Are you planning to be at any of these events? We’re connecting our members in person and virtually around the world this month. Share which events you plan to attend in the Community!
Originally published on People
Congratulations to Pledge 1% members Atlassian, New Relic and Salesforce for their recognition as companies that put their communities first! We are proud of our members who go above and beyond to honor their employees, uplift their communities and make the world a better place.
Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff predicts this is the decade of the “ecopreneur revolution” — the rise of entrepreneurs who make decisions based not only on the bottom line, but on the wellbeing of the environment and future of the planet. It’s a vision he’s proud to help make a reality.
As a founding sponsor of UpLink, a platform that connects sustainably minded entrepreneurs to investors and partners, Salesforce has empowered more than 50,000 innovators as they develop the next generation of climate solutions. Additionally, through 1t.org, an environmental initiative Salesforce helped launch, the company has assisted in the planting of more than 43 million trees in the past two years — with a goal of 1 trillion by the end of the decade.
“Every company here must be net zero [greenhouse gas emissions] and fully renewable,” Benioff announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in May. “We have no choice. We must create a net zero world.”
San Francisco-based Atlassian Inc., a leading provider of collaboration, development and issue tracking software for teams, aspires to make a one percent impact via the Atlassian Foundation — that is, one percent of annual profits, one percent of employee time and one percent of company equity.
To date, more than $40 million has been donated to nonprofits around the world, more than 149,000 hours have gone to community volunteerism and more than 128,000 free or deeply discounted software licenses have been issued to nonprofits. And to ensure that team members remain healthy and engaged, Atlassian has expanded its well-being benefits to accommodate mindfulness sessions, personal counseling, resilience workshops and subscriptions to mediation apps.
“The workplace experience team is amazing,” says a team member. “They do so much to ensure we are happy and healthy at work. The Foundation is also stellar and a wonderful way to get involved in helping the local community.”
A year ago, New Relic , a global technology company that creates cloud-based software, started giving all employees an additional paid week off with its Relic Recharge Week to curb burnout. And to encourage the spirit of giving, the San Francisco-based New Relic launched 21 Days of Goodness, which included a company-wide Global Day of Service with PTO to volunteer, and it surprised employees by depositing funds into their personal accounts, which team members then donated to the charity of their choice; over 1,100 staffers directed over $65,000 to 741 charities.
“New Relic cares about giving back to the community and charity so much more than other companies I have been a part of,” says a staffer. “We have an entire day dedicated to community service, and there are often events or communications encouraging us to give back. It’s truly special.”
Read the full list here.
Background
Jahni Izzard visited Nepal on a mission trip with her school in 2014. They visited hostels dedicated to helping girls who had been rescued from brothels in India and were determined to help. Her mother, Racquel, joined her the following year and the Badi Project was born. At first, the Badi Project started by holding small fundraisers. movie nights, silent auctions and selling yak blankets. After the third trip and selling many yak blankets, Racquel knew the need was much greater. She reached out to a family friend who worked for Salesforce, as the company has a volunteer time off (VTO) program to encourage staff give back to community initiatives. Jess and Olivia came the first year and Nepal captured their hearts. They have now been 5 years running with the team growing each year. The impact now being far greater than from selling yak blankets!
Objectives
The objective for our team was to help Asha Nepal, a small NGO on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Their mission is devoted to preventing the trafficking and abuse of girls and caring for survivors, with the aim of their safe reintegration into the community. The task of the week was to help them renovate the property which has become a sanctuary for the victims of human trafficking and abuse in Nepal and India.
The other team, where the requirement was to in “cross-fit” condition was to travel outside of the city to build sanitation facilities for a children’s hostel.
Activities
The journey to Nepal for our group from Singapore was on Malindo Air. There was some stress getting all of the donated supplies checked in without an enormous excess luggage bill. With some prior calls to explain the purpose our trip and very accomodating check-in staff we were on our way. With a short stopover in Kuala Lumpur we arrived in Kathmandu at 9:30pm and were met by other volunteers who had arrived early to get our baggage to the hotel and meet the rest of the team.
The following day we went sightseeing around Kathmandu and ended up grabbing some lunch of traditional Momo’s (Nepalese dumplings) at Paddy Foley’s Irish pub and watched the football. That night we had a group dinner with our volunteer team at the hotel.
The next day we packed up and headed off to lunch at the Dwarika’s Hotel which has some beautiful gardens that offer a tranquil respite from the noisy and hectic streets of Kathmandu. Then off to our bed and breakfast in the outlying suburbs of Kathmandu to begin our week at Asha Nepal.
