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 usually begins with funding, but it surely not often ends there. Our goal is at all times to carry the very best of all that Cisco has to supply to the organizations we assist—and the talents, time, and experience of our individuals are our proudest providing of all.
For a few years, our social funding sector managers have supplied 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 affect companions by matching them with knowledgeable technologists inside Cisco.
“Bringing all the pieces Cisco has to the desk to help our nonprofit associate organizations is a key ingredient of our social affect investing framework. Our engaged workers are an unbelievable useful resource to assist enhance our nonprofit companions’ affect all over the world.”
—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
Often known as Tech for Social Good, this revolutionary program empowers Cisco worker volunteers to harness their skilled abilities and data 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 deal with 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. In addition 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 govt sponsor. Kirtee works at Cisco as a Buyer Expertise Product Supervisor, whereas Sandeep serves as govt vp of Cisco’s CX Product Administration group.
“The Tech for Social Good Program leverages Cisco’s technological experience to deal with vital social and environmental challenges. By empowering tech professionals to collaborate with nonprofits and group organizations, we’re not solely driving innovation but additionally fostering a extra inclusive future for all.”
—Sandeep Milar, SVP of Cisco’s CX Product Administration group and Tech for Social Good govt 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 sources wanted to attain their imaginative and prescient. Plus, it’s an excellent alternative for workers to make use of their skilled abilities (and study 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 affect. Our workers have at all times been genuinely enthusiastic about giving again—and particularly conscious of the facility of know-how to attach and uplift folks at unprecedented scale.
Abhishek Kumar, an engineering chief within the CX Engineering group, drives innovation round AI and Generative AI whereas main a crew of knowledge scientists. He notes, “I’m honored to contribute to the Tech for Social Good program. My advisory position targeted on empowering organizations to navigate the AI panorama successfully, enabling them to make knowledgeable selections about know-how adoption that might finest 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 assume by the very 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 means. By way of Tech for Social Good, I’ve helped organizations navigate advanced AI challenges, the place giant AI methods needed to be constructed, or else allied ecosystems needed to be developed.”
Learn on for 2 examples of what now we have achieved by combining our strategic grantmaking course of with high-skill volunteers inside Cisco who need to share the very best of their skilled skillsets with excellent social affect organizations.
Entrepreneurship for All
Accelerating financial and social affect 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 end result. “Our volunteer was very, very useful,” stated Gary Chamberlain, EforAll’s Chief Know-how Officer. “She supplied suggestions concerning the total strategy and a few very artistic ideas 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. Just lately, six Cisco and Splunk workers participated in AnnieCannon’s Profession Week shows, offering info and inspiration. Suggestions from the members was universally optimistic:
“Listening to the visitor audio system’ journeys gave me a contemporary perspective on profession development and adaptableness.”
“It was so reassuring to listen to that even trade leaders confronted setbacks and nonetheless constructed profitable careers.”
“I by no means thought of sure profession paths earlier than, however now I see how I can use my abilities in numerous methods!”
Actual Expertise, Actual Impression
We’re at all times proud to reply as “one Cisco” in assist of our social affect companions—reaching throughout applications and departments to supply all that we are able to in assist of a nonprofit’s well being, development, and long-term success. By way of such collaborations, we are able to obtain exponential affect—collectively.
For extra info and to become involved:
To study extra concerning the affect Cisco workers are making, try our “What We Achieved” eBook about how now we have supported our workers’ giving again efforts and remodeled our collective contributions within the course of.
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