong Fund as Part of Pledge 1% Commitment

Scaled Agile, Inc., provider of SAFe®, announced donations to the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Maui Strong Fund. The contributions are part of Scaled Agile’s commitment to the Pledge 1% movement and Do All the Good You Can campaign.

Scaled Agile’s $100,000 donation to the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) will support RMI’s Third Derivative initiative, built to accelerate the rate of climate innovation. RMI is an independent nonprofit that engages businesses, communities, institutions, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the adoption of solutions that cost-effectively shift from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables.

“Scaled Agile’s generosity is going to help us do even more to support and scale critical climate technologies and innovation, further accelerating our journey to a net zero carbon world,” said Rushad Nanavatty, managing director, Third Derivative.

A $50,000 contribution was also made to the Maui Strong Fund. Founded by the Hawai’i Community Foundation, the fund is providing financial resources to support the immediate and long-term recovery needs for the people and places affected by the devastating Maui wildfires.

“When we experienced the most destructive wildfire in Colorado’s history and witnessed over 1,000 homes destroyed in less than 24 hours,  we learned how valuable support is in these unprecedented situations,” said Scaled Agile’s cofounder Dean Leffingwell. “Now we see that and far worse, loss of life, in Maui. It’s important to remember that the recovery effort will take years, so we encourage broad support of the Maui Strong Fund, even in small amounts. It’s never too late to make a difference.”

“Giving back is an integral part of our culture,” said Scaled Agile’s CEO Chris James. “Since joining the Pledge 1% movement, we’ve been able to accelerate and energize our giving and volunteering activities. Our employees love the sense of purpose this provides, and we have been amazed by the passion and effort they put into their paid volunteer time. I can’t say enough about the value of the program, and I strongly recommend it to any company looking to enhance this part of their culture.”

Originally posted on Business Wire

BetterUp Renews Partnership with Invictus Games Foundation to Continue Supporting Members of the Invictus Community