Written by Afdhel Aziz. Originally published on Forbes.com.
Salesforce has announced its second Impact Fund from Salesforce Ventures, its global strategic investment arm. The new $100 million fund will accelerate the growth of cloud companies addressing some of today’s most pressing needs including access to education and reskilling, climate action, diversity, equity and inclusion, and providing tech for nonprofits and foundations.
I caught up with Salesforce’s Chief Impact Officer and EVP of Corporate Relations, the inspiring Suzanne DiBianca (whom I’ve had the pleasure of profiling before in Forbes about her role in the creation of the Pledge 1% program) to learn more about the announcement.
Afdhel Aziz: Suzanne, welcome. Please tell us a little about how Salesforce has been helping people in these turbulent times?
Suzanne DiBianca: These intertwined crises – from health and economic, to inequality and leadership – have revealed the culture and core values of every company. At Salesforce, we’ve transformed our company and rewritten our playbook to serve all our stakeholders during the pandemic, leaning into our technology and influence.
Salesforce has helped combat COVID-19, securing and delivering over 60 million units of PPE for over 300 healthcare facilities. We have put technology in the hands of our students and teachers with work.com for Schools. Most recently, we launched Work.com for Vaccine Management to help the world deliver one of the largest mass vaccination campaigns in history.
We have also supported local business through small business grants, and are working to address racial inequality inside and beyond our four walls. And last month we launched a Sustainability at Home guide, to make working-from-home more productive, comfortable and sustainable for our employees and community.
Suzanne DiBianca, EVP Corporate Relations and Chief Impact Officer at Salesforce JAKUB MOSUR PHOTOGRAPHY
Aziz: Please tell us a little about this second impact fund and why you decided to launch it now?
DiBianca: Impact investing is experiencing significant growth as businesses and investors increasingly aim to make real-world change and build a better future for all stakeholders. We need to take this moment to invest in a new, more resilient and inclusive economy – one that ensures the long-term health and wellness of citizens, drives job creation and protects against future shocks coming from climate change.
During these unprecedented times, this work has never been more important. Building on the success of the first $50 million Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund in 2017, this new $100 million fund will accelerate the growth of cloud companies addressing some of today’s most pressing needs including access to education and re-skilling, climate action, and diversity, equity and inclusion. Efforts must also recognize existing inequalities, along the lines of race, gender, socioeconomic status and more, in order to support all people and prevent deepening social and economic divides.
Aziz: What are the kinds of categories you will be focusing on?
DiBianca: We are focusing particular attention on solutions that address today’s urgent and interwoven crises, including:
Education + Workforce Development: Companies enabling equal access to high-quality education, re-skilling and preparing workers for jobs of the future.
Sustainability: Companies creating better access to clean energy, improving resource efficiency, supply chain performance, and developing new technologies that will help address climate change.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Companies developing tools that promote equal opportunity and economic empowerment for women and underrepresented groups, as well as investing in women and underrepresented founders.
Social Sector Technology: Companies amplifying impact for nonprofits, foundations, and public sector customers through technology that increases efficiency and transparency.
Salesforce MINDY TAN HUIMIN
Aziz: What are the kinds of companies you want to support?
DiBianca: Salesforce Ventures’ mission is to build the #1 cloud ecosystem for Salesforce customers so we invest in technology that extends and complements Salesforce. With the first fund we invested in more than 25 companies that have now served over 3 million students, 1/3 of whom are low-income, reduced 133K Metric tons of CO2, opened up access to new financial services for more than 4.8M individuals, and unlocked $17B in grants and donations through their platforms.
Companies such as Guild Education achieved a $1B valuation while helping working adults gain an education. Unite Us was named as the 2020 start-up to watch at the JP Morgan Health Conference. Both AdmitHub and Samasource published compelling impact evidence from randomized control trials. Brooklyn-based energy technology startup, BlocPower, is rapidly greening American cities by combining intelligent software with project finance to simplify and accelerate energy-efficient retrofits of mid-sized urban buildings.
Aziz: Finally, what message do you have for other large corporations about putting their money where their mouth is during these times people need help?
