Last Thursday, the newly launched Salesforce Incubator invited member companies to come together in person to talk about how they are building Pledge 1% into the DNA of their business.
During the event, 3 new companies and 3 Ambassadors joined Pledge 1%. But what was even more exciting was to hear leaders like Chuck Liddell of Kapuhonu speak about how giving has transformed his company’s culture. Kapuhonu has focused their giving program on enhancing the local tech environment in Honolulu. Their team mentors local tech entrepreneurs and volunteers directly with the homeless. Chuck even brought a bag of subway gift cards and granola bars to the event and asked attendees to join him and his team in reaching out to the local homeless population on their commute home.
Chuck was joined on stage by Propel‘s Miguel Tam, who talked about how his team volunteers at food kitchens in San Jose and how by pledging 1% of time, they are building a stronger company culture and character.
The enthusiasm for giving was contagious. Not only were these startups helping others, but they were realizing the immediate internal impact of pledging 1% within their companies.
The event would have not been successful without the amazing help and leadership of Ludo Ulrich, Melanie Picard, Michael Kreadan, and Julia Barrett. Their team is taking Pledge 1% to a new level by building it into the application for startups to join the incubator. This is a great example for how companies can #PledgeItForward and inspire younger companies to make giving a core part of their business. And, as we learned last Thursday, the impact both on the communities served and the teams involved, can be tremendous.
