Author: CultureAmp
When we launched the Culture Amp Foundation, we shared our mission to make a better world of work more attainable. To realize that mission, we engaged Culture Amp employees, customers, partners, non-profit leaders, and prospective grantees to understand how we are uniquely positioned to support impactful organizations.
Our inaugural grantee, Indigitek, focuses its programming on increasing the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in STEM Careers in Australia. With our support, Indigitek funded marketing and production costs to expand its reach, supported staffing needs to implement its programs, and developed its educational platform so that educators around Australia can use the tools necessary to provide STEM education to students faster.
One of our company values is learning faster through feedback. By piloting an unrestricted grant program in close partnership with Indigitek, we have seen that unrestricted grants enable nonprofits to achieve their mission more effectively than the alternative standard practice– telling nonprofit leaders what to do every step of the way. If we want to help nonprofits turn their visions into realities, we must also trust the leaders of these organizations to do what is best to make that possible.
We have decided to expand our grantee portfolio and onboard new nonprofits that can utilize our unrestricted grants. This increases financial health and flexibility of use, whether investing in employee engagement and culture or expanding their fundraising capacity. It promotes innovation, empowering nonprofits to engage in the research and development necessary to pioneer marvels of social impact. It helps expand capacity, giving organizations autonomy to invest in technology upgrades or rising operational costs that all contribute to their mission and ours.
Welcoming six new Culture Amp Foundation Grantees
We are excited to welcome six new grantees who are making a better world of work more attainable for all people, including but not limited to first-generation college graduates, people impacted by the justice system, people who do not have access to decent work, and/or those who are transitioning to work that benefits society at large.
- BLK Men in Tech provides access, resources, and a community for Black men in the tech space and those interested in entering the industry. They focus on supporting the next generation of tech leaders and helping Black men accelerate into leadership.
- Color in Tech expands the range of inclusive pathways into the tech industry by partnering with leading tech companies to foster environments where diverse talent thrives. As creators of Europe’s largest event for diverse professionals, they have built a network of over 60,000 people, providing connections and opportunities at every stage.
- COOP Careers has almost 2000 fellows in five cities completing their fellowship annually. They help their fellows build the professional skills and networks that first-generation college graduates need to secure their first job after graduation. Their unique career accelerator brings together peer cohorts of 16 motivated, un/underemployed first-gen grads who meet nightly for 16 weeks (200 hours) to jumpstart their careers in digital marketing, data analytics, and financial services.
- Karrkad Kanjdji Trust’s Women’s Ranger Program helps women who lack access to decent work, education, and health care due to gender wage gaps, poor representation in decision-making, and high instances of violence against women. KKT is a shared resource for eight First Nations community-controlled organizations in Arnhem Land today. It funds innovative employment opportunities in the County, supports the preservation and revitalization of culture, and conserves over 50,000 square kilometers of land and sea Country.
- The Last Mile provides opportunities for personal and professional growth for justice-impacted individuals through education and technology training. TLM develops job-ready employees who transition from incarceration to employment with the support of TLM’s reentry team. Fellows in the TLM program are trained in Web Development, Entrepreneurship, Music, Art, Writing, Project Management, and more.
- Work on Climate is on a mission to build the workforce to solve climate change equitably and justly. It has built the world's largest online community for professionals working in climate change or seeking to enter the field. Through its programs, 3,000+ people have found climate jobs, and 3,000+ climate founders have been unblocked on their company journeys.
Our offerings do not stop at our monetary commitments. Our grantees are also eligible for a product grant, allowing them to leverage the Culture Amp platform to boost performance, engage employees, and develop talent. They can also utilize our employee volunteering program, which includes up to 40 pro-bono hours per year per employee. Employees can use their unique skills to help organizations achieve their missions. As a Pledge 1% Builder and B-Corporation, we know first-hand the importance of businesses giving back in more ways than one.
In the words of Culture Amp Co-Founder and CEO Didier Elzinga, “The Culture Amp Foundation is where what we do as an organization meets who we are as an organization.” We are familiar with taking innovative approaches to building. It is at the core of who we are as a company, and that is the same standard we have for the Culture Amp Foundation.
