From Mark Benioff, the 1/1/1 model of integrated corporate philanthropy and acting charitably now, not later.
But when it comes to philanthropy, I have one pitch, and it’s been the same since the founding of our company 13 years ago: the 1/1/1 model of integrated corporate philanthropy. The 1/1/1 model, like Salesforce.com’s business model, operates on a “pay as you go” model. When we started Salesforce.com, we took one percent of our equity, one percent of our profit in the form of product donations and one percent of all of our employees’ time and put it into a 501(c)(3) public charity.
Marc Benioff: Act Charitably Now, Not Later
That was extremely easy for us at the time because we had no employees, we had no profit, and we had no equity. Today, we have almost 10,000 employees and nearly $3 billion in revenue. We have been able to give almost 400,000 hours of community service, provide our product for free or a deep discount to more than 16,000 nonprofits, and have given $40 million in grants to support organizations we care about such as The Red Cross, United Way, and the UN Food Programme. Sharing the model with other companies has also extended its power; Google adopted parts of the 1/1/1 model, creating a $1 billion foundation. On the personal side of things, my family’s philanthropic giving is focused on building a next-generation children’s hospital with the University of California San Francisco.
