News

Press Releases

The Business of Changing the World

Articles | Awards | Press Releases

A visionary approach to corporate philanthropy is revolutionizing the way companies do business and empower social change.

A new book reveals how every company, from a Fortune 500 like Google to a law firm to a start-up operating from an apartment, can incorporate philanthropy into its business model and make a difference in the community.

In 20 inspiring and candid essays, the leaders of companies like Dell, Starbucks, UPS, Timberland, Hasbro, Intel, Cisco, Levi Strauss & Co., Safeway and Revolution discuss what works (and what does not) when making philanthropy a part of everyday business.

___________________________

THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING THE WORLD

20 Great Leaders on Integrated Corporate Philanthropy

By Marc Benioff,

Chairman and CEO of salesforce.com

And Carlye Adler

(New York, NY - August 1) - The landscape of philanthropy is changing. It's not about the logos anymore. Large-scale volunteerism projects, product donations, disaster relief strategies, issue-awareness campaigns, research and development, and public policy work are all standard undertakings for today's top corporations. These substantial efforts combined with recent news headlines of multi-billion-dollar donations have shined the spotlight on philanthropy like never before. Now is the time for all players in the private sector to identify the ways that they can join the movement and make their companies instruments of change.

THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING THE WORLD: 20 Great Leaders on Integrated Corporate Philanthropy by Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of salesforce.com, and Carlye Adler, demonstrates the profound interdependency between businesses and the communities in which they operate. It reveals how every company, from a Fortune 500 like Google to a San Francisco law firm to a start-up operating from an apartment, can incorporate philanthropy into its business model and make a difference in the community. Believing that all businesses can and should help to make the world a better place, Benioff gathered together twenty outstanding business leaders, including Michael Dell, Craig Barrett, Michael Milken, Steve Case and others, such as musician Peter Gabriel and Klaus Schwab, to discuss how their companies and organizations have implemented an integrated approach to philanthropy. They provide detailed strategies on how to successfully take the core resources of a company (people, product, and equity) and put them to work in the community. Examples include directing a set percentage of resources toward philanthropy from the very beginning, as Benioff did when he founded salesforce.com, to creating foundations and charitable trusts to dispense grants and donations, providing community service sabbaticals for employees, donating product and expertise to non-profits, and creating company cultures that inspire and encourage employees to give back to the community.

Many business leaders continue to believe that businesses provide maximum value to society if they operate efficiently, provide employment and deliver goods and services that support a healthy economy. But THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING THE WORLD makes clear that the market has spoken and said that it cares whether companies are also good citizens. Benioff and other leaders prove in the book's case studies that giving back, when conceived and executed thoughtfully, creates a win-win scenario for businesses, their shareholders, and the public. Companies like GlaxoSmithKline and Intel show that eradicating disease and improving childhood literacy can go hand-in-hand with boosting employee job skills, opening new markets, heightening brand recognition and ultimately raising shareholder returns. According to Michael Dell, Founder and Chairman, and Kevin Rollins, President and CEO of Dell, "It's our philosophy that if we have happy employees, they will do better. If we have good community relationships, we will do better. If we find ways to help the environment, to help workers, to help raise the standard of living in third world countries, we all will do better. It's simple: By acting responsibly, the company is better thought of, revenues grow, and profits increase."

What if every company (a venture capital firm...New York's top fashion label...the local hardware store), while continuing to remain financially viable and robust, integrated philanthropy into its business? Imagine the possibilities. Benioff not only dares to ask the question, but he also provides in THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING THE WORLD a real-world solution of how it works.

Benioff, whom BusinessWeek named one of the 25 people responsible for turning e-business around, believes that to be truly successful, corporate philanthropy programs must be woven into the fabric of the organization. It is ironic that in 1997 he was spending $100 million on corporate philanthropy at Oracle when he decided that America's companies were not doing enough for society. The program he led, called "Oracle's Promise," successfully placed thousands of computers in hundreds of schools worldwide, but Benioff felt the effort ultimately fell short of leveraging the company's full potential. Inspired by Colin Powell's call to America to "take the lead" in getting involved in youth service projects, Benioff decided to incorporate philanthropy from the very beginning when he left Oracle to start his own company, salesforce.com.

Using a model he created, called the "One Percent Solution," whereby one percent of the company's equity, time, and product is directed to philanthropy, Benioff built salesforce.com in tandem with its philanthropic arm, Salesforce Foundation. Benioff designed systems, such as senior management staff dedicated solely to the Foundation, offering employees six paid days a year to volunteer in the community, structuring business plans to include foundation goals, and making volunteer work part of employee training, to ensure that the importance of social service was ingrained in the culture and in the daily business operations from day one. Benioff says, "By committing to the community from the beginning, giving back has become part of salesforce.com's DNA." Salesforce.com and Salesforce Foundation have made a difference in community and around the world. Salesforce.com's 1500+ employees have donated more than 30,000 hours to build technology programs that reach 100,000 young people in 12 countries. And many non-profits have benefited from the free use of the company's product by using it to manage key data such as donor and volunteer tracking. Also because of the One Percent Solution, as the company has grown from a start-up to being traded on The New York Stock Exchange, its philanthropic power has significantly expanded. Salesforce Foundation has offices in New York, Dublin, London and Tokyo. Today, the Foundation is worth more than $18 million.

In THE BUSINESS OF CHANGING THE WORLD, Benioff and the business leaders who have joined him in this effort issue a crucial call to action on the part of all companies - of every size. Integrating philanthropy into business is not a lofty idea, but the secret weapon for the 21^st-century companies to achieve success.

 

Media contacts

Laura Reynolds, Reynolds Public Relations, Inc.
(434) 295-1128 / Laura@ReynoldsPublicRelations.com

Jennifer Keavney, salesforce.com
(415) 901-7000 / jkeavney@salesforce.com

Lydia Rinaldi, McGraw-Hill
(212) 904-5393 / lydia_rinaldi@mcgraw-hill.com