Pledge 1% Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary, Rallying Corporate Leaders to Reshape Social Giving Ecosystem

Launches Global Visionary Council, with current and former leaders from companies like Salesforce, Toast, Docusign, Bessemer Venture Partners, and more to leverage equity as part of the  Pledge 1% movement

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, global movement Pledge 1% kicks off its 10-year anniversary celebration, highlighting a decade of empowering businesses of all sizes to leverage their assets for good. With more than 18,000 companies across 130 countries taking the pledge to set aside a percentage of staff time, product, profit, or equity, Pledge 1% has ignited $2.4 billion of philanthropy in equity commitments alone since its inception.

Coinciding with its anniversary celebration, Pledge 1% is also announcing its Global Visionary Council, a group of influential executives across industries who have not only led their companies to join the Pledge 1% movement, but also actively inspire other industry leaders to  set aside equity to sustainably fund long term social impact.

Those on the 14-member GVC include Atlassian Co-Founder and Board Member Scott Farquhar, Braze and Rubrik Board Member Yvonne Wassenaar, DocuSign Board Member and Former CEO Dan Springer, PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada, Salesforce Chief Philanthropy Officer Suzanne DiBianca, Toast Board Member and Former CEO Chris Comparato, Twilio Founder and Former CEO Jeff Lawson, Battery Ventures General Partner Neeraj Agrawal, Bessemer Venture Partners Sameer Dholakia and Byron Deeter, SV Angel Founder & Managing Partner Ron Conway, Appfire CEO & Co-Founder Randall Ward, Coalition Co-Founder and Lookout Founder John Hering, and G2 CEO and Co-Founder Godard Abel.

Providing a flexible framework, tools, and networking opportunities, Pledge 1% has inspired  companies like Reddit, Chime, Twillio, Canva, and Airwallex to integrate social impact into their business in multiple ways. Over the last 10 years, more and more companies have been setting aside equity to enable their social impact to grow with their business, and Pledge 1% has built a powerful ecosystem across CEOs, investors, banks, stock exchanges, and more, all collaborating to support these companies in their decision.

Through the power of our community and with the leadership of our GVC, our growing ecosystem continues to be a force multiplier for social impact, and we may see in the next decade that setting aside equity for social impact is as common as setting aside equity for the employee pool leading up to an IPO.

"Our vision for the future is to create a flywheel of growth, using our movement to integrate social impact into every company's DNA," said Pledge 1% Chief Executive Officer Amy Lesnick. "As we enter a new chapter of corporate philanthropy, I'm looking forward to harnessing the power of this incredible ecosystem to ignite billions in new philanthropy and empower thousands of companies around the world to leverage their assets for good."

"Joining Pledge 1% is one of the best decisions a founder can make," said Atlassian Co-Founder and Board Member, Scott Farquhar, who is one of the founders of the Pledge 1% movement.  "Atlassian took the pledge early on, well before we were successful. As we grew, we raised tens of millions of dollars for great causes, gave away our product to non profits, and provided our staff with an outlet for philanthropy. When I talk with new employees, they rate our philanthropy as one of the top three reasons they joined Atlassian."

Today's 10-year anniversary kickoff celebration culminates with Amy Lesnick and Scott Farquhar ringing the  NASDAQ closing bell and a reception of over 65 CEOs and tech leaders. The event marks the beginning of a yearlong campaign of new programming and initiatives for the organization to inspire and empower decades of impact to come. To learn more about Pledge 1% and to take the pledge, visit www.pledge1percent.org. 

About Pledge 1%

Pledge 1% is leading a global movement to embed social impact into all businesses. Providing a simple, flexible framework for setting aside staff time, product, profit, and/or equity, Pledge 1% encourages and empowers companies of all sizes to leverage their assets for good. To learn more about Pledge 1%, please visit www.pledge1percent.org

What other Pledge 1% supporters are saying:

• "We have this wildly optimistic belief that there is enough money, goodwill, and good intentions in the world to solve most of the world's problems. Our Two-Step plan is integral to Canva's DNA: Step 1: Become one of the most valuable companies in the world. Step 2: Do the most good we can. Pledge 1% was absolutely instrumental in helping us get started." - Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, Co-Founders of Canva
• "When we built Toast with a purpose to enrich the food experience for all, we also committed to Toast.org to focus on solving critical food issues that impact communities across the nation. Having the support of the Pledge 1% ecosystem of GVC members, Boardroom Allies, and others along our path to IPO made it easy to set aside meaningful assets to fund our social impact efforts." - Chris Comparato, Board Member and Former CEO of Toast
• "Pledge 1% is the ultimate force multiplier. A company can take the pledge and leverage its assets (product, people, profit, equity) for good in ways that reinforce one another. Then, their impact grows over time with the business. And, for CEOs like myself who have taken the pledge, motivating other CEOs to join can amplify our impact, often translating into tens of millions of dollars to fund social good – an extraordinary return on your philanthropic time!" - Sameer Dholakia, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, Former CEO SendGrid
• "As a longtime supporter of Pledge 1%, it has been amazing to watch the movement ignite … Social impact is among the most inspiring parts of my job, and I imagine taking part will be essential for top VCs in years to come." - Rich Wong, Partner at Accel

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