Just last week we launched our ScaleArc Gives Back program, realizing a goal I’ve held during my time here at ScaleArc.
A few years back, I enjoyed a passionate conversation over lunch with a small group of people, including Marc Benioff, the founder and CEO of Salesforce.com. I became inspired by his 1-1-1 model for philanthropy and the resulting Pledge 1% movement. Giving back to our communities, on a global scale, has been a goal of mine for ScaleArc throughout my tenure here. The people of our company have consistently demonstrated the desire and ability to help others, and now we have the opportunity to do that collectively as a company.
We kicked off our ScaleArc Gives Back program last Friday, when members of our staff from our headquarters location went to the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Jose and sorted food for people in need. We had a great time managing 9000 pounds of oranges and were inspired by the difference Second Harvest is making in our community, especially during the holiday season.
Also last week, I signed ScaleArc up as part of the Pledge 1% program, which means we will donate:
- 1% of our time via volunteering days
- 1% of our product as software donations to non-profit organizations
- 1% of financial resources, in our case profit
In addition, for this holiday season we have donated to a charity on behalf of our customers, in lieu of sending them gifts they really don’t need.
I’m excited for ScaleArc to explore all the ways we can fulfill our 1% pledge, and I encourage other leaders in the tech community – even the smallest of startups – to read more about the Pledge 1% program and sign up your company as well!