SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 15, 2015) - DREAMFORCE 2015 -- Twilio announced today at Dreamforce that it has joined Pledge 1%, a corporate philanthropy movement dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business. With this announcement, Twilio has set aside 1% of its current equity to fund its Twilio.org initiative for the next 10 years. Twilio.org currently supports a growing list of nonprofits including the Polaris Project, Doctors Without Borders, The American Red Cross and many others. By pledging 1% of Twilio's equity to Twilio.org, a funding source currently worth in excess of $10 million, Twilio expands its commitment to philanthropic leadership and brings greater scale to its program designed to provide nonprofits with access to communications technologies. Learn more at Twilio.org.
"We founded Twilio.org to provide nonprofits with the best communication technology to solve social problems," said Twilio CEO and Co-Founder Jeff Lawson. "Our objective is to enable them to send a billion messages for good. By joining Pledge 1%, we will substantially accelerate our investment in that goal. We can't wait to see what our nonprofit partners will build."
In 2013, Twilio launched Twilio.org, an initiative that provides nonprofit organizations with communications technologies to help them further the impact of social good. Hundreds of nonprofits currently use funds and product from Twilio.org to make a greater impact on the world. Through today's 1% pledge, Twilio commits to increasing the reach of Twilio.org over the next ten years.
"The Salesforce Foundation is dedicated to changing the way companies think about corporate philanthropy," said Suzanne DiBianca, president, Salesforce Foundation. "Today, we're excited that Twilio is joining us in giving their resources back to the community. This is another great example of the power that business has to affect positive change."
"We are thrilled that Twilio has joined the Pledge 1% movement and is committed to sharing its success with the community," said Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO, Atlassian. "Employees, shareholders, customers, and the community all benefit when a company builds giving back into its DNA. It's one of the best decisions we ever made."
"We believe Pledge 1% is a great step for businesses to become a force for good in the world," said Ryan Martens, Board Chairman EFCO & Founder/CTO, Rally, now part of CA Technologies. "We applaud Twilio for committing a portion of their success to their community stakeholders and social impact."
Founded by Atlassian, the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, Rally, and the Salesforce Foundation, Pledge 1% challenges companies to donate 1% of product, 1% of equity, 1% of profit and 1% of employee time to improve communities around the world. Twilio is joining an impressive network of entrepreneurs and companies across the globe that have committed to philanthropic efforts.
About Twilio
Twilio makes communications easy and powerful. With Twilio's platform, businesses can make communications relevant and contextual by embedding real-time communication and authentication capabilities directly into their software applications. We are re-inventing the $1.6 trillion communications market, taking it from its 150-year legacy in hardware to its future in software. The Twilio platform has over 700,000 registered developers and is used in more than one million unique software applications. Industry disruptors including Uber, Box and DocuSign and enterprises such as Nordstrom, Coca-Cola, Walmart and Home Depot trust Twilio to power and innovate their communications at global scale.
Founded in 2008, Twilio is privately-held and has over 400 employees with offices in San Francisco, Mountain View, New York City, London, Munich, Dublin, Tallinn, Estonia, and Bogota, Colombia. The company has raised over $240M from leading financial investors such as Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, Bessemer, DFJ, Redpoint and Union Square Ventures as well as strategic investors Amazon.com and Salesforce Ventures.
Twilio.org is a Twilio initiative that offers qualified nonprofits free and discounted credits on Twilio products to help them better engage their audiences, expand their reach and make real changes in the world. Over 450 nonprofits are currently a part of Twilio.org including the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
About Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% was founded in 2014 by Atlassian, the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, Rally Software and the Salesforce Foundation to accelerate their shared vision around integrating philanthropy into businesses around the world. Pledge 1% encourages and challenges individuals and companies to pledge 1% of equity, product and employee time for their communities, because pledging a small portion of future success can have a huge impact on tomorrow. Pledge 1% offers companies turnkey tools and best practices, making it accessible for any company to incorporate philanthropy into their business model. To learn more or to take the pledge, please visit www.pledge1percent.org.
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