Written by Toby Yoder. Originally published on linkedin.com.
Altitude Integrations is proud to announce that we will be donating one percent of our equity, product, and time to charity as part of the Pledge 1% global movement. I joined the team at Altitude Integrations only four months ago in the midst of a pandemic. Despite global uncertainty, we’re committing to give back to our community, and with COVID-19 cases on the rise, it’s more important than ever for every company, big or small, to give back.
We’re joining the Pledge 1% movement with more than 12,000 members in 100 countries to ignite half a billion dollars in new philanthropy. As a company, our mission is to provide proactive and innovative IT solutions to small and medium-sized businesses around the globe, while focusing on our three core values of Trust, Integrity, and Dedication. We’re aiming to become a leader in giving back to the community, while encouraging others to do the same. Pledge 1% inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good.
Any company that has the ability to participate and help with their technology, time, or revenue will have an impact on those that need it. We are a small company today, but we will grow, and when you multiply that potential across millions of small companies in the US alone, it can and will have an incredible impact. It reminds me of the story of the woman who was gently throwing starfish back into the ocean one at a time after the tide went out. She was approached and asked, “Why are you bothering to do that? There are miles of these starfish on the beach, and you can’t possibly make a difference.” She picked up another one and threw it in and said, “I made a difference for that one.” If we can help our community and encourage one additional company to think about giving back, we immediately double our impact.
Before joining Brett Ramberg and the rest of the Altitude team, I spent 11 years leading sales teams at Salesforce, the global leader in Customer Relationship Management, and one of the founding companies that spearheaded the Pledge 1% movement. My experience at Salesforce and its 1-1-1 philanthropic model for giving back inspired me and the team at Altitude to sign with Pledge 1%. The Salesforce model illuminated the power of giving back; not only the impact it has on the nonprofits it helps, but also how it brings people together in the company. Everyone felt good about doing good. At Altitude, we want to give back to the local community we serve, and our employees feel the same. There is a greater sense of purpose in our work when we can support the causes that move us personally.
Joining the Pledge 1% movement alongside juggernauts like Atlassian, Box, and DocuSign is only step one. Our goal is to influence other small businesses to follow in our footsteps, and not be deterred by thinking they’re too small to inspire change, even if it’s just one starfish at a time.
