Unity created the Employee Giving Program as a means of empowering Unity employees to participate in opportunities that positively impact our local and global communities of creators making change.
Through this program, our mission is to support global initiatives and organizations, especially those that elevate and share the values of the Unity Social Impact pillars:
- Education and Inclusive Economic Opportunity
- Environment and Sustainability
- Digital Health and Well-being
In total, Unity employees have supported 831 global causes via volunteering and donations and invested $329,000 USD since we launched matching in May 2021. I’d like to reflect on two responsive giving moments that I’m particularly proud of.
In May, Unity leaders met with our team in Colombia to listen to their experiences with widespread protests and violence in their home country. Our response included initiating a grant to support the nonprofit, Recon Colombia. As a result of the funding we directed, Recon has developed an incubation and acceleration program for social entrepreneurship in the Colombian Pacific to advance economic and social inclusion. They estimate that this program will help lift 3,000 people in this region of the country out of poverty, which has the second highest Multidimensional Poverty Index in Colombia.
In the Summer of 2021, the Taliban overtook Afghanistan, wreaking havoc on the ground and preventing females from having access to education and economic opportunity. As a result of the dire situation, a group of Unity employees quickly mobilized to help vulnerable populations in Afghanistan. Unity’s goal is to bring qualified Afghan engineers, and coders from the Code to Inspire program to work at Unity, where they can unlock economic opportunity and meaningfully contribute to our organization. We believe Unity can help sponsor this group and leverage our unique position in tech to start a wider industry trend. Currently, we’re processing all candidate CVs and encouraging qualified candidates to apply.
There are many more examples of Unity employees giving their time and resources to global organizations and I feel grateful every day to work with these individuals. Our employee giving program wouldn’t be possible without the work of Sarah Farris, Senior Engagement Manager, Social Impact, so I’d especially like to thank her for empowering us to do this critical work. We look forward to seeing how much more we can accomplish by this time next year!