The week entailed cleaning and renovation of the buildings in the Asha Nepal sanctuary with a complete remodel of the top floor kitchen and roof top area along with cleaning and painting of the other buildings in the complex. Our team also rejuvenated the vegetable garden and organised a sign writer to redo the entrance sign. It was exhausting work to be honest and quite the break from our desk jobs in Singapore, the first night I fell into bed at 7pm!
In our free time and evenings we were able to go on hikes in the surrounding mountainside, cook some amazing dinners and spent a lot of time getting to know the girls who were staying there. Some of the stories were heartbreaking and gave us an opportunity to reflect on how lucky we are and the things we take for granted in life. The most basic things like where you were born, your parents and your citizenship gave all of us a major head start in life. These girls had gone through some traumatic events in their lives and still maintained a positive attitude with beaming smiles and willingness to dive into all the opportunities that were provided to them.
Perspectives
It was an inspiring week with some amazingly strong women who have gone through some extremely tough challenges and yet maintain such a positive outlook and radiance in life. Even though we raised a good amount of money and worked hard to create a more welcoming refuge we couldn’t help to think that more was needed to help provide for the victims of human trafficking in this region.
Money Raised
$50k USD for two different NGO’s. Fund Raising activities included a wine auction and various social events. Staff and friends donated clothing and toys which we took with us to Nepal. We also used the Salesforce charity match scheme where each employee donations are 100% matched up to USD$5000/year.
ASHA NEPAL is a small organisation in Kathmandu devoted to preventing the trafficking and abuse of girls and caring for survivors, with the aim of their safe reintegration into the community.
With your help, we care for girls rescued from sex-trafficking, forced labour and abuse. We provide trauma counselling, health care, educational support, and emergency and long-term residential care.
Learn more about WhereNext here and read the full feature article here.
Originally published on PR Newswire Cision
Orion Global Solutions LLC announced their inclusion on the Financial Times Fastest Growing Companies in the Americas List for the second year in a row and CRN’s Fast Growth 150 List for the third time. These two lists represent companies who have navigated economic challenges and more than survived, they thrived.
Orion’s growth reflects the hard work and determination of the team. Orion created several notable initiates to strategically guide customer to overcome their own challenges. These initiatives also helped customers achieve growth.
“We are always honored to be recognized by Financial Times and CRN for the impact we make every day,” said Yacov Wrocherinsky, Founder and CEO at Orion. “The past several years have been challenging for many organizations, and I am so proud of how our team rallied together to support each other, our customers, and community while also strengthening our partnership with Salesforce.”
As a boutique digital transformation technology consultancy and Salesforce partner, customers have always considered Orion a trusted advisor. During the past few years when all organizations were managing through the same global and economic changes, Orion’s ability to adapt and deliver cloud-based solutions supported the new remote-work model customers had to adopt.
As a boutique digital transformation technology consultancy and Salesforce partner, customers have always considered Orion a trusted advisor. During the past few years when all organizations were managing through the same global and economic changes, Orion’s ability to adapt and deliver cloud-based solutions supported the new remote-work model customers had to adopt.
“Our goals for Orion have always been to focus relentlessly on customer success, attract great talent, and maintain steady growth,” said Dan Farrugia, SVP of Professional Services and COO at Orion. “I am so impressed with the team we’ve been able to assemble and excited about everything they have accomplished and will accomplish in the future.”
Read the full article here
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Kim Havens
Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Kahilla
Ketchum, Idaho, USA
What is your current role? Briefly describe in 1-2 sentences.
I am a co-founder and co-CEO of Kahilla and primarily oversee the finance and operations of the business.
What’s the best part of your job? What do you enjoy the most?
I love working with our small but mighty team to build a product that is changing the face of senior leadership in corporate America.
We’ve all faced personal and professional challenges these past two years – what motivates you to keep going?
I am motivated by my passionate co-founder, my husband – who has always believed in me, and my two girls for whom I want to leave this world in a better place.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Life is not a dress rehearsal.
What does generosity mean to you?
Unselfishly giving of myself (kindness, time, money, etc.)
How do you feel businesses can play a larger role in solving today’s biggest challenges? Do you have any specific stories or examples from your work or colleagues you can share?
Our vision at Kahilla is to see equity in senior leadership in the corporate world. We help companies retain and advance their women into positions of senior leadership by providing equitable access to leadership development and a community of peers.
If you could describe yourself in one word what would that be and why?
Solid – very little phases me. I always see a way forward.
If you could pick a song to guide you through 2022, which song would it be?
