Microsoft Employee Giving: October Magic

By Lori Forte Harnick, general manager, Citizenship & Public Affairs

October is a very special month at Microsoft. It’s one of my favorite times of the year because in this month every year – without fail – magic happens…

Microsoft employees dedicate October to giving back to the community through the Employee Giving Campaign. Though the Microsoft Employee Giving Program runs year-long, this is the time of year when our people are filled with extra energy and generosity, determined to raise more money than the year before – all to help people less fortunate in communities at home and around the world.

There’s no shortage of ways for employees to get involved, whether they choose to donate quietly on their own or through one of the 300 company-organized fundraising events that take place throughout the month. Today, several thousand Microsoft employees and their friends and family will raise funds for their favorite nonprofits during the annual 5K Run/Walk around the campus of Microsoft’s corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Later in the month, Microsoft offices around the world will participate in the 24-Hour Global Give & Go, an international fundraising relay across time zones.

Microsoft employees at the Employee Giving Campaign 5K Run/Walk in October 2012.

Last year, the Giving Program marked two major milestones. We celebrated the 30th Employee Giving Campaign, and we announced that Microsoft employees had raised $1 billion for more than 31,000 nonprofit organizations around the world through cash donations and volunteer hours (inclusive of the company match).

In 2012 alone, we raised $105 million for charitable organizations, and we’re going strong again this year. To kick things off we’ve made two changes to the Giving Program to provide even more support for our dedicated employees: we increased the matching funds available to each employee to $15,000 (up from $12,000 in previous years), and we’re helping newly-hired Microsoft employees engage right away with a $50 donation to their nonprofit of choice.

Join us this October on Facebook and Twitter as we share updates and photos from our Employee Giving Campaign. You can follow along with #msftgiving and we’d love to have you share your own Giving stories with us.

Comments

• Anonymous
  October 17, 2013
  I'm interested in such activities!.I'm Egyptian and i wonder if there is any possible way to join this campaign? Thanks in advance!.

• Anonymous
  October 18, 2013
  Is it too late to enlist new nonprofits?  We work with nonprofits to help them get supplies - i.e., we help them organize supply drives.  One of our targets is getting school supplies into the classrooms of communities in greater need.  We are just wrapping up a supply drive for Oakland schools, for example.  Anyway, if not for this year, perhaps an opportunity for next year?  My email address is ehorng@roonga.com.

• Anonymous
  February 18, 2014
  By Karen Bergin, Director, Citizenship and Public Affairs 2013 was a year of record-breaking fundraising

• Anonymous
  June 05, 2014
  Pingback from Microsoft enhances Employee Giving Program to raise next billion for nonprofits | The Fire Hose

• Anonymous
  June 05, 2014
  Pingback from Microsoft joins new Alliance for Affordable Internet to help increase broadband access, bring down costs | The Fire Hose

• Anonymous
  October 08, 2014
  By Lori Forte Harnick, General Manager, Citizenship and Public Affairs
  If you had visited Microsoft’s