Originally published on michaelmanagement.com. Written by Thomas Michael.
MMC Cares is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) program of the Michael Management Corporation, an online SAP education leader and live SAP access services. We started this program in 2020 in response to the many social injustices we have seen in the news. In fact, I had the idea for a CSR program a while back – I felt the urge to use our limited, although powerful resources to make the world just a little bit better.
Our Mission
We fully recognize that not everybody has access or opportunity to use our world-class SAP training. Therefore, we launched MMC Cares with the goal to do social good and address social issues. We will provide at least $100,000 per year in full and partial scholarships to deserving individuals and students from around the world.
Additionally, we wanted to take advantage of our large community of expert SAP instructors to provide free training sessions to the public throughout each year. And finally, we believe charity starts at home – thus, we offer our employees paid time off to do their own charity work. Each employee gets 1 hour per week (or half a day each month) to work on the causes that matter to them most – all while getting paid.
United Nations & Partnerships
We aligned our goals along with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Quality Education and Decent Work & Economic Growth.
Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.
How we support this:
Helping individuals unlock their potential by providing them with quality education and closing the skills divide.
Why we do this:
- There are many barriers to educational opportunities in low-income communities.
- There is a large racial disparity in our educational system, further impeding opportunities for building critical employment skills.
- Education is a passport to greater personal financial health.
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
How we support this:
Providing a pathway to prosperity by helping individuals acquire the knowledge needed for employment and financial empowerment.
Why we do this:
- Help narrow the gap of financial security among the lower-income community.
- COVID-19 has magnified the issue of financial security, creating the need for individuals to learn new skills
- SAP skills are in high demand; 87% of fortune 2000 companies use SAP software to run their business.
We will continue to donate our products, money, and time to support these goals and make a positive impact as a good corporate citizen. In addition, we seek to partner with national organizations and support nonprofits to further their missions of empowering individuals to improve or restart their careers.
After the initial launch of MMC Cares, I wanted to find a way to multiply the impact of our CSR initiatives. That’s when we hired Amelia Avery-Bradley as our new Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. Amelia is a mission-driven leader committed to social justice and inclusion and over a decade of experience with CSR programs. Amelia will lead MMC Cares to fulfill our mission to make the world a better place.
The 1% Pledge
Our first order of business was to join the 1% Pledge – a global movement of 12,000+ companies of all sizes to encourage them to donate 1% of their profits, product, and staff time to charities of their choosing. The collective charitable impact of these companies exceeds half a billion dollars each year.
Companies like Salesforce, Docusign, TechCrunch, and 1000s of others have already pledged their support, and we are proud to be part of this group now.
Our Impact
We are happy with our initial success and the social impact we have made in 2020. We were able to achieve the following milestones in our mission already:
- We awarded $102,900 in scholarships to individuals.
- We provided 5,000 meals to the Food Bank of New York City.
- We made cash donations to the ACLU, Alliance for Justice, and Food Bank of New York City.
We are excited about the new year and the goals we have set for ourselves. The Michael Management team, together with our 100s of expert SAP instructors, will impact the lives of 1000s of SAP learners around the globe.
With gratitude,
Thomas Michael
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Management Corporation