What are you looking forward to this year? Are there any goals (personal or professional), activities, or experiences you are excited about?
I am looking forward to growing our team at Kahilla so we can hit our big goals!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I have the best co-founder – without her Kahilla would not exist!
Originally published on Silicon Valley Bank
SVB, the financial partner of the innovation economy and parent of Silicon Valley Bank, today released its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. The report details the company’s commitments and strategies to help create a more just, equitable and sustainable world and reports on its programs and progress made throughout 2021.
“As the financial partner of the innovation economy, we support visionary companies and investors boldly addressing the biggest challenges of our time,” said Greg Becker, president and CEO of SVB. “Our long history of serving this sector has enabled us to seize opportunities to build a better world, and this report highlights our efforts, progress and commitment to transparency and accountability.”
SVB’s ESG program centers on the positive impact its innovative clients make and is built around six strategic initiatives designed to support long-term sustainability for the company:
- Engaging and empowering employees,
- Building a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion at SVB,
- Championing inclusion in the innovation economy,
- Supporting its communities,
- Advancing the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon world, and
- Practicing responsible corporate governance.
Among their highlights:
- $18 Million in Charitable Giving: SVB donated $18 million to charitable causes in 2021, surpassing the company’s annual Pledge 1% goal. Through the Pledge 1% corporate philanthropy pledge, SVB aspires to donate at least one percent of its net income to charitable causes annually.
Read the full ESG report for SVB
Originally published on Anthem Awards
Why should companies take the pledge, and what are the benefits they receive from joining this movement?
Pledging 1% is one of the easiest ways to structure and formalize your social impact program, and there are so many benefits to doing this. Internally, we’ve seen companies that engage with social impact see higher employee retention and stronger team culture. Externally, it’s good for your business, as more and more of today’s consumers prefer brands that prioritize having a positive social impact. Pledge 1% provides a flexible framework for companies to donate 1% of their profit, product, employee time, and/or equity to causes they care about, and our team and peer community is here to help create the strategies that resonate most with your company’s culture, employees, and overall business plans.
What inspired you to create the Pledge 1% Community forum, and how do you engage members?
One of the greatest strengths of Pledge 1%, is that our members come from virtually every sector of business across the globe. Every day, we learn new ways businesses can have impact from our members. Our platform is a new resource designed by our members for our members that allows like-minded leaders to connect, share ideas, and access the latest tools and information about corporate impact.
It’s free for Pledge 1% members to join, and provides instant access to our Playbooks, tools, case studies, blog, as well as ongoing member events. The tools and conversations within the Community cover a variety of topics, from “Getting Started” to VTO policies to special events like our last Humanitarian Relief Series event, “Contextualizing the Refugee Crisis,” which outlined how companies can best support the needs of this vulnerable population.
How and where can people sign up to be a part of the Pledge 1% community?
Our Community is a collaborative and trusted space for Pledge 1% members. To join, you’ll need to take the pledge here. Once you’re a member, you can join the Community via the community log-in page, which will be sent with your confirmation email shortly after you sign up!
Any company can take the pledge and you do not need to already be giving back to join. You also do not need to have a plan in place; you just need to share how you’d like to give so we can send you the best tools and next steps. Since you are joining as a company, you will need executive sign-off or internal permission to complete the form.
Your platform connects members to everything from educational programming, job postings, to new initiatives by members themselves. Why was it so important to create this new resource for individuals engaging in social impact?
Pledge 1% is a community of over 17,000 companies around the world who have committed to leveraging their assets to do good. We’ve always been focused on supporting individuals who work in corporate impact, and over the past 5 years, we realized there aren’t many spaces where these individuals can connect, share ideas, and think about new solutions for their team and communities. As a movement, we are uniquely positioned to build the Community and tap into our network of experts to co-create resources with our end-users: individuals who do this work every day.
What are some of the different pledges that can be taken, and how does it translate into the giving aspect?
We currently have four standard pledge types – profit, product, equity, and time. Each of these serves a different – yet vital – purpose, and companies are free to choose which pledges they like (or a combination of these). They can also change their pledge, adjust their goals, or add new pledge types as their program evolves.
Many companies start by donating time and commit to other pledge types when they have profit or team in place to execute.
Product pledges are also very common and can be extremely important because they can directly answer the needs of the community companies are serving. A great example of this is Cruise’s product pledge – 1% of their EV fleet goes towards delivering food to those in need.
We also see companies giving profit to a number of causes, often adopting different models and approaches to dedicate financial resources to their values and the communities where they work.
