Alicia_Schmidt
VP, Member Impact, Pledge 1%
No matter your future plans, one of the best ways to set the stage for success is to celebrate your Pledge 1% membership. Use this moment as an opportunity to rally your team and other stakeholders and to build excitement for next steps.
When developing your communications plan, we suggest you consider a few key questions:
Which audience(s) are you trying to reach? Who do you need to engage right now? This could be your executives, your staff, your board, even external stakeholders and the public.
How do you want to involve your customers in your program? A social impact announcement is a great way to remind them of your values and why they work with you.
What do you feel ready to share? Some companies simply announce that they joined the Pledge 1% movement and have committed to making social impact a priority at their business. Others share specific plans, charity partners, or stories of how they are leveraging their assets for good. Identify what you feel comfortable sharing now and think about the ideal time for your announcements.
Do you have events, product or leadership announcements on the horizon to amplify your Pledge 1% commitment? Many of our members make an internal announcement first and then share their Pledge 1% plans publicly at a major conference or as part of an event (including liquidity events).
Announce Your Pledge Internally
Most companies start by sharing that they’ve taken the pledge internally. This helps build culture and get team buy-in. Even if you don’t have your Pledge 1% program formalized, taking the pledge is a big step and is worth sharing with your team–and they’ll want to hear it from you first. There are a number of ways you can announce internally, including:
- Download our logo and assets, and use our sample language to highlight that you have taken the pledge and that this program is an official part of your business.
- Send out an all-staff email saying that you’ve joined Pledge 1% and will be sending details shortly. This is a great way to highlight your values and drive culture.
- Present your Pledge 1% commitment at your next all-hands meeting.
- Post on your internal company community or intranet. You can use our logo and sample language here.
You may also want to share this news with certain customers, board members, or other key stakeholders before going public. Again, think about your target audience(s) and the interest you need to build to get started.
Photo credit: Atlassian
Announce Your Pledge Externally
Check out announcements from other Pledge 1% members:
Leading with Community: Reddit Joins Pledge 1%
Rokt joins Pledge 1% to make a positive social impact
Vidmob: "VidMob Joins Pledge 1%, Ensures Give Back Commitment Grows with the Business"
Once you inform your team and key stakeholders about your commitment, it’s time to share it with the world! This can be done immediately upon taking the pledge or after your first activity - when you announce is entirely up to you. This is also a great way to formalize your program if you have already been giving back. We suggest you announce early, even before your first activity, and leverage this announcement to build momentum for your program and plans. You can do this by:
- Posting on your blog, Medium, LinkedIn, or putting out a press release about why you joined Pledge 1% and what your program involves. Feel free to use this sample language and/or email our team (members@pledge1percent.org) to coordinate your announcement and brainstorm ways we can help amplify. We love helping you to share your story and inspire others!
- Publishing an executive thought leadership piece from your founder or CEO on why they are integrating Pledge 1% into the DNA of your business. This is a great way to build culture and remind your team, clients, and customers of your values and why they work with you. This is typically an authentic communication from the CEO expressing how this Pledge ties to company culture and values.
- Integrating your announcement into your user conference or partner event is a great way to inspire and empower your broader community to get involved.
Additional considerations for Equity Pledges
When late-stage companies set aside equity for social impact, they are typically igniting tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars in new philanthropy to fund their social impact and ESG programs for years to come. Super exciting!
If your company has pledged equity, you are already playing a critical role in fortifying this trend and paving the way for others. Please reach out to equity@pledge1percent.org so that we can support you in amplifying your announcement, provide advice on timing, and share examples from peer companies.
You also have a range of options with regard to when and what to announce. Some typical moments companies announce include:
- Upon securing your board resolution or commitment
- IPO roadshow, to help build excitement for your IPO event
- Day of IPO or liquidity event- this is a great way to remind stakeholders about who you are as a company and the (non-monetary) values they are investing in’ it’s also a great opportunity to piggyback on any larger global or industry news around your IPO to make a big splash with your impact program
- Shortly after your IPO - we know that a lot goes into your big day and realize this may not be the most optimal time for your Pledge 1% announcement; many companies choose to wait a week to announce their equity pledge, which helps revive the momentum of your IPO and provides an opportunity to jump back into the media cycle
- After your liquidity event - many companies wait and share the estimated values of the donated shares, along with other plans for their impact program and/or company updates
Build Momentum Beyond Your Announcement
It’s important to keep building momentum by sharing news, updates, and announcements as you move forward. We encourage you to continue to post stories via your blog, PR releases, LinkedIn, and other social media.
We are also here to help and can amplify your news on our blog and social media. Please refer to our communications guide or email us to learn more. We will also be in touch with invitations to participate in campaigns and other opportunities to be featured as a Pledge 1% member.
Revision #:
14 of 14
Last update:
02-25-2024
05:31 PM
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