The world is a better place when there is kindness and generosity — this has only become more clear and necessary in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Though we’ve had to isolate to protect each other, you could argue that the physical distance brought many of us closer together. Kind hearts and thoughtful minds were revived with the newfound need for goodness and support, which has really helped back the efforts of Giving Tuesday.
Although support went beyond monetary measures, Giving Tuesday’s 2020 impact report noted that the annual day of charity amounted to $2.47 billion in donations in the U.S. last year, a 25 percent increase from the year before. That total, combined with an overall rise in goods donations and volunteering efforts during a difficult year, makes us wonder — where will that momentum take us?
For the team at Toast, the pandemic set off a greater need for their team to live by their purpose to “enrich the food experience for all” both locally and globally. Amy Skeeters-Behrens, VP of social impact, works with her team to combat food insecurity and community hunger. “Hunger is a chronic global issue that is all around us and has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” she explained. This month, employees are participating in a hackathon that will result in grant funding awards, taking on food-focused volunteer opportunities and collectively making a significant financial contribution to communities near and far.
It might be called Giving Tuesday, but kind actions reach further than that single date on the calendar. Built In Boston sat down with leaders from Toast and ActBlue to learn more about how their organizations are participating in the ever-growing international day of giving — and beyond.
What is your company doing this year to make an impact?
Addressing hunger in our communities is one of Toast.org’s primary focuses. During November, we are inviting our global employees to participate in our Season of Giving, designed to bring the strength of Toast’s people, products and philanthropy together to support organizations addressing food insecurity and hunger in our communities.
During our November hackathon, Hack Against Hunger, Toasters are creating projects that help address these issues. The two winning teams will each be able to direct $5,000 in grant funding to a hunger eradication organization of their choice.
We are also hosting a variety of volunteer opportunities with a focus on addressing food insecurity. Toasters can choose from a menu of virtual, individual and group events — from food drives to volunteering to advocacy — and make a direct impact in their own communities.
On Giving Tuesday, we will donate $225,000 in grants to anti-hunger organizations working in the U.S., Ireland and India, including a series of grants to local organizations fighting hunger in the Greater Boston area.
Why did you decide to give to this particular cause?
At Toast, our company purpose is to enrich the food experience for all, so addressing hunger in our communities is a natural way for us to truly embody that. It goes without saying that access to healthy food is a critical ingredient to unlocking potential and fostering access to opportunity — especially for children. And because it is clear that the need is great, we are committed to doing something about it and making a difference in the lives of our neighbors.
Our purpose is to enrich the food experience for all, so addressing hunger in our communities is a natural way for us to truly embody that.”
How else does your company give back to the local community throughout the year?
In 2018, we launched Toast.org, the philanthropic arm of Toast, to further our shared purpose of enhancing the food experience for all and to solve critical issues in the food ecosystem that impact communities around the world. Our efforts are organized across three impact pillars:
Food: We are focused on addressing hunger and food insecurity.
Community: We are focused on creating a more inclusive, equitable restaurant industry by solving critical issues in the front of house and back of house — such as labor equality, food access and capacity-building — in Black-, Indigenous-, people-of-color- and immigrant-led restaurants.
Environment: We are focused on topics like food waste, because food is not only scarce for those in need, but it is also contributing to our changing climate.
Over the last few years, we have committed more than $1 million to charitable organizations through Toast.org, and our goal is to ramp up our giving even more in the coming years. In mid-2021, we committed to Pledge 1%, a global movement that encourages and empowers companies of all sizes and stages to donate 1 percent of their staff time, product, profit or equity to the philanthropic pursuits of their choosing.
What is your company doing this year to make an impact on Giving Tuesday?
We understand Giving Tuesday and end-of-year giving are some of the most robust digital fundraising seasons. As part of the movement, issue and charitable organizations team at ActBlue, we have dedicated staff who work with organizations across issue areas to optimize their digital fundraising programs. We partner with these organizations to ensure their messaging, branding, website and contribution forms are up to date and tailored to their audience. Our team consistently offers support through strategy calls, content messaging, technical support and digital tools optimization. In addition, we provide an annual giving season blog series to empower donors and organizations alike to make their end-of-year fundraising the best it can be and set up a long-term grassroots giving program for success.
We believe digital fundraising doesn’t start or stop at Giving Tuesday — it is a year-round affair.”
Why did you decide to give to these particular organizations?
We believe digital fundraising tools and grassroots strategies are vital to the work of nonprofit organizations. A strong grassroots fundraising program allows supporters to invest in the organization’s work and become even more vocal advocates for its causes. It’s another way for individuals and organizations to organize and mobilize around causes they are invested in to make a deeper impact.
How else does your company give back to the local community throughout the year?
We believe digital fundraising doesn’t start or stop at Giving Tuesday — it is a year-round affair. We have a dedicated team to support organizations throughout the year to build and optimize their digital fundraising tools and messaging — please reach out to us if you want to learn more about building such programs!
