geeksgiveback

I work in a small internet company in The Rocks, Sydney. Though small, its vision is big and its initiatives are even bigger. It’s known as a kingdom where geeks run amuck with a mission to enrich people’s lives through innovation of the immense and powerful internet space. It is these same geeks who loudly and proudly proclaim that being so good looking makes them geeks rather than nerds. At the time I considered joining this company, I boldly made it a condition of employment that an in-house corporate philanthropy program be put in place as part of this kingdom…

And here we are…. I joined the company in July 2008 and by the end of that month, geeksgiveback was born.

Gives give back. That is our focus. It is our in-house corporate philanthropy program with its own mission of making the world a shinier, happier, geekier place.Donating a combination of funds and our subject matter expertise, geeksgiveback is committed to enriching the lives of local and global communities and through these initiatives, enriching the lives of the geeks themselves.

With a committee of passionate geeks, I have truly enjoyed the experience of taking the geeks on a journey of philanthropy. Together we have:

1. secured $50,000 for this financial year from the company to give back to the community through various charities
2. launched a matched giving program as a vehicle to support and champion the causes each geek in the company cares about
3. engaged in various fundraising activities initiated by staff and corporate partners
4. commenced a meaningful relationship with a major charity partner, providing funds, volunteers as well as subject matter expertise,
   
5. launched a greening strategy,and
6. launched a mentoring strategy based on our subject matter expertise.
   

Our upcoming plans include sharing and communicating our journey to the rest of the world (perhaps in the form of a wiki?) and looking at some smart fundraising opportunities using the internet and social media. Twitter raised $10,000 in 48 hours. ‘Why can’t we?’ she asks.

On a personal level, it has been most rewarding to witness the buzz of 'giving' grow in the company. I was once told that the idea of giving is something that usually comes with age - that most people will start to think about giving in their more mature years. It should come as no surprise that my company is filled with lots Gen Ys... and to this end, it has been most rewarding building a bridge to 'giving' for my colleagues.

You can read more about geeks giving back here and here's a picture of our wall......


The evolution of the wall is documented here :)