CALGARY, AB – March 6, 2018 – Benevity, Inc., the global leader in corporate social responsibility and employee engagement software, announces 200% donation matching to the local chapters of three national organizations that are making meaningful efforts to address some of the unique challenges facing women: YWCA, Canada Learning Code and Dress for Success. To make this possible, the company’s Founder and CEO contributed $100,000 of his personal funds with the hopes of inspiring incremental progress toward gender parity.
“Today’s leaders are looked to as a source of inspiration and encouragement for their people to bring their best selves to work – not just to regain public trust, but to do the right thing, be authentic, and build the kind of diverse environment and inclusive culture that helps people make the right decisions when facing choices that may not be easy.
“The benefits of having more women thriving in business are unequivocal,” says Benevity Founder and CEO Bryan de Lottinville. “And while I have no illusion that my $100k is going to make any dent of its own on the issues being addressed, I am hoping that other companies and their leaders will take notice and action. Today’s leaders are looked to as a source of inspiration and encouragement for their people to bring their best selves to work – not just to regain public trust, but to do the right thing, be authentic, and build the kind of diverse environment and inclusive culture that helps people make the right decisions when facing choices that may not be easy.”
Each of the three charitable organizations were selected for inclusion in the 200% matching campaign for motives as unique as the organizations themselves. Together, they empower women to achieve economic independence and represent important steps in the required diversification of our economy and the pursuit of real gender equality.
According to data from hundreds of companies in Benevity’s client community, donating to women’s causes – particularly on International Women’s Day – has not been a prevalent choice of action. Last year, Benevity saw an incremental increase in donations to women’s causes; however, March 8th still had one of the lowest donation volumes compared to nearly any other day of that month.
This year, YW Calgary hopes to fund 45 women’s journeys through their 6-week intensive Women’s Employment Program. Dress for Success Calgary aims to provide the support network, professional attire and development tools necessary for women to thrive in work and life. And Canada Learning Code helps ensure that all Canadians who have been historically underrepresented in the technology sector are given equal opportunity to build our future.
All donations made to Canada Learning Code, Dress for Success Calgary and YW Calgary through Benevity’s Community Impact Portal are eligible for a 200% match up to $100,000 until the end of the week (Friday, March 9).
YW Calgary YW Calgary is the largest and longest serving women’s organization in Calgary. For more than 100 years, they’ve remained fiercely focused on enhancing women’s safety and well-being while advocating for equity. Annually, YW Calgary supports thousands of women and their families. Together with their donors, government and other social agencies, they provide shelter, supportive housing, counselling, child development, childcare, education and employment programs that help move women from crisis to stability.
Dress for Success Dress for Success Calgary puts work-appropriate, donated clothing into the hands of their volunteer stylists and merchandisers to facilitate personal suiting sessions with women in their beautiful Inglewood boutique. During this process, women are treated with compassion and leave equipped with the clothing and confidence required to best tackle their new job or search for employment. These same women often return as volunteers to contribute to this cycle of empowerment.
Canada Learning Code Canada Learning Code are champions of coding education in Canada, driving positive results through their program design and delivery, strategic industry and public partnerships, educator training, research, advocacy and awareness. Canada Learning Code runs five distinct educational programs: Ladies Learning Code, Girls Learning Code, Kids Learning Code, Teens Learning Code and Teachers Learning Code.
About Benevity Benevity, Inc., a B Corporation, is a global leader in online workplace giving, matching, volunteering and community investment software. Many global brands rely on Benevity’s award-winning cloud solutions to power corporate “Goodness” programs that attract, retain and engage today’s diverse workforce by connecting people to the causes that matter to them. With software that is available in 17 languages, to more than four million users around the world, Benevity will process over a billion dollars in donations and 10 million hours of volunteering time this fiscal year to almost 140,000 charities worldwide.
Media Contact Andrea Davis-Yue 1.403.966.5622 adavisyue@benevity.com