At the forefront of innovative philanthropy, The Community Foundation announced the administrative transfer of the Pledge 1% movement to Tides, based in San Francisco. Pledge 1% is a rapidly scaling corporate philanthropy movement that grew out of The Community Foundation’s EFCO initiative – Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado – which helps Colorado companies set aside early equity for their communities.
“EFCO is a network of entrepreneurs whose companies have pledged a portion of their early equity or annual profits to the community,” explains Morgan McMillan, EFCO Executive Director. “By creating a culture of corporate philanthropy early on, member companies integrate community support into their organizations and their communities.”
The scalability of the EFCO model has been broadly recognized, in turn inspiring Pledge 1% as a means to encourage early stage corporate philanthropy globally. The movement connects young companies’ future success to philanthropy – in real-time – by allowing companies to easily pledge 1% of equity, 1% of employee time to volunteerism, 1% of product and 1% of profit to their own communities around the world. The Community Foundation’s EFCO launched Pledge 1% in December 2014 and now recognizes more than 700 companies globally who have pledged via the site.
“As a community catalyst, the foundation played a crucial role to incubate and grow this idea to what it is today – an international movement that makes it easy for companies to give back to their communities,” says Josie Heath, President, The Community Foundation. “I’m so proud that something we started right here in Boulder County is now spreading worldwide.”
That’s why The Community Foundation is transferring oversight of Pledge 1% to Tides. “Because Pledge 1% has evolved and expanded beyond the foundation’s focus on Boulder County, Tides is better equipped to facilitate the pledges of all companies who want to join the movement,” says McMillan. “With the move to Tides, we’re excited to provide the necessary infrastructure to take Pledge 1% to the next level.”
Adds Amy Lesnick, Tides’ newly appointed chief executive for Pledge 1%: “As one of the founding partners of Pledge 1%, EFCO has been an amazing driving force behind this initiative. Tides’ emphasis on accelerating social change worldwide is a perfect fit for managing the next phase of Pledge 1%.”
EFCO will continue to operate under the umbrella of The Community Foundation, working with Colorado companies inspired to join the movement. When EFCO member companies are acquired or go public, they directly support good works in the very communities where they achieved success. For example, Rally Software’s initial public offering resulted in a $1.4 million gift to local nonprofits; and when Twitter acquired Boulder-based Gnip in 2014, its early pledge became a gift of more than $587,000, mostly to The Community Foundation’s Community Trust. To date, some $4 million in local grants awarded by The Community Foundation and the Denver and Rose community foundations have been generated through EFCO.
“All EFCO members are automatically recognized by Pledge 1%, because they’ve all committed one percent of equity to their communities,” says McMillan. “We’ve been managing and running Pledge 1% since its inception 18 months ago and – for Colorado companies – we’ll continue to do just that.”
Seth Levine and Ryan Martens on the Pledge 1% transfer, and the role of The Community Foundation:
“EFCO is one of The Community Foundation’s most exciting initiatives. We’re tightly connected to the foundation, grateful to leverage its expertise and resources.
“The Community Foundation provides the kind of nurturing that’s needed to launch and grow new ideas – in this case, paving the way for Colorado companies to take the lead, nationally and internationally, in demonstrating how to marry for-profit business objectives with support for local nonprofits.
“It’s exciting to see how a locally grown program to encourage startup companies to give back to their communities has ignited action worldwide. For entrepreneurs equally passionate about profits and social impact, the potential of this movement is limitless.
“Pledge 1% is a way to scale the EFCO model and take it to other communities. We tested the hypothesis, which turned out to be valid. The market response was overwhelmingly positive. After a fantastic startup year, spinning off Pledge 1% to Tides is the logical next step to its continued growth and momentum.”
Seth Levine, EFCO Founding Board Member
Managing Director, Foundry Group
“EFCO ignites philanthropy in high growth businesses, and Pledge 1% is fundamentally a story of entrepreneurial growth. The model we’ve shaped here in Colorado to catalyze entrepreneurial giving is scalable. And the purpose of the transfer is to realize its scalability worldwide.
“But Pledge 1% would never have happened without The Community Foundation acting as an entrepreneurial organization. The foundation jumped in with both feet, ensuring the success we’ve seen with EFCO – and now, Pledge 1%.
“I have tremendous gratitude for The Community Foundation and EFCO, and what we’ve accomplished as a team. Especially, I admire how The Community Foundation operates in ways that are consistent with how the local startup community operates.”
Ryan Martens, EFCO Founding Board Member and former Board Chair
Pledge 1% Advisory Board Member, representing EFCO
Senior Vice President, CA Technologies
In addition to EFCO, Pledge 1% founding partners include the Salesforce Foundation, Atlassian and Rally – three companies that know first-hand how pledging a small portion of future success today can have an enormous impact tomorrow. For more information, contact Morgan McMillan, 303-442-0436 x115, Morgan@commfound.org.
