Marc Benioff: Weaving Philanthropy into Business

Salesforce founder and CEO, Marc Benioff, shares how his company sets an example of compassionate capitalism, by making service a part of their culture.

Indeed company information begins with the very thing Benioff talks about:

Sixteen years ago, we launched Salesforce with a vision to reinvent CRM in the cloud.

And a new technology model was born.

We also put aside 1% of our equity, 1% of our employee time, and 1% of our product to form the Salesforce Foundation. These two key decisions have fueled our incredible growth, made us the global leader in CRM, defined the era of cloud computing, and inspired a new philanthropic model for all to follow.

Reference: Salesforce.

I think it's easier, and more sustainable, if that philanthropic model is part of the design and construction of a company, that is, from the get go.  Then, how its CEO et al. run the company, how it markets and sells products, and whom it brings on board are all part of earning money and doing good.  It's certainly not impossible or impractical to embed a philanthropic initiative into an existing business model, culture or process, but this takes more thinking through, more seeking support, and I imagine more trials and tribulations.

It's amazing how some schools take play away from children.  Thank goodness for Playworks and for Salesforce Foundation, these children have things to keep them active physically - to balance the mental activity of their school day.