net2phone Canada’s Year of Giving with Pledge 1%

One of the exciting trends I'm seeing in the increasing commitment of the SaaS community to incorporate giving back as part of the startup, scale-up and corporate strategy as a fundamental value of their mission.

Giving at every stage of company growth is more than just possible, it is responsible and demonstrates a high level of leadership in addition to building a great culture and products.

An excellent framework to get started or to introduce an inclusive approach to giving that engages employees, puts your products and dollars to work is the Pledge 1% program. Founded by Salesforce and now adopted by leading SaaS companies including net2phone Canada, Pledge 1% encourages organizations to pledge 1% of Time, 1% of Product & 1% of Profit.

As a member of the Pledge 1% program, net2phone Canada has given back by providing our employees volunteer days, donated products to charitable organizations and fundraisers and even funded some valuable community programs.

1% may not seem like a lot and may not be feasible for smaller organizations to participate in at all levels of time, product and profit. But even if your organization delivers on 1 tier of the program as it grows, rest assured, that 1% makes a tangible difference.

Here are some examples of how net2phone Canada gives back that you could consider for your organization!

1% Time - Volunteer Days

Each net2phone Canada employee is encouraged to volunteer their time, even during work hours. This helps build community relationships, create excellent team building opportunities outside the office and a culture of giving among employees. Some examples include coaching minor league hockey teams, building homes, stocking shelves at a food bank, or volunteering at telethons.

1% Product - In-Kind Sponsorship

Your products can help organizations on a permanent or temporary basis. net2phone Canada delivers business phone solutions and analytics so we provide some organizations with this service at a discount or temporarily for fundraisers and telethons with organizations like the Sandra Schmirler Telethon for Tiny Hearts, and CBC Project Give in support of the Ottawa Food Bank.

1% Profit - Monetary Support

All charitable organizations have challenges that only funds can solve. Such was the case with the Youth Service Bureau (YSB) who required a new vehicle to support their Mobile Outreach team to assist families in crisis. net2phone Canada has generously sponsored a reliable and comfortable vehicle to help YSB reach families in their time of need, provide onsite support and counselling and provide transportation for youth to safe accommodations or for medical care. Specifically, since net2phone Canada sponsored the vehicle for YSB Mobile Outreach they have:

• provided more than 292 home visits to high-risk youth and families
• travelled 8,156 km throughout the community to do this critical work

We encourage all technology companies to take the #TechGivesBack challenge and incorporate giving as part of your growth and corporate strategy.

Share how your organization gives back on Giving Tuesday using the #GivingTuesday hashtag on social media. If you are a technology company, share examples of your team giving back using the #TechGivesBack hashtag ALL YEAR LONG!