DiBianca: This is a defining moment. As the physical, social and economic health of our communities comes into question – now is the time to not only rebuild our world, but to reimagine our future for the better. We all have a role to play based on our unique skills and core competencies. I hope that we continue to see more corporates launch impact investing initiatives, bringing more capital to bear.
If that is not an option, I hope companies consider Pledge 1%. It is an easy way to leverage a portion of your future success to support nonprofits in your community. It’s a small commitment that can make a huge impact. Today, more than 10,000 companies in over 100 countries have Pledged 1%, generating a half-a-billion net new dollars to invest back into the community.
Written by Stephanie Palmer-Derrien. Originally published on SmartCompany.com
Adelaide startup Good Thnx just took part in Startmate’s 10th anniversary demo day event. But, already, this business is racking up wins, including building an integrated Slack app and hitting the milestone of $1 million in donations.
Founded back in 2015, Good Thnx allows users to send a ‘thnx’ of any dollar value, to be donated to a charity of the recipient’s choice.
Even before co-founders Shannon Poulton and Ante Juricin joined Startmate, they counted global tech behemoth Google as a client.
But, while previously they were focused on selling to large enterprises, during the program they developed the Slack integration, which Poulton tells SmartCompany almost allows people to “self-serve”.
This new direction proved something of a turning point.
For example, in the early days developing the Slack-integrated app, the co-founders received an inbound enquiry from a large Australian tech company, which had heard about the project and wanted to try it out for their 10-person dev team.
“We gave them basically the very first beta version … to help us test,” Poulton explains.
“We baked in some things for virality and product-led growth, so the dev team could thank other people in the organisation,” he adds.
Within three weeks, the business’ employee experience lead reached out with a proposal to roll out the Slack integration across the whole business.
“We’ve seen a 10-person beta trial essentially turn into a 450-head sale in three weeks.”
Where an enterprise sale is a long process, the Slack integration allows small teams to pick up the product, start using it, and spread the word, fast.
“By the time an organisation is looking to use the product across their whole business, it’s likely they have a use-case internally already,” Poulton explains.
“They’ve probably got several teams of people using it happily, and then that conversation is so much easier.”
Founders helping founders
Product-led growth is a bit of a buzzword at the moment, Poulton says. But this is exactly what Good Thnx has achieved during the Startmate program.
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“In 12 weeks, we completely scoped and built the Slack app, tested it for closed and open organisations, deployed it for a number of companies, and made our first sales with it,” he explains.
The founder puts that ability partly down to the mentors involved. Throughout, he and Juricin had access to leaders at the likes of Atlassian and Culture Amp.
Culture Amp chief technology officer Doug English was on Good Thnx’s ‘mentor squad’.
Other mentors in the program include Adore Beauty co-founder Kate Morris, Blackbird’s Nick Crocker and Sam Wong, Mentorloop co-founder Lucy Lloyd, and Skip Capital founder Kim Jackson.
“We had extremely senior product people from the best companies in Australia helping us with product testing and advice,” Poulton says.
“Startmate really, really accelerated that for us.”
In fact, it’s those connections that are the best part of the whole experience, he notes, even more so than the $75,000 investment.
“I could reach out to almost to anyone in that network, they would happily set up some time, jump on a Zoom call for 30 minutes, look at stuff we’ve been building,” Poulton says.
“It really is founders helping founders.”
Audacious goals
Of course, while reaching Startmate’s demo day is one milestone to check off, hitting $1 million in donations is also a pretty big deal.
“When we started Good Thnx that was always the first major milestone that we articulated,” Poulton says.
“If we can reach $1 million distributed, regardless of what happens next, it will always be worthwhile.”
Now it’s reached that goal, things are only looking up.
Good Thnx has just signed a new customer, Poulton reveals, which is looking to pledge another $1 million to charities through the system within the next year alone.
That deal also has the potential to double the number of charity partners on the system to 400, and to grow to a value of $10 million per year.
“Lots of people talk about going from zero to one,” Poulton says.
“It was bumpy, it took a while, but now how do we grow from $1 million to $100 million, or from $1 million to $1 billion, in a much quicker timeframe?
“We will be well on our way to achieving those goals.”
Written by Aspiero Inc. Originally published on PR Newswire.
