San Francisco, April 12, 2016—Pledge 1%, a corporate philanthropy movement dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business, today announced that Amy Lesnick has joined the organization as its first chief executive and president. Pledge 1% also announced today that it has joined Tides as a special strategic initiative to expand its global reach.

Pledge 1% was launched in 2014 by leaders in corporate philanthropy from Atlassian, Rally, Salesforce, and the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, a program of The Community Foundation. Since its launch, more than 700 companies in more than 20 countries—including Glassdoor, NewVoiceMedia, PopSugar, Twilio, and Yelp—have joined the Pledge 1% movement and committed to making the community a key stakeholder in their businesses. With the addition of Amy Lesnick and by joining Tides as a special strategic initiative, Pledge 1% enters its next phase of growth as it scales to reach more companies around the globe.

Lesnick is a technology industry veteran and a recognized leader in social innovation. Prior to joining Pledge 1%, Lesnick spent two years leading cause-related world-wide growth at Indiegogo. Before Indiegogo, Lesnick served as CEO of Full Circle Fund for six years. Lesnick co-founded and instructed the Strategic Philanthropy course at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, regularly advises foundations on the integration of technology and social change and serves as a mentor at Stanford’s StartX Accelerator. She has been named to the San Francisco Business Times Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business List.

 

Comments on the news:

  • “I’m incredibly excited to lead the Pledge 1% team,” said Amy Lesnick, chief executive and president, Pledge 1%. “Together, we can change the status quo—ensuring philanthropy is baked into the DNA of every company from the beginning and giving back is endorsed and encouraged by successful entrepreneurs, industry leaders and investors alike.”
  • “CEOs and entrepreneurs are realizing that to build a great company, you need to include giving back at the core,” said Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and chief philanthropy officer, Salesforce. “We’re thrilled to have Amy Lesnick at the helm of Pledge 1% during a critical moment for corporate philanthropy.”
  • “Pledge 1% can change the face of corporate philanthropy and shape the culture of companies that take the pledge,” said Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian. “Everyone benefits when a company builds giving back into its DNA. It’s one of the best decisions we ever made.”
  • “Pledge 1% is a movement full of immense possibilities that will be unleashed with new leadership,” said Ryan Martens, co-founder and CEO, EFCO, and co-founder and CTO, Rally, now part of CA Technologies. “Amy is a strategic, inspirational and experienced leader who can build on our early momentum and help us to transform Pledge 1% participants into engaged ambassadors.”
  • “At Tides, we know impact doesn’t happen when we act alone,” said Kriss Deiglmeier, CEO of Tides. “Pledge 1% is an example of the kind of cross-sector work that is critical if we want to achieve social change goals.”

Pledge 1% is also joining Tides, a San Francisco-based foundation and social enterprise committed to accelerating social change, as a special strategic initiative. Pledge 1% will be leveraging Tides’ broad domestic and international reach, corporate philanthropy expertise, and experience in scaling social ventures as it continues to grow.

 

About Pledge 1% Pledge 1% is a movement spearheaded by Atlassian, Salesforce.org and Tides to accelerate the integration of 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.