A Calendar Shift and a Participation Push
GitHub’s Social Impact team runs an annual month-long campaign, GitHub Gives, to encourage employees to volunteer and donate in their communities. Historically held in December, the campaign was moved to October this year to avoid the end-of-year holiday slowdown that cut into participation. The goal was to secure four full weeks of programming and engagement, which the December timeline had made difficult.
To build momentum, the team introduced two competitive elements. Thematic fundraising raffles gave employees a reason to share light-touch activities—like recycling or a hike—via photos, with donations to a favorite charity serving as the entry ticket. A new Social Impact Giving Award went to the GitHub team with the highest participation rate, with weekly progress reports sent to leadership and updated metrics shared with Employee Champions to spur grassroots recruiting. The Finance team took home the inaugural award.
Communications were consolidated around a single campaign brand, and focused on concrete how-to instructions and impact stories rather than a numeric donation target. Reminders appeared in offices, in leadership shout-outs, and via branded Zoom backgrounds and calendar invites—all steering employees toward the online giving tool to activate their company match.
The effort paid off with a 10% year-over-year increase in participation. The move to October allowed for more programming and more time to broadcast the campaign’s message, and the layered outreach from leadership and Employee Champions helped employees connect individual actions to a collective impact.
Nonprofit Partners and In-Person Hooks
Choosing which organizations to support meant reviewing employee input, Communities of Belonging, and data from past campaigns. That research highlighted educational causes and nonprofits personally meaningful to employees as the top areas of interest.
The virtual kickoff stayed a tradition. This year’s edition featured The Seeing Eye, a nonprofit that pairs trained guide dogs with blind individuals to promote their independence. Miranda Meade, Senior Associate of Donor Relations, walked employees through the dog-training process as the campaign raised funds to name three puppies: Mona, Octo, and Hubot.
The whole GitHub team was incredible to work with–I am blown away by their generosity. Not only did GitHub offer incredible support towards the mission of The Seeing Eye®, but I had fun presenting virtually for their GitHub Gives campaign!
On the in-person side, GitHub’s San Francisco office hosted Hack the Hood, a Bay Area organization that runs justice-oriented tech skill-building and career navigation programs for youth and communities of color. The nonprofit took over the weekly happy hour with a presentation on its community work, plus themed snacks and beverages alongside donation and volunteer sign-up reminders. Terrence Riley, Executive Director of Hack the Hood, shared his perspective on the partnership.
As the new Executive Director of Hack the Hood it has been great to see how supported we are from partners like GitHub. By being a part of Github Gives and having the opportunity to share our work in front of the GitHub community, we are able to connect our learners and our work with the companies they aspire to work at and create. Together we are able to impact ourselves and our community.
Carrying Lessons Into Volunteer Month
The Social Impact team plans to take the learnings from GitHub Gives into Volunteer Month in April 2023. With more employees participating, the company’s reach grows—and that, the team argues, is what translates corporate involvement into meaningful community impact.
