April is International Volunteer Month. All month lengthy, we’re recognizing a few 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, nevertheless it hardly ever ends there. Our goal is at all times to carry the perfect of all that Cisco has to supply to the organizations we assist—and the abilities, time, and experience of our persons 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 influence companions by matching them with knowledgeable technologists inside Cisco.
“Bringing every thing Cisco has to the desk to help our nonprofit companion organizations is a key aspect of our social influence investing framework. Our engaged workers are an unbelievable useful resource to assist enhance our nonprofit companions’ influence all over the world.”
—Charu Adesnik, Govt Director of the Cisco Basis and Director of Cisco Social Influence Investments
An additional layer of assist for Cisco nonprofit companion organizations
Often called Tech for Social Good, this progressive 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 Influence 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. Additionally they present tech profession mentorship to people who use the providers 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 essential social and environmental challenges. By empowering tech professionals to collaborate with nonprofits and group organizations, we’re not 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 govt sponsor
Enabling a win—win state of affairs
Why would Cisco workers dedicate their time to tech consulting with nonprofits? In line 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 realize their imaginative and prescient. Plus, it’s an incredible 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 influence. 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 individuals 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 information 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 will 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 suppose via the perfect 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 method. Via 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 we’ve got achieved by combining our strategic grantmaking course of with high-skill volunteers inside Cisco who want to share the perfect 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 related the group with an knowledgeable Cisco volunteer, to nice outcome. “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 inventive options 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. Lately, six Cisco and Splunk workers participated in AnnieCannon’s Profession Week shows, offering info and inspiration. Suggestions from the contributors was universally optimistic:
“Listening to the visitor audio system’ journeys gave me a recent perspective on profession progress 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 numerous methods!”
Actual Expertise, Actual Influence
We’re at all times proud to reply as “one Cisco” in assist of our social influence companions—reaching throughout packages and departments to supply all that we are able to in assist of a nonprofit’s well being, progress, and long-term success. Via such collaborations, we are able to obtain exponential influence—collectively.
For extra info and to become involved:
To study extra concerning the influence Cisco workers are making, take a look at our “What We Completed” eBook about how we’ve got supported our workers’ giving again efforts and reworked our collective contributions within the course of.
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