Impact That Matters: Connection and Purpose Through Pro Bono Tech

At Salesforce, giving back is in our DNA. We’re driven by a shared purpose to empower innovation and partner with organizations around the world to drive meaningful, lasting change in our communities.

While our daily work delivering trusted technologies to our customers is the crux of that mission, Salesforce also powers our employees’ passions by providing opportunities for pro bono work and 56 hours of fully paid Volunteer Time Off (VTO) to use each year towards causes that matter most to them.

The pro bono program at Salesforce has been a constant since its founding in 2014. With a focused mission to pair skilled employees with nonprofits and schools who seek Salesforce solutions, our pro bono volunteers have delivered 700k hours and $128M in pro bono value at no cost to philanthropic organizations around the world. 

While some of our volunteers collaborate virtually, there are often opportunities to travel to our nonprofit partners to collaborate with their business stakeholders and fellow Salesforce employees on the ground. 

These moments of people coming together to work towards one goal creates a special kind of Salesforce magic.

Let’s explore this commitment in action through our most recent partnership with Team4Tech and Passerelles Numériques in Cambodia, where ten Salesforce employees from around the world came together and used their expertise to create positive change.

Bringing people together for a common cause

Team4Tech is an impact accelerator for community-based nonprofit organizations working to advance education for high-quality employment. Team4Tech partners with companies to create volunteering opportunities that build skills for employees and contribute meaningful impact for nonprofits.

Team4Tech’s nonprofit partner, Passerelles Numériques (PN), is a Cambodian nonprofit dedicated to unlocking the potential of youth in under-resourced communities.

Through Team4Tech, our volunteers delivered training, technical support, and strategic guidance on leveraging Salesforce products to enhance PN’s fundraising efforts. From assessing the best Salesforce solutions for PN’s needs to integrating new tools and creating customized reports, our volunteers made a tangible difference. Their work not only strengthened PN’s operational capacity but also fostered a sense of unity and purpose among the volunteer team.

“From the moment I arrived, I was struck by the incredible diversity and shared purpose of our group,” shares Michael Kennedy, Senior Engagement Director at Salesforce. 

“Meeting ten remarkable Salesforce team members from around the world reminded me that compassion and the desire to make a difference transcend all boundaries. We came from different continents, cultures, and backgrounds, yet we were united by a common mission to support education and opportunity.” 

Innovation and impact

Our employee volunteers applied design-thinking principles to understand PN’s needs deeply, conducting eight consulting calls to inform their support prior to their in-person arrival at PN’s main site. 

Once there, they guided the PN team on how to set up and use Salesforce’s Nonprofit Success Packet (NPSP) and Nonprofit Cloud (NPC) and integrated a third-party payment application into PN’s Salesforce platform so they could receive donations faster. The volunteers then provided hands-on training with the Salesforce platform so PN’s staff felt confident using the platform and building reports. 

The group also piloted a Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud product to track PN’s volunteer time, staff hours, and fundraising progress to goals. They then created templates supporting internal project management and accountability, and delivered a list of (always free!) Salesforce Trailhead modules to support PN with branding, messaging, presentations, fundraising, public speaking, and more.

Additionally, the volunteers created Slack channels to continue supporting PN by answering their queries and addressing their roadblocks. 

A lasting legacy

The impact of this volunteering effort extends beyond the immediate project outcomes. Our volunteers established a post-project plan to ensure ongoing support for PN, cementing our long-term commitment to their success. 

These ten Salesforce employees embraced this opportunity to step out of their comfort zone, develop and practice key leadership capabilities, and find renewed purpose in their work by supporting a nonprofit. Úna Hennigan, Lead Database Engineer, Salesforce shared of her experience:

“A small bit of our technical and Salesforce knowledge can be a big thing for a nonprofit customer…Whilst talking to other nonprofits using Salesforce based out of the same region, we found a lot of them have the same challenges and need similar help. So here’s hoping that this will be the flap of a butterfly’s wings, and this will be the start of something bigger.”

The experience wasn’t just about professional skill-sharing; it also tapped into the spirit of community and generosity.

During their time in Cambodia, our volunteers also raised $1,500 and purchased essential items for PN, including sports equipment, books, CCTV cameras, and sanitary pads.

This act of giving underscored the power of unity and shared purpose from the volunteers – and was not expected by Team4Tech or PN.

Michael shares of the moment: “our week culminated in something beautifully simple yet powerful.

When presented with the staff’s wishlist of needed items for the school, our team didn’t hesitate. Through networking and pooling our resources, we were able to fund and purchase about half the items on that list. 

“But the real magic wasn’t in the transaction — it was in seeing how quickly a group of strangers could become a force for good when united around a shared purpose.” 

Team4Tech’s Asia Regional Hub Manager, Goutham Kumar, who led this project on-site in Cambodia, said it best in reflecting on the volunteer team’s sense of purpose:

“The quality of a team undertaking a social impact project is directly proportional to the passion that the team members bring to the table…The true testimony of this passion was on display when this volunteer team went above and beyond to raise funds to procure items that were immediately necessary at PN to support the students. As we continue drawing inspiration from their work, I trust that they will continue driving change through their roles.”

Philanthropy is embedded into Salesforce’s culture

The success of this latest pro bono project is a testament to the strong partnership between Salesforce and Team4Tech, now in its stride with over twenty collaborative projects. Salesforce employees continue to be the engine behind the pro bono program’s success, and anyone (and any nonprofit or school!) can now get involved through the external Impact Exchange program. Because at Salesforce, we believe that business is the greatest platform for change.

As AI reshapes the world, we’re committed to championing a future where its transformative power benefits everyone. While we continue to lead the way in agentic AI technologies like Agentforce, we remain committed to empowering nonprofits and fostering a culture of giving back through programs like pro bono volunteerism and the 1-1