General Atlantic launched #MeetTheNeed, an initiative to collect and share the inspiring stories of the entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations making a positive impact around the world. We’re amazed at the ways our portfolio companies and the broader GA network have mobilized in response to COVID-19.

—

From Preston McKenzie, Operating Partner in New York

In recent months, there has been a tremendous groundswell of charitable giving, volunteering and acts of goodness in response to COVID-19. Benevity, a General Atlantic portfolio company, has been working alongside major companies and organizations all over the world to support these efforts.

Benevity’s software-as-a-service platform powers a company’s corporate purpose with technology that engages employees, customers and communities in giving, volunteering, grant making and social action. Today, the business serves more than 600 of the world’s most iconic brands and 2 million nonprofit organizations. As the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, Benevity saw an opportunity to lead the conversation on how purpose-driven companies could support those most impacted by the pandemic.

On March 18, the company launched ‘We are We,’ a campaign aimed at helping companies and their people respond to the crisis. The effort started with a public donation matching campaign using their proprietary technology. Benevity matched donations one-for-one for the first $600,000 donated, which came in less than four hours. Further donations continued to pour in after the matching period ended.

As of May 5, ‘We Are We’ has driven 3,600 donations and raised over $2.4 million, supporting 870 worthy causes across 20 countries. Even more, Benevity’s platform has been used by more than 530 companies with nearly half a million people to support 79,000 nonprofits during the COVID-19 crisis. To learn more (or make a contribution), visit mygoodness.benevity.org/community.

Benevity has made many of its resources available to the public at no cost, including:

–          A curated list of vetted nonprofits for companies to feature in their own campaigns

–          Giving campaign kits to help companies start their own public or employee relief appeals, including templated communications and guides on the nonprofits most in need of support

–          The ‘COVID Mission Library,’ featuring everyday actions that people can take to stem the spread of the virus based on trusted and verified content 

–          A virtual volunteering guide to help companies and their people offer their time and talents from the comfort of their own home

–          A ‘We Are We’ webinar series that brings together leading purpose-driven companies to share their actions and insights. Webinars have included leading nonprofit voices, such as UNICEF Canada, the Seattle Foundation and Doctors Without Borders as well as corporate impact leaders from Adobe, Dolby, Liberty Mutual Foundation, SAP and more 

–          A public version of Benevity’s client community forum, where corporate social responsibility and employee engagement professionals can share ideas, ask for advice and seek help

–          A guide to leading with purpose during a time of crisis, providing best practices and tools to help companies adapt their existing program strategies to drive response, relief and recovery

All of these resources and more are available for free to any company or member of the public at www.benevity.com/covid-19-resource-hub.

More recently, Benevity has offered some of its most powerful products and technology tools to companies outside of their client base at no charge to help them run their own public appeals and employee-driven campaigns.

The team also published their Benevity Labs COVID-19 report in advance of #GivingTuesdayNow on May 5th. The report included data and examples from its client community, highlighting what the most purpose-driven companies are doing to address the crisis and to help companies understand how giving back and engagement has changed in this current environment. The report details how more than $640 million in donations, 786,000 volunteer hours, 53,000 small acts of goodness and 8,648 corporate grants were quickly set in motion to support 79,000 global causes in just eight weeks.

The response to these resources has been well received. More than 500 companies have mobilized dedicated campaigns, and more campaigns are being launched every day.

The success of Benevity’s ‘We Are We’ campaign has been its own source of inspiration. The campaign has outperformed benchmarks with a conversion rate eight times higher than other corporate campaigns. These learnings are being used to help other companies improve the impact for their own campaigns and have even led to product enhancements that make for an even better user experience. 

Benevity has long believed that people want the companies they work for and buy from to help them be a part of something bigger. We are all seeking a sense of purpose and want the ability to create a positive impact in our own way.

General Atlantic believes Benevity and its dedicated team are playing a critical role in helping companies and nonprofit organizations with enormous reach grow their efforts and create positive impact in their communities.  

 

• Read our article on XP Investimento’s efforts in Brazil here
• Read our article on Life Science Cares’ work in Boston and Philadelphia here
• Read our article on Echoing Green’s efforts to support social entrepreneurs here
• Read our article on Unacademy’s commitment to online learning in India here
• Read the story of Asia Medical’s on-the-ground effort to combat COVID-19 in Wuhan here