New Partnership with Web Summit Inspires Companies Large and Small to Join Pledge 1%

 

New Orleans, Louisiana – May 3, 2018  – Pledge 1%, the global movement to make giving back the norm for companies of all sizes and stages, announced today that it reached 5000 members in 100 countries.  With a growth rate of 150% a year since its inception, Pledge 1% includes some of today’s tech leaders like Salesforce, Atlassian, Box, and Yelp, recent IPOs such as Docusign, Twilio, Nutanix, and Okta, and some of today’s fast growing companies like Postmates, Pluralsight, MediaMath, Harry’s and PagerDuty, among others.

Named by Fast Company in 2017  the #1 Most Innovative Non profit in the World and One of the top 50 Most Innovative Companies, Pledge 1% has helped founders integrate giving back into their company cultures and values from the start by committing to give 1% of equity, time, product, and/or profit to any cause of their choice. The movement has scaled tremendously over the past three years and its member companies have already ignited over $500 million in new philanthropy.

Through a new partnership with Web Summit, Pledge 1% is at Collision this week, helping founders learn more about the movement and how their companies can have an impact. In addition to recruiting new members at the Pledge 1% expo booth, the Pledge 1% message of social impact, sustainability, and corporate values are being shared by leaders of the movement from the Collision stage.

Harry’s founder Jeff Raider emphasized during his talk on “How to create the next big thing” his motivation as a founder to “create a company that impacts millions of people, and stands for something good in the world.”   Harry’s, a proud Pledge 1% member donates 1% of sales to organizations that are aligned with their ambition to help guys navigate what it means to be a man today.  “This is completely central to what we do and key to our success. In addition to being the right thing to do, we believe having a positive impact has also enabled us to attract top talent, loyal customers, and become a more sustainable business.  We encourage other companies to join the Pledge 1% movement and integrate giving back into their core values.”

In her session on sustainability and big business, Salesforce’s Chief Philanthropy Officer Suzanne DiBianca asserted, “We believe companies are the greatest platform for social change.”

Jenna Griffith, COO of MediaMath explained in her panel “Can a company be a force for more than just Profit” that  “Pledge 1% is an opportunity for MediaMath to further demonstrate its commitment to philanthropic initiatives and make an impact. In addition to providing dedicated time and technology, our equity pledge, and the work of MediaMath.org, our Pledge 1% program is a key driver in shaping our company culture and enables a scalable model for giving as MediaMath’s business grows.”

“Every day, we’re welcoming Pledge 1% members who are exchanging ideas, iterating on each others best practices, and developing new innovative ways to leverage their company’s assets to be a force for good,” says Amy Lesnick, Chief Executive of Pledge 1%. “As our membership grows, so does the peer-to-peer learning, collaboration, and leadership among our community.  Pledge 1%, founders are realizing that they can have an impact early on by integrating these values into the DNA of their company and unleashing the creativity of their employees. It’s something that is a deep part of their company culture, identity, and story. We’re proud to celebrate reaching 5,000 members with the many partners, leaders, and builders who are helping take this movement to the next level.”

To learn more about Pledge 1% or to join the movement, visit www.pledge1percent.org.

 

About Pledge 1%

 

Pledge 1% is an effort spearheaded by Atlassian, Rally, Salesforce and Tides to accelerate their shared vision around integrating philanthropy into businesses around the world. Pledge 1% encourages and challenges individuals and companies to pledge 1% of equity, product and employee time for their communities, because pledging a small portion of future success can have a huge impact on tomorrow. Pledge 1% offers companies turnkey tools and best practices, making it accessible for any company to incorporate philanthropy into their business model. To learn more or to take the pledge, please visit www.pledge1percent.org.