Pledge 1%, the global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur and company to be a force for good, and Austin Gives, a philanthropic initiative run out of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, announce today a new strategic collaboration to encourage business philanthropy in the Austin region.

Both Pledge 1% and Austin Gives share a strong commitment to helping entrepreneurs and businesses develop corporate philanthropy and social impact programs. This new collaboration will leverage Pledge 1% and Austin Gives’ combined expertise, peer networks, and resources to provide more recognition and support to Austin companies interested in social impact.

“We are thrilled to work with the Austin Gives team and member community on creating new opportunities for businesses to have a positive social impact,” said Jan D’Alessandro, Chief Philanthropy Officer leading Pledge 1% equity pledge initiative. “This partnership will help Austin companies unlock new ways to engage their teams, customers, and community around their values and philanthropy, using Pledge 1% flexible framework of donating time, product, profit, and/or equity to causes they care about.”

“This collaboration reflects Austin Gives' commitment to promoting a culture of corporate social responsibility in the regional business community and demonstrates the power of local businesses to drive positive change,” said Bethany Leffingwell, Senior Advisor for Social Impact at the Austin Chamber leading Austin Gives. “Data shows consumers and employees expect businesses to demonstrate a commitment to purpose in addition to profit. Austin Gives is leading the charge to empower corporate generosity in Central Texas.”

Already nearly 300 companies in the Austin region have joined the Pledge 1% movement, committing to giving 1% of their assets to local causes and charities. Austin Gives has a base of more than 100 members, who will now be invited to join Pledge 1% and gain access to their tools, resources, and peer community. Together, Pledge 1% and Austin Gives will host special events and conversations with business leaders, IPO-prep and equity roundtables and sessions to explore new solutions to have an impact, and will provide Austin companies with access to an expanded knowledge center of resources and support. Austin Gives members can find resources and information at https://www.austinchamber.com/austin-gives-member-resources.

“The Austin Gives program has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years as companies in our region seek to create and expand their social impact programs. This timely partnership will provide a powerful value-add to our member companies,” said Bobby Jenkins, Chair of Austin Gives. “Purpose-driven companies have a higher employee retention rate, enjoy a faster brand value growth rate, and are more appealing to current and future investors. We believe doing good is good for business and our community.”

Sara Rodell, CEO of Austin-based Pledge 1% member company Loop & Tie will keynote the Austin Gives luncheon today, discussing the power of impact-focused leadership and how joining Pledge 1% has positively impacted her business. By working together on collaborative events, community knowledge-sharing, and best practices, Pledge 1% and Austin Gives are creating a new partnership model that will equip and empower more businesses in Austin to leverage their assets to do good.

About Pledge 1%

Pledge 1% is a force multiplier and global movement to inspire, educate, and empower every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 18,000 members in 100 countries around the world have used Pledge 1%’s flexible framework to ignite billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours in new philanthropy. To learn more about Pledge 1%, and how your company can get involved, visit https://pledge1percent.org/.

About Austin Gives

Austin Gives™ is a program for the business community that recognizes and encourages business philanthropy in the Austin region. In April 2015, Austin Gives officially became a program of the Chamber in order to meet the demand for expansion and growth of the business community’s commitment to giving back. Members range from small family businesses to large corporations. To learn more about free membership, visit https://www.austinchamber.com/about/austin-gives.