Apisero, a trusted consulting partner and a leader in MuleSoft and Salesforce platform solutions for enterprise, commercial, and mid-market customers, today announced an investment from Salesforce Ventures that will enable Apisero with capital support to expand its services into new markets.
Building on a record-breaking year of growth, Apisero is scaling into the broader Salesforce ecosystem with a focus on industry clouds in the financial services and healthcare sector, and amplifying its reach in new geographies. The expanded services will allow Apisero to bring its exceptional quality of service to Salesforce customers, enabling them with the speed and agility they need to go digital faster.
“MuleSoft partners serve as trusted advisors, helping customers adapt to unprecedented change and meet their biggest, most challenging digital transformation projects,” said Brent Hayward, CEO, MuleSoft. “We look forward to the continued growth of the MuleSoft Americas Growth and Emerging Partner of the Year recipient – Apisero – and are proud to celebrate the success of all of our partners as they drive the adoption of application networks and help customers realize new connected experiences.”
Since the beginning of 2020, Apisero has seen a 300% organic increase in its overall customer acquisition, and 2.2X year-over-year revenue growth. Anticipated figures show the organization eclipsing 1,000 employees by the end of Q4, for a combined employee growth per annum of 400% when compared to data from Q4 ’19.
“The investment from Salesforce Ventures both strengthens Apisero’s partnership with MuleSoft – allowing the two to better serve joint customers – and provides additional capital to greatly accelerate our Salesforce practice. It’s an incredibly exciting time as we expand into new geographies and build industry-specific cloud offerings that help our customers accelerate time-to-value” — Vijay Rao, CEO and Founder, Apisero.
Several notable achievements helped fuel the company’s rapid acceleration as an industry titan, including its Premier Partnership with MuleSoft, the launch of Apisero’s MuleThrive™ program, and earning recognition as a MuleSoft Partner of the Year in early August.
In addition, the nascent expansion of Apisero’s practice into the Salesforce Partner ecosystem equips the company to explore new markets through an integrated suite of Salesforce service capabilities that deliver quicker, faster, and more targeted business outcomes using MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform™.
About Apisero
Recently recognized as a MuleSoft Partner of the Year, Apisero is a Premier MuleSoft and Salesforce consulting partner and the trusted source of MuleSoft and Salesforce platform solutions for commercial, mid-market, enterprise, and strategic customers. Our certified consultants are skilled in delivering mission-critical solutions that help our clients adapt to the evolving needs of their environment while driving innovation and accelerating digital transformation.
About Salesforce Ventures
Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Salesforce Ventures, the global investment arm of Salesforce, invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Platform. Salesforce Ventures is building the world’s largest ecosystem of enterprise cloud companies and extending that technology to customers. Portfolio companies receive funding, strategic advisory, and operating support, and can easily join Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 400 companies, including DocuSign, GoCardless, Guild Education, nCino, Twilio, Zoom, and others across 22 countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures.
Apisero and the Apisero logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Apisero, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
Written by Jeana Tahnk. Originally published on auth0.com.
Auth0, the identity platform for application teams, today announced the launch of Auth0.org, a social impact program committed to secure, inclusive access for all. Representing an extension of the company’s goal of ‘Secure Access for Everyone’ (SAFE), Auth0.org consists of various philanthropic initiatives for nonprofit organizations and social enterprises, including secure access to technology and equal access to education. As part of the launch, Auth0 also announced that it has joined the Pledge 1% movement, and has committed to giving 1% of the company’s equity to nonprofits over the next 10 years to help pursue philanthropic initiatives, with initial contributions from co-founders Eugenio Pace (CEO) and Matias Woloski (CTO).
‘Secure Access for Everyone’ reflects Auth0.org’s strong belief that inclusivity and accessibility are core tenets to prosperity and progress, unlocking human potential, and elevating the human experience. Auth0.org will rely on the company’s global network of more than 9,000 customers and more than 700 employees, along with Auth0’s resources, to expand upon existing giving initiatives and be a force for good. By leveraging the reach, support, and products of Auth0, Auth0.org will be able to facilitate secure, inclusive access to technology, that aligns with its goal of connecting and improving the lives of people worldwide, regardless of location, race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, or religion.
