By Abigail Summerville. Originally published on Boston Business Journal.

 

Boston-based Bullhorn Inc.’s latest philanthropic efforts include joining global initiative Pledge 1% and partnering with national nonprofit Year Up.

As a member of Pledge 1%, the software company for staffing and recruitment firms is committing itself to donate one percent of its profit and other resources, such as employee time and products, to benefit the local community. At Bullhorn’s annual North American staffing and recruiting industry conference on Thursday, it will match all donations to Year Up and Career Collaborative, up to $50,000.

The company already has a 12-year-old philanthropic arm, Bullhorn Cares, which has raised $500,000 to date. Bullhorn employees also donate their time by providing free services to those in need. One current beneficiary of Bullhorn Cares is Career Collaborative, a local nonprofit that provides training, job-search assistance and job retention support for clients who start off unemployed or underemployed.

“There’s a real sense of engagement that people get out of that type of hands-on interaction with nonprofits, but especially with the people they serve,” Bullhorn founder and CEO Art Papas said in an interview with the Business Journal on Wednesday. “It creates a powerful allegiance and loyalty to the organization. (Employees) feel like the company is investing in you and also the community.”

Papas, who has served as board chairman of Career Collaborative since 2015, decided to partner with Year Up, a similar non-profit that also aims to close the opportunity gap. Year Up helps urban young adults land jobs by teaching them the skills needed by today’s companies.

“We felt like we also wanted to touch the youth because Career Collaborative is solely focused on adults or young adults. We wanted to go a little bit earlier,” Papas said. “There aren’t a lot of programs that bridge the gap between end of childhood and work.”

Papas said he hopes other companies will follow in Bullhorn’s footsteps and embrace these two organizations in their own philanthropic endeavors.