From The End of Software to The End of Philanthropy?
Howard Lake | 4 April 2008 | News
Dr. Steve Garnett, Chairman & Co-President, EMEA at salesforce.com, tells UK Fundraising how the software as a service company has developed its vision of changing the traditional philanthropic model.
“Salesforce.com was founded in 1999 with a charge to be a different kind of company.
“It started with the simple idea to make business applications as easy to use as a common website. It was the company’s mission to spark what was termed ‘The End of Software’ revolution — the opportunity to democratise the industry by changing the way software was delivered. At the same time, CEO Marc Benioff had a vision to ignite an ‘End of Philanthropy’ movement, which sought to change the traditional philanthropic model to create a new and more sustainable way of making a difference.
“It was obvious there could be benefits for both sides in combining these two missions. In pursuit of an integrated model, we incorporated the Salesforce.com Foundation as a public charity at the same time that we incorporated our company. Alongside private funding, 1% of the new corporation’s were put into the Foundation. Ultimately, we made the commitment to donate 1% of profits to the community (through product donations) and 1% of employee working hours to community service.
“The 1/1/1 Model—equity, technology, and employee time—ensured that as our business grew, so would our contribution to the communities in which we operate. By leveraging the energy of our entire ecosystem, we have been able to succeed at our mission to provide underserved communities with access to technology, and made contributions that have exceeded expectations. We have opened 60 technology centers in 12 countries. Our nearly 3,000 employees have donated 70,000 hours to their respective communities and touched more than 100,000 people worldwide. More than 3,000 nonprofits across 52 countries, including the Red Cross, Room to Read, and United Way use the salesforce.com application for free to manage their organisations more efficiently.
“There has also been a secondary gain in what the Foundation contributes to our business. It has helped us attract the very best employees—talented and generously spirited people who are eager to go above and beyond the call of duty in everything they do. The Foundation has also provided a culture that helps us retain these people who say they feel more grounded and rewarded in their every day work by contributing to a purpose beyond a profit.
“Part of our mandate has always been to share our Model with others to magnify the difference we can make collectively. Dozens of our business partners have joined forces with us and used their passion and expertise to build and implement technology applications specifically designed for the nonprofit sector. It has given us the opportunity to build closer ties with our partners and their contributions have made a real difference. Their efforts have allowed organisations such as Wardrobe for Opportunity, a nonprofit that provides free working wardrobes to low-income jobseekers, to improve volunteer retention and conserve resources. They have enabled the UN World Food Programme to get up and running on a customised version of Salesforce in just a few weeks.
“In recent years there has been a lot of talk about corporate philanthropy; each year corporate philanthropic foundations pour billions into their work. It’s a large amount, but the world’s problems go beyond what funding can fix. Too many corporate philanthropic efforts occur in isolation, with little relationship to their community, employees, or corporate missions. The good news is that many companies are now beginning to see the potential of our integrated approach. We are proud that Google has followed salesforce.com’s lead and put 1% of its equity aside for its foundation. That might be our greatest legacy—there’s now $2.2 billion in the Google Foundation!
“If embraced on a large scale, this model could lead to ‘the end of philanthropy’ and prove the power we have by joining forces towards a common goal. We call it the Power of Us, and we believe its success relies on there being strength in numbers—a traditional concept, and one with limitless potential.”
Dr. Steve Garnett joined salesforce.com in June 2003 to head the Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA) operations. He has over 20 years experience in the IT industry after holding senior positions at Siebel Systems and Oracle Corporation.
Salesforce.com is leading the new wave of on-demand computing in the Customer Relationship Management market, and has built a business of over 29,800 customers and 646,000 subscribers world wide. Salesforce.com successfully launched on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2004 and has a market value of circa $4 billion.
He is a member of the Apax Advisory Board and holds several Board positions.
He has a degree in mathematics and a doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Manchester, and holds a number of professional affiliations.
www.salesforce.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.