I’m pleased to announce that earlier today, at United Way Worldwide’s Fundraising for Impact Summit, we officially unveiled our new partnership with Salesforce.org to launch Philanthropy Cloud.
Philanthropy Cloud is a game-changing platform that will inspire, connect and empower individuals, employees and organizations to engage in causes they care about and create change at scale.
Right now, around the world, people and businesses want more ways to strengthen their communities. At the same time, they’re part of a globalized world with digital technology shaping their lives and building new connections. We must help them make a difference where they are and with the tools of today.
Philanthropy Cloud is our answer. It will be a platform – think of it as an online community – where people can have great experiences making their communities stronger. It will be available to them 24/7 and 365 days a year, and it will be customized to their needs and interests.
For instance, if someone wants to know how they can not only volunteer at a homeless shelter, but also organize to increase its resources, Philanthropy Cloud will help them do it. If they then want to build a coalition to advocate for the homeless at the state or national level, Philanthropy Cloud will help them find partners committed to joining them. It will be an easy, one-stop, personalized experience for social and community engagement.
What’s more, companies – whose employees increasingly report that job satisfaction is linked to their employer’s commitment to community – will be able to deliver year-round, real-time engagement on causes and campaigns that align to their values. Philanthropy Cloud will help them support their employees and achieve their business goals by making it easy to build cost-effective and scalable CSR strategies.
At its heart, Philanthropy Cloud will marry the innovative technology of Salesforce with the volunteer network and community experience of United Way. It will be an online philanthropic marketplace where each United Way can upload information, share data and help people find opportunities to create change.
This an exciting moment for United Way, as Philanthropy Cloud represents a critical opportunity to engage the next generation of donors, advocates and leaders. Our partnership with Salesforce.org, a leader founded on the idea that the business of business is improving the state of the world, will help make this platform a dominant force in philanthropy.
To learn more about Philanthropy Cloud, read this feature out today in Fast Company (LINK). It’s a valuable look at how this new platform will change corporate giving.
