Originally published on the Salesforce blog.
Yesterday, Pledge 1% launched in the UK. The event, hosted at St James’s Palace by The Duke of York welcomed 150+ professionals and businesses passionate about corporate philanthropy and keen to make giving-back a core part of their company culture. “By participating in Pledge 1%, you will be acting as an accelerant for a number of different people and a number of different streams of activity. The most significant one will be acting as an accelerant to your own entrepreneurial business,” said HRH The Duke of York.
We’re pleased to announce that more than 25 companies in the UK took the Pledge at launch, including NewVoiceMedia, Qubit, Sage Group Plc, Idio, CloudShift Group, GoSquared and Adaptavist.
Graham Cooke, co-founder and CEO, Qubit says: “We are delighted to be one of the first UK companies to support the Pledge 1% movement. Donating equity, time, and product fits with our goal of being a socially responsible company. We’re fully committed to fulfilling our pledge, and as we grow, giving back more and more to the local and global community we’re part of.”
608,100 new business started in the UK in 2015, an increase of 4.6% year-over-year. Salesforce.org recognizes the potential power for the growing number of UK companies to create a lasting impact in the world and looks forward to supporting them in doing this, through Pledge 1%.
“Salesforce.org is dedicated to changing the way companies think about corporate philanthropy,” said Charlotte Finn, vice president EMEA, Salesforce.org. “Pledge 1% is a great example of the power that business has to effect positive change.”
In its first year, Pledge 1% hopes to secure 50 new UK pledges and 1,000 new pledges globally in 2016.
What is Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% is an effort spearheaded by Atlassian, Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, Rally for Impact, Salesforce.org and Tides to accelerate their shared vision around integrating philanthropy into businesses around the world. Pledge 1% is dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business and provides the tools and best practices to empower companies to dedicate 1 percent of employee time, equity, product or profit to improve communities around the world — making it easy for companies of all sizes to incorporate philanthropy into their business models.
Why Pledge?
Companies and their employees today want to be civically minded and aligned with a social mission that prioritises having a positive impact on the world. In Salesforce’s case, when employees are asked why they chose Salesforce over the myriad opportunities in tech, they most often cite the company’s focus on giving back. Taking the 1% pledge helps companies and individuals demonstrate their philanthropic intent and hold themselves accountable for turning a pledge into action.
Thinking about building giving back into your company culture? Pledge 1% can help. Take the pledge today at www.pledge1percent.org.
