April is International Volunteer Month. All month lengthy, we’re recognizing a number of the methods Cisco workers give their time, abilities, and experience of their communities.
Cisco and the Cisco Basis’s distinctive strategy to supporting nonprofit organizations typically begins with funding, but it surely hardly ever ends there. Our goal is all the time to carry one of the best of all that Cisco has to supply to the organizations we assist—and the abilities, time, and experience of our individuals are our proudest providing of all.
For a few years, our social funding sector managers have offered consulting and advisory assist to the organizations they choose for funding, emphasizing the distinctive energy of technique, know-how, and knowledge to facilitate operational success and scaling. Now, a brand new skill-based volunteering program is deepening our consultative contribution to our social influence companions by matching them with knowledgeable technologists inside Cisco.
“Bringing every thing Cisco has to the desk to help our nonprofit associate organizations is a key aspect of our social influence investing framework. Our engaged workers are an unimaginable useful resource to assist improve our nonprofit companions’ influence around the globe.”
—Charu Adesnik, Government Director of the Cisco Basis and Director of Cisco Social Impression Investments
An additional layer of assist for Cisco nonprofit associate organizations
Referred to as Tech for Social Good, this modern program empowers Cisco worker volunteers to harness their skilled abilities and information to help grantee organizations which have already been vetted and chosen as particularly high-potential by Cisco’s Social Impression Funding and Cisco Basis groups.
Working collaboratively with every group to handle urgent social and environmental challenges, our volunteers assist our grantees with consulting and strategic recommendation round digitization, knowledge structure, knowledge science, AI, operational effectivity, and extra. Additionally they present tech profession mentorship to people who use the companies of Cisco’s nonprofit companions.
Kirtee Yadav leads the Tech for Social Good program, with Sandeep Milar serving as government sponsor. Kirtee works at Cisco as a Buyer Expertise Product Supervisor, whereas Sandeep serves as government vice chairman of Cisco’s CX Product Administration group.
“The Tech for Social Good Program leverages Cisco’s technological experience to handle important social and environmental challenges. By empowering tech professionals to collaborate with nonprofits and group organizations, we aren’t solely driving innovation but in addition fostering a extra inclusive future for all.”
—Sandeep Milar, SVP of Cisco’s CX Product Administration group and Tech for Social Good government sponsor
Enabling a win—win scenario
Why would Cisco workers dedicate their time to tech consulting with nonprofits? In accordance with Taproot Basis, which connects nonprofits with volunteers who donate their skilled experience in assist of nonprofit missions, skills-based volunteering is a win for all concerned. Volunteers get to assist causes they’re enthusiastic about—and nonprofits acquire entry to the specialised assets wanted to attain their imaginative and prescient. Plus, it’s an ideal alternative for workers to make use of their skilled abilities (and be taught new ones); construct deeper networks and group; and discover private success. And Cisco’s worker base is deeply engaged. For the final 5 years, over 80% of our workers have volunteered, donated, or participated in different types of group influence. Our workers have all the time been genuinely enthusiastic about giving again—and particularly conscious of the facility of know-how to attach and uplift individuals at unprecedented scale.
Abhishek Kumar, an engineering chief within the CX Engineering group, drives innovation round AI and Generative AI whereas main a staff of knowledge scientists. He notes, “I’m honored to contribute to the Tech for Social Good program. My advisory function centered on empowering organizations to navigate the AI panorama successfully, enabling them to make knowledgeable selections about know-how adoption that might greatest serve their distinctive missions.”
Gops Sukumar, a know-how chief and product innovator engaged on AI with a doctoral specialization in Generative AI, additionally loves serving to group organizations suppose via one of the best approaches to enhancing success by way of synthetic intelligence. “As a technologist, I wished to place my digital abilities and expertise in direction of fixing issues for humanity in my very own small however significant manner. By means of Tech for Social Good, I’ve helped organizations navigate complicated AI challenges, the place giant AI techniques needed to be constructed, or else allied ecosystems needed to be developed.”
Learn on for 2 examples of what we have now achieved by combining our strategic grantmaking course of with high-skill volunteers inside Cisco who wish to share one of the best of their skilled skillsets with excellent social influence organizations.
Entrepreneurship for All
Accelerating financial and social influence in communities nationwide by opening extra pathways to entrepreneurship, EforAll is investigating how AI can assist their operations and programming. The Tech for Social Good program linked the group with an knowledgeable Cisco volunteer, to nice consequence. “Our volunteer was very, very useful,” mentioned Gary Chamberlain, EforAll’s Chief Know-how Officer. “She offered suggestions in regards to the general strategy and a few very artistic solutions for enhancing it, avoiding bias, and steering the outcomes towards our entrepreneurs’ wants.”
AnnieCannons
AnnieCannons trains, prepares, and connects people who’ve skilled human trafficking to sustainable careers in tech. Not too long ago, six Cisco and Splunk workers participated in AnnieCannon’s Profession Week shows, offering data and inspiration. Suggestions from the individuals was universally optimistic:
“Listening to the visitor audio system’ journeys gave me a recent perspective on profession development and flexibility.”
“It was so reassuring to listen to that even business leaders confronted setbacks and nonetheless constructed profitable careers.”
“I by no means thought-about sure profession paths earlier than, however now I see how I can use my abilities in several methods!”
Actual Expertise, Actual Impression
We’re all the time proud to reply as “one Cisco” in assist of our social influence companions—reaching throughout packages and departments to supply all that we will in assist of a nonprofit’s well being, development, and long-term success. By means of such collaborations, we will obtain exponential influence—collectively.
For extra data and to get entangled:
To be taught extra in regards to the influence Cisco workers are making, take a look at our “What We Achieved” eBook about how we have now supported our workers’ giving again efforts and remodeled our collective contributions within the course of.
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