Salesforce Commits $50 Million and One Million Employee Volunteer Hours to Advance Computer Science Education in the United States

Salesforce.org to offer free software to every eligible public school in the nation

Since 1999, Salesforce and Salesforce.org have given $65 million and 175,000 volunteer hours toward education

Salesforce.org also announces an additional $1 million grant to Code.org

Salesforce commitment is part of Internet Association's $300 million initiative to advance computer science in public schools nationwide

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Salesforce

Sep 26, 2017, 09:40 ET

SAN FRANCISCO and DETROIT, Sept. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today committed $50 million and one million volunteer hours over five years to expand K-12 computer science education in the U.S. in an effort to prepare students for jobs in the digital economy.

Salesforce.org, the company's philanthropic arm, will also offer every eligible public K-12 school in the nation ten free Salesforce software subscriptions to enable schools and districts to connect and engage with staff, teachers, parents and students in a whole new way. Additionally, Salesforce.org is granting Code.org $1 million to expand access and teacher training for K-12 computer science.

Comments on the news:
"Nothing is more important than educating our nation's students and preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow," said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce. "Through our longstanding partnerships with San Francisco Bay Area school districts, we've seen a big impact from our investments—not only in dollars, but employee time and expertise. I encourage every CEO, every organization and every individual to contribute to educating our youth and providing them access to computer science skills."

"Salesforce has been a key Code.org partner as we work to achieve our mission of expanding access to computer science throughout the U.S.," said Hadi Partovi, CEO, Code.org. "Through the 1-1-1 model, we've seen how Salesforce's combination of employee time, financial resources and product can create incredible impact for students across the country."

Building on Salesforce's Long-Term Commitment to Advance Computer Science Education in Public Schools
Salesforce has a long history of supporting computer science initiatives through Salesforce.org. To date, Salesforce and Salesforce.org have granted $65 million to expand opportunities for students—with a focus on computer science curriculum. Salesforce employees have spent more than 175,000 volunteer hours in K-12 classrooms since 1999.

Since 2013, Salesforce.org has granted nearly $35 million and Salesforce employees have volunteered more than 22,000 hours to advance computer science education in San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). As a result of the partnership, San Francisco was the first school district in the United States to offer computer science curriculum in every grade. In SFUSD, enrollment of girls in computer science has increased 2,000 percent, and enrollment of underrepresented groups in computer science has increased 6,600 percent.

$1 Million Grant to Code.org Expands Opportunities for Students to Learn to Code
Salesforce.org is also announcing a new, $1 million grant to Code.org to increase access to K-12 computer science. Since partnering with Code.org in 2013, Salesforce.org's funds have helped reach more than 50 million students through the Hour of Code campaign globally.

Salesforce.org's mission to provide computer science education opportunities to every student also includes deep and strategic partnerships with organizations including Code.org as well as Girls Who Code, CoderDojo and Iridescent.

Salesforce 1-1-1 Model
Salesforce pioneered the 1-1-1 model of integrated philanthropy when it was founded in 1999, dedicating 1 percent of equity, 1 percent of employee time and 1 percent of product back into its communities. Thus far, Salesforce and Salesforce.org have given $168 million in grants, Salesforce employees have volunteered 2.3 million hours and 32,000 nonprofits and higher education institutions use Salesforce for free or at a discount. Through Pledge 1%, a corporate philanthropy movement dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business, more than 3,000 companies have followed Salesforce's lead by adopting the 1-1-1 model.

Business and Government Leaders Come Together for Computer Science Education
Salesforce's latest commitment is part of the Internet Association's initiative of private sector commitments of more than $300 million dedicated to funding K-12 computer science programs. For more information, please visit: https://internetassociation.org/internet-association-members-businesses-individuals-commit-300-million-k-12-computer-science-education-programs/

Additional Information:

About Salesforce
Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

SOURCE Salesforce