At BairesDev, there are some things we’ve learned first hand: that technology can change the world, that the talent driving the technology can come from anywhere, and that not everyone shares the same access to educational and developmental opportunities. We’ve been witness to these realities and can certainly stand by them.
As part of our commitment to talent everywhere, BairesDev created Giveback Program, a semi-annual donations initiative. With Giveback Program, we team up with our clients to expand opportunities for talented people who are underrepresented in the technology industry because of limited access to tech education, or the right environment to preserve and develop their talent.
Thanks to the support and participation of our clients, the first two donation campaigns were a smashing success. This holiday season, instead of going the traditional corporate gift route, we decided to expand our donations initiative, by inviting 80% more clients to participate. We expect the impact of this campaign to be dramatic and something we will all be proud of.
How does Giveback Program work? It’s simple. Twice a year, we curate a list of non-profit organizations that drive change through technology and help talent grow, wherever it may be. We invite our clients to select an organization from the list that aligns with their values or to introduce us to an organization they support, and we make a donation – what we call a Giveback Program – to that organization on our client’s behalf.
So far, our clients have been very enthusiastic about the initiative. All of the charities selected in previous editions received Giveback Program, and nearly 20% of all grants were to organizations our clients told us were important to them. Also, as a tribute to our shared commitment to diversifying our industry, our clients directed nearly 50% of all grants to organizations focused on getting girls into tech fields.
Selected Non-Profit Organizations
To date, BairesDev has issued several Giveback Program on behalf of our clients to nearly 20 non-profit organizations. For our 2020 year-end Giveback Program, we selected the following nonprofits:
Girls in Tech
Girls in Tech is a nonprofit whose mission is to put an end to gender inequality in the tech industry by educating and empowering women on technology. They do so by offering coding courses, boot camps, hackathons, and startup competitions to more than 60,000 women of all ages and professions in 50+ chapters around the world.
Child’s Play
Child’s Play is a game industry charity that has been improving the lives of children in hospitals, clinics, domestic violence shelters, and other facilities since 2003. Through its global network that covers over 185 hospitals worldwide, this nonprofit uses toys and video games to provide support for children while also helping them with therapies. Child’s Play has several initiatives that bring the latest gaming technologies to hospitals while updating the infrastructure they already have in place.
Benetech
Benetech is a nonprofit organization that aims to help communities by driving positive social change through software. To do so, they partner directly with communities to better understand the issues that affect them and determine where software can have the most impact. Then, they develop product prototypes and provide them to users, communities, and funders for testing. Finally, Benetech scales the solutions to ensure that they reach everyone that needs them.
Code
Code is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help young women and students from other underrepresented groups get access to computer science education. They devote their resources to improve diversity in computer science, prepare new CS teachers, set up policies to support CS, and even change school district curricula. The organization has also created an annual campaign called Hour of Code, that provides classes to millions of students and teachers in over 180 countries covering some of today’s hottest tech topics.
Local Sports & Community Clubs
BairesDev believes strong minds and strong bodies go hand in hand, and local sports and community clubs are essential not just for fitness and mental health, but for building confidence, an understanding of roles within a team, and communication skills.
Like our clients, we are fortunate to live in communities where our children have easy and plentiful access to organized sports. Not all communities share that same access, so we always invite our clients to support clubs in low-income communities like the Manzanares Rugby and Hockey club, which uses rugby and hockey to promote essential values such as integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline, and respect. Values that make for better people, better businesses, and better societies.
Let’s Change the World, Together.
Just as tackling a major technology project requires a team of people with different skills, making a difference for talent everywhere doesn’t happen with a single donation.
BairesDev created Giveback Program as a semi-annual initiative to maintain engagement, and grants, flowing throughout the year. By including our client-partners in the support of the non-profit organizations above, and a growing list of others, together we help power their amazing initiatives to make a positive impact on our communities. It takes a team to change the world.
With the continued and enthusiastic support of our clients, we are confident that Giveback Program make a lasting impact through the work of the non-profit organizations that revolutionize our communities through the transformative power of technology.
We give our heartfelt thanks to them all and look forward to working together for years to come. Happy 2021 to everyone!