A new trend we are seeing is a rise in equity pledges, which is quickly becoming the new normal for companies to set aside shares for future impact. Companies like Canva, Coinbase, Digital Ocean, Olo, UiPath, and Unity Technologies are paving the way for startups to have impact via liquidity events. We are grateful to have our toolkits for each of the pledge types and read more examples in the Community.
Read the full feature on Anthem Awards
Originally published by Delaware News Journal
The key to success at Even & Odd Minds has been that everyone’s voice is welcome.
Ravi Goel, managing partner and one of the founders spoke about how these values are translated into the workplace culture. “The whole concept of Even & Odd Minds is all kinds of minds working together,” Goel said.
For the 3rd consecutive year, Even & Odd Minds has been named as one of the top small workplaces in Delaware. Its efforts earned it first place in the small company category in The News Journal’s Top Workplaces competition for 2022.
Even & Odd Minds is an information technology consulting firm that provides its clients with individual consultants, project teams, and strategic outsourcing services in a wide range of industries including finance, healthcare, insurance, retail, and technology among others.
It characterizes itself as a “partnership approach company”, which values providing each customer with equal attention regardless of their engagement. “I help people find jobs that improve their lives, that help them to grow and flourish,” one employee said. “I learn more every day and I meet people all over the world.”
Even & Odd Minds takes pride in its reliability, flexibility, responsiveness and social responsibility as a corporation and fosters that pride in its employee base. “I am given the freedom and autonomy to conduct my own team as I see fit,” one employee said. “Oversight usually serves less as a ‘big brother’, but rather as a support to help bolster the team’s weaknesses in a very growth-oriented way.” Something that is championed among employees and upper-level staff is allowing employees to make mistakes in the workplace without fear of failure.
“Something that we noticed is that people are hesitant to do things because they have a fear that they will make a mistake,” Goel said. “In our organization what we have done is say it doesn’t matter if you do it right the first time. It’s okay to make mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes you will not learn.”
These workplace values seemed to have paid off, in September 2021, Even & Odd Minds was a finalist for a Best Tech Work Culture Timmy Award, which recognizes the achievements of tech professionals and workplaces. In addition to its recognition for its workplace culture, Even & Odd Minds has also been outspoken in terms of its belief in corporate social responsibility. Despite being a smaller firm, Even & Odd Minds is a member of the Pledge 1% initiative, and donates 1% of its profits towards charitable causes.
Even & Odd Minds has a clear vision: customers for life. As Goel and his staff work to expand across Delaware and the region, they make it clear that their staff is their key to success. “A company, any company, is nothing more or less than the people who make it up,” says its website. “Our people are the primary reason our customers recommend EOMinds to others.”
Originally published on Cision PR Web
Inc. Magazine today announced that Agile Cloud Consulting (ACC), a certified Salesforce Consulting Partner specializing in CRM implementations, custom development and support services ranks #877 on Inc Magazine’s list of the top 5,000 privately held companies having a growth rate of 723%.
The Inc. Magazine top private company list is based on a company’s net worth, growth and development – metrics that showcase ACC’s commitment to its own evolution and its focus on its clients.
“There are more than 6 million privately held companies in the United States. Building one of the fastest growing companies in America is remarkable and a testament to our team’s culture, industry knowledge, and customer focus,” said Sharif Shaalan, Founder and CEO. Sharif is also a Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame member.
“Our entire team is focused on excellence and our client’s success. This recognition by Inc. Magazine is a reflection of ACC’s company philosophy – ensuring our clients thrive in their technology ecosystem.” said Stuart Longley, Vice President of Sales & Alliances.
The complete roster of the Inc. 5000 can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.
About Agile Cloud Consulting
Agile Cloud Consulting (ACC) is Salesforce.com Crest Consulting Partner, a Salesforce PDO (Product Development Outsourcer), a Salesforce.org Impact Partner, and a proud Pledge 1% member.
ACC specializes in CRM implementations, data migration and development across diverse industries with specialization in HighTech, non-profit, higher education, MedTech, manufacturing, FinServ, and health care. ACC has practices around web development, mobile application development and software application development including Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.
Born out of a successful Salesforce acquisition, Sharif Shaalan (Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame) founded ACC in 2019. ACC is supported by a team of certified Salesforce and change management experts and industry leaders from the C-Suite.
ACC uses the sprint-based, collaborative Agile Scrum Methodology. Customers participate in the project lifecycle to increase velocity and efficiency. Empowering organizations to be more effective and efficient at delivering organizational objectives through the use of technology is what drives the ACC team.
Read the article on Cision PR Web