Auth0.org is engaging with world-changing agents and social enterprises that advance its strong belief in inclusivity and accessibility to make lasting change. To ensure Auth0.org’s success in executing that mission, Tides Foundation will serve as its philanthropic partner and charitable home. Since 1976 Tides Foundation has become the leading philanthropic services provider for corporate social impact as well as the nation’s largest fiscal sponsor working towards a world of shared prosperity and social justice across sectors.
Tides will help Auth0.org identify organizations that are in the greatest need of technology access and execute on the program’s aligned giving program.
Auth0.org will focus on three primary areas:
- Auth0 for Nonprofits: Auth0 for Nonprofits will provide eligible nonprofit organizations and social enterprises with greater accessibility to Auth0’s leading identity management solution. In addition to discounted rates for Auth0’s Enterprise offering, nonprofit organizations will also have access to a variety of resources, including free consulting services, implementation guidelines, and customer support. Auth0 for Nonprofits is an extension of existing Auth0 offerings for nonprofit organizations, including the company’s efforts to provide Startup Relief for qualifying companies most affected by COVID-19.
- Auth0 SAFE Fund: The Auth0 SAFE Fund, a donor-advised fund of Tides Foundation, will make grants to various nonprofit organizations with a similar focus on fighting for secure, inclusive access for all. Auth0’s partnership with Pledge 1% underscores its goal of providing funding for qualifying nonprofit organizations for the next 10 years.
- Auth0 Employee Giving: To grow the ongoing philanthropic interests of Auth0’s employees, Auth0 Employee Giving will provide donation matching opportunities, encourage volunteering and community outreach efforts, and organize employee events and campaigns.
“We are excited to welcome Auth0 to the Pledge 1% movement and celebrate their incredible leadership as a role model to others. Increasingly, we’re noting a strong trend of top companies like Auth0, setting aside equity for social impact,” said Pledge 1% Chief Executive Amy Lesnick. “As we face unprecedented challenges from COVID-19, racial injustice, climate issues, and more, companies have an important role in tackling pressing issues of our time. By leveraging equity, in addition to other assets such as time, expertise, product, and its global network, Auth0 is fortifying its commitment with the financial resources required to sustainably address these challenges and drive lasting positive change.”
“We are so thrilled to launch Auth0.org as our social impact program, and help facilitate accessibility and inclusivity through technology to connect and improve lives,” said Eugenio Pace, CEO and co-founder of Auth0. “Joining Pledge 1% demonstrates our long-term commitment for affecting positive change, and we are absolutely dedicated to our mission of ‘Secure Access for Everyone’ as both a global company and social impact initiative.”
Ari Schapiro, Senior Director of Self-Service and Social Impact at Auth0 added, “As a more mature company, we have a responsibility to leverage our product, resources, and reach to extend our support to the amazing nonprofit organizations around the world that are using technology as a force for good.”
To learn more about Auth0.org and its philanthropic initiatives or how to participate, please visit Auth0.org.
About Auth0
Auth0 provides a platform to authenticate, authorize, and secure access for applications, devices, and users. Security and application teams rely on Auth0’s simplicity, extensibility, and expertise to make identity work for everyone. Safeguarding more than 4.5 billion login transactions each month, Auth0 secures identities so innovators can innovate, and empowers global enterprises to deliver trusted, superior digital experiences to their customers around the world.
For more information, visit https://auth0.com or follow @auth0 on Twitter.
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 launch and scale their impact programs and donate 1% of either product, product, staff time, and/or equity to a charity of their choice. In particular, Pledge 1% is helping many companies on the path to IPO pledge equity. Pledge 1% member companies have already ignited half a billion dollars in new philanthropy via their equity pledges, which is proving to be one of the most effective ways of funding social impact work for years to come. To learn more about Pledge 1% visit pledge1percent.org or download the new CEO Equity Playbook today.
Media Contacts
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1. What was the challenge the community was seeing due to COVID-19?
Like communities everywhere around the globe, here in the Phoenix-metro area, individuals who were deemed high-risk of contracting the novel coronavirus were afraid to leave their homes for even basic necessities. As a result, many of our community’s seniors didn’t have a way to get things like groceries or household supplies.
2. How does your solution solve this challenge or help? What tools did you use?
Our team came together to launch a platform for these vulnerable citizens in which they could request groceries and household supplies. The requests were then dispatched to our team members and whoever was available or in closest proximity to the individual who made the request would go pick up the items and drop them off at their doorstep. We’ve since had to shift to using Instacart and store delivery to fulfill orders since our statewide stay-at-home order was issued. But the program is still going strong, and our team has logged more than 300 volunteer hours with this effort.
It was truly amazing to see our team rally around this and bring it from idea to launch within 24 hours using Salesforce ServiceCloud, Communities and Chatter to facilitate it all.
3. Share an approved customer story.
We had so many heartwarming messages come in from people throughout the community. From a woman who was afraid to go out to stores to pick up basic supplies as she is the primary caregiver for her 81-year-old, gravely ill husband and her 91-year-old sister. From a 76-year-old couple who were in the “vulnerable” category. And from a 61-year-old woman who was battling breast cancer and diabetes, and simply needed bottled water and apple juice. Some families greeted us with a welcome party (while practicing distance of course!).
While these messages and reactions filled our hearts with joy, they were unexpected. For us, it about being of service to people who needed us most during this time.
4. What impact has your solution had so far?
Our founder, Thiru Thangarathinam committed $10,000 towards the purchase of needed items with each family able to spend up to $50. So far we’ve been able to serve 200 households with that fund, and we’re still going! Early on, the project caught the attention of one of our local business publications and TV news stations, and we saw a significant spike in requests, which is what we were hoping for. The local community has also been instrumental in getting information about this project to those who could benefit from it. It’s truly been amazing to see how many people have rallied around this effort.
At MST Solutions, we’ve taken the “Pledge 1%” but we are also committed to delivering impact in three core areas: community, colleagues and customers, which we refer to as our “3 Cs”. While this project had a direct impact on the community, it had an unanticipated ancillary impact on our colleagues. By redirecting our focus and coming together to support something bigger during a time of crisis, with so much uncertainty and unease, it left little room for grief. It brought us all closer together and reminded us what we’re capable of when we work together to solve complex situations.
Written by Elan Schwartz. Originally published on boma.global.
Boma Global 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. Boma is joining thousands of companies around the world who have committed to Pledge 1% of either their product, profit, equity, and/or staff time to a charity of their choosing.
Boma has pledged to donate at least 1% of its product to the Boma Community. Specifically, any Boma event that is open to the public will have at least 10% of its tickets reserved at a significant discount (50% or more) for people who otherwise would not be able to attend (youth, entrepreneurs, non-profits, creative community, etc) with at least an additional 2% of its tickets available through a full scholarship. Boma is also donating at least 1% of its leadership curriculum and training programs to the Boma Circles community. Boma Circles are composed of passionate volunteers around the world who want to drive change in their local community by identifying sustainable innovation, hosting complex debates and experimenting with new social action formats.
Lara Stein, Co-Founder and CEO of Boma Global, states: “The change required in our systems is, fundamentally, one of values. We must rethink the concepts of business success as it pertains to a company’s impact on the community and world. Profit should not only refer to the financial aspects of our endeavors. Profit should include the morale, quality of life, inclusive workplace, the health of workers, and environmental impact. It should be this “ethical profit” we strive to accumulate and boast about in boardrooms.”
Boma 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 Boma Global’s executive programs and community programs, visit https://boma.global/ and http://bomacircles.org/
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About Boma Global
Boma is a global network of local partners offering transformational learning experiences (events, executive programs, workshops, etc.) for leaders and changemakers of today and tomorrow. In a world of dramatic and continuous change, we believe a positive future requires intentional and intelligent action today.
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.
Written by Jaclyn McCall
Rackers are valued members of a winning team on an inspiring mission. This was never clearer than during this unique and uncertain time around the world. In March, after 99.5% of our workforce moved to remote work, Rackers could see the strain and impact the pandemic was taking on their local communities. We launched our first Rackspace Cares Employee Donation Matching Program that was jump started with a $50,000 donation from the company to several COVID-19 relief organizations. We then matched, $1 for $1, of each Racker’s donation to any organization of their choice. We raised nearly $200,000 that spanned over 300 non-profit organizations around the world.
Rackers also wanted to continue to use their volunteer time off hours to support organizations that were in vital need of support. Over 15 global virtual volunteer programs were shared with Rackers, with more added each day. From writing cards to frontline workers to helping individuals and non-profit organizations understand new technology they needed to implement to stay connected – Rackers volunteered their time and expertise and showed up to support!
Up next, and celebrating its 15th year, Rackers at our Global Headquarters in San Antonio, Texas will soon be able to participate in a community holiday meal distribution event with the local food bank. Over 1,000 families are given an entire holiday meal (from whole turkey to over 20 non-perishables items) free of charge through a safe and socially distance mobile pick-up event.
Rackers are committed to a Fanatical Experience™ for our customers, each other, and our communities. We’re proud to serve our local communities around the world.
For the past four years, Pledge 1% has partnered with Bessemer Venture Partners, Forbes and Salesforce Ventures on the annual Cloud 100 event, which honors the top 100 private cloud companies in the world. Cloud 100 Pledge 1% members have had incredible impact; they’ve donated their time, product, and profits to their communities and together have unlocked over $500M in new philanthropy via their IPOs. To recognize this, we formally launched the Pledge 1% Impact Award to recognize one company who is doing an incredible job at leveraging their time, talent, money, and resources to make a difference. We are thrilled to share that this year’s Pledge 1% Impact Award winner is Canva.
Canva recently joined the Pledge 1% movement on a mission to do the most good they possibly can. They created a gift matching program to boost financial donations to Canva Foundation projects and have consistently given away a free version of their product to nonprofits and schools. Canva team members also receive 3 days of volunteer leave every year. This is in addition to time set aside to help with nonprofit and Foundation-related projects, like Design for Change Week.
In response to COVID-19, Canva went even further and created a range of free, easy-to-read, informative templates for individuals and organizations to download and use for free. To address systemic racism, they updated their media library to include more diverse images and representation of the Black community, and asked designers to create more inclusive content.
Canva is joining past Pledge 1% Impact Award winners DocuSign, Twilio, Slack, and Procore, and are one of many companies recognized at the Cloud 100. We congratulate Automattic, Culture Amp, DigitalOcean, Front, Gainsight, LaunchDarkly, Lookout, Procore, Rubrik, Samsara and all of the other companies for making this year’s list. You can learn more and view the full list here.
Written by Suprita Makh. Originally published on Twilio.com
COVID-19 and its effects have disproportionately impacted those experiencing acute crisis, and in response, countless nonprofit organizations have stepped up to provide the life-saving support people need as the pandemic has worn on.
In fact, nonprofit organizations across 60 countries sent proposals in response to a grant round Twilio announced in May, seeking to leverage communications technology to help with crises from physical and mental health to lack of access to housing and food.
Twenty incredible organizations reaching 1.9 million people in 34 countries will receive $2.5 million as part of the grant round, and their efforts offer powerful insight into the ways organizations can support those in need as the pandemic continues.
Our grant recipients offer three distinct areas of support to communities:
- addressing systemic health and safety inequities;
- meeting a surging demand for crisis support;
- and addressing humanitarian crises compounded by COVID-19.
Health and safety inequities due to systemic racism
The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on the impact of systemic racism on widespread health inequities in the US. Federal data shows Black and Latinx people have been three times as likely to get infected and twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as white people.
The disproportionately high burden of COVID-19 in Black and Latinx communities, compounded by the loss of income, health insurance, and even housing, has exacerbated the disparities in mental and physical health of Black and Latinx mothers. Even prior to COVID-19, Black women were three times more likely than white women to die of pregnancy-related complications in the US.
In response, grantee Jacaranda Health launched the COVID Moms Helpline, a crisis line for pregnant and postpartum people. The helpline provides support and security to expecting parents, with a focus on moms and pregnant parents in underserved communities that have unequal access to healthcare and might be struggling to navigate care during COVID. Perinatal educators and doulas on the line answer urgent questions and provide connection to local social, clinical, and mental health resources.
“Pregnancy can be isolating and stressful these days, and expecting parents are struggling to navigate care,” said Jacaranda Executive Director Nick Pearson. “We want to make sure that everyone feels they have someone to reach out to and receive holistic, empathetic support.”
Grant funds will support Jacaranda Health’s expansion of the COVID Moms Helpline to New York City and three additional geographies across the US.
