Nextep has always been active in giving back.
From preparing dinners for families at the local Ronald McDonald House to participating in charitable events and volunteering, we and our people have long been passionate about helping others.
But this year, Nextep got serious. Inspired by Salesforce’s philanthropy and following Pledge 1%’s model, we formed The Nextep Charitable Foundation to help accomplish our giving on an even bigger scale and put some official numbers behind it.
Pledge 1% encourages and challenges individuals and companies to pledge 1% of any combination of equity, profit, product, and/or employee time to the cause of their choosing. With an annual growth rate of 150% since its inception, over 8,500 companies in over 100 countries have joined the movement, helping to ignite over 1 billion dollars in donated volunteer hours, product licenses, pro bono resources and philanthropic funding to drive social impact around the world.
We wanted to make giving a core value at Nextep; an integral part of our culture. We approached the Foundation with the mission of empowering our employees to elevate the lives of people in need, and to enrich the community in which they live.
“From families and schools to charities and businesses, the Nextep Charitable Foundation is working to remove the barriers that keep people in need from moving forward. We’re fortunate to be in a position to give back, make a positive impact, and to empower our employees to do the same.”
Brian Fayak, Nextep Founder and CEO
In business and in life, we realize that improvement comes when we commit to and measure our results. To accomplish this, we dedicated ourselves to Pledge 1%’s 1:1:1 model, donating 1,000 service hours, $100,000, and free HR services to select start-up nonprofits. At the beginning of the year, we at Nextep were excited but a bit nervous these goals might be too ambitious, that we might have trouble reaching them. Going into the final quarter of the year, though, we found that we were on track to meet or exceed them all by the year’s end.
Our main focus in the Foundation is helping children, families, and organizations that do the same, with our time, dollars, and know-how.
During the year, our people have built meaningful partnerships with more than a dozen organizations in our communities, being humbled by the important work they are doing, and enriched by the inspiring people they’ve met. “Empowering our people to help others is incredibly gratifying,” said Ashton Stephens, HR business partner and Nextep Foundation committee chair. “We’re making a real difference in our community, and I’m so grateful that Nextep gives us this platform to do good things.”
