Brisbane-based enterprise software-as-a-service company TechnologyOne (ASX:TNE) has expanded the reach of its charity foundation for 2018 - with a pledge to help 500,000 children and their families in India free themselves from poverty – through a new partnership with Opportunity International Australia.
TechnologyOne executive chairman Adrian Di Marco says the company’s ambitious new goal to save 500,000 children from poverty spans a 15-year period, with Opportunity taking an innovative, entrepreneurial approach to charitable giving, called microfinance.
He says the partnership will provide small loans to enable families in India to grow businesses, earn regular incomes and create safety nets for the future.
Di Marco also said the TechnologyOne Foundation was one of his proudest initiatives in the company’s 30-year history.
{loadposition peter}“We established the TechnologyOne Foundation as a way to pay it forward, and institutionalise giving for our company.
“The foundation really defines who we are as a company. It defines our values, culture and who we aspire to be, and demonstrates the values we are looking for in future employees.”
“Opportunity International helps families in poverty free themselves with hope, dignity and purpose,” said Robert Dunn, global executive director of Opportunity International.
“The changes that we see in poor communities is only possible because of great partners who come alongside us, like TechnologyOne. Through our partnership together, Opportunity International and TechnologyOne have set an ambitious target to lift more than 500,000 children out of poverty.”
TechnologyOne has also committed to a three-year partnership with The Fred Hollows Foundation to support the Vietnam Child Eye Care programme, which aims to eradicate avoidable blindness in all school-aged children.
These new initiatives underpin its existing 1% Pledge commitment, with the company pledging to donate 1% of its time, 1% of its profits and 1% of its product.
“People are inspired by the 1% Programme. When they hear about 1% of profits, product and time, that’s an inspiring story, that’s a real commitment. And that’s pretty unusual – you don’t see that in many companies,” Opportunity’s Dunn said.
“It’s an amazing, heroic, world-changing thing; it’s rare, but it’s terrific.”
Di Marco said the company had made these commitments through the TechnologyOne Foundation because it “is the right thing to do”.
“As a large, successful company we have the capability and capacity to make a difference.
“The foundation has enabled us to make a greater impact in our communities and really empowers our employees to get involved in our philanthropic endeavours and make a difference. It is exciting to think about the increasing impact we will have moving forward.”
Other initiatives by TechnologyOne in 2017 included contributing to The School of St Jude’s e-learning and technical programmes; continuing to support 20 ongoing disadvantaged youth programmes through The Salvation Army and Mission Australia across Australia, New Zealand and the UK; and assisting World Vision’s work with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.