Inequities due to systemic racism are not limited to healthcare. The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and too many others have sparked a necessary reckoning of systemic racism in the US.
During protests in June, more than 2,000 people were arrested over a five-day period in New York City. Through grantee Good Call’s crisis line, anyone who has been arrested can alert their loved ones and connect with free legal services 24/7. Low-income communities experience higher rates of arrest most of which are for low-level misdemeanors. Good Call aims to provide legal help to prevent damaging events that can have lifelong consequences.
Grant funds will support Good Call’s plans to reach new communities and expand their services by improving the stability and reliability of their hotline; growing the number of lawyers on their platform; and raising awareness of their services.
Surging demand for crisis support
Millions of people are experiencing many forms of escalating acute crises simultaneously due to COVID-19. Many face reduced access to basic needs such as food, shelter, and job security due to shelter-in-place ordinances and a rapid economic shutdown. These stressors have also compounded mental health crises. Demand for crisis line services has surged in this time of unprecedented need, creating new operational challenges.
RAINN, a national sexual assault hotline, reported a record 60,000 survivors of sexual assault and violence accessed their crisis line in May and June. For the first time, half of the victims receiving help from RAINN’s crisis line were minors, 67 percent of whom identified their perpetrator as a family member and 79 percent of whom said they were living with their perpetrator.
RAINN will use their grant funds to build and implement an upgraded version of their national hotline, with omnichannel solutions including chat and queue resiliency features to enable hotline staff to meet the needs of their callers remotely—and give people in the same home as the perpetrator a discreet way to reach out.
The Partnership to End Addiction has reported a nearly 50 percent increase in connections to help families overcome addiction. They’ll use grant funding to expand their current opioid use programming to include other substance abuse, and provide comprehensive support for people struggling with any substance—not to mention support families when their loved ones are undergoing treatment and early recovery at home.
Since shelter-in-place ordinances were implemented in March in various parts of the US, Trans Lifeline, the only hotline created for and run by trans people, has seen a 360 percent increase in calls about domestic violence and 250 percent increase in calls about intimate partner violence.
Their team will use grant funding to expand their programming and depth of care for trans people experiencing domestic and intimate partner violence, which will help support 20 percent more callers.
LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW ORGANIZATIONS ARE INNOVATING TO SERVE THEIR COMMUNITIES DIGITALLY
Humanitarian crises compounded by COVID-19
For the nearly 80 million people around the world that have been forcibly displaced due to violence and persecution, the pandemic has amplified uncertainty and fear.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (USA for UNHCR) are building and scaling crisis lines to provide live-saving information and resources to refugee communities in the U.S., Europe, South America, Asia, Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
Humanitarian support has traditionally been provided in a face-to-face format. Global travel restrictions, shelter-in-place ordinances, and safety measures such as social distancing have hindered humanitarian organizations trying to provide their usual depth of support in healthcare, education, housing, legal support, counseling, food, and employment resources.
In response, organizations are pivoting to more digital services to continue to provide resources and services to the communities they serve.
NRC will use grant funding to set up digital service centers to ensure continuity of existing services like legal advice and continued education, as well as add new services such as COVID awareness and monitoring.
IRC will use grant funding to expand Signpost, its two-way messaging system, to Greece and Italy, as well as roll out a two-way communications and case management platform for refugees and asylees in the US.
USA for UNHCR is building an omnichannel hotline for refugees and asylees in Argentina, connecting them with healthcare, employment opportunities, and legal support.
In addition to the organizations mentioned above, Twilio.org is supporting Child Helpline International, Fast Forward, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Polaris, Tarjimly, Tech Matters, The Trevor Project, Trek Medics International, United Ways of California, and Vibrant Emotional Health in this grant round.
At Twilio.org, we believe communication has the power to change lives. Technology plays a critical role in how we can support people in need. Each one of our grantees is pushing forward and amplifying their impact with a tech-first approach. We are incredibly honored to support and learn from this inspiring cohort of crisis line organizations.
If you’re a nonprofit organization, volunteer group, or social enterprise looking to scale your communications, visit our Impact Access Program to learn how Twilio.org can help.
Excited by the work of our grantees? Click through the links above to find donation or volunteer opportunities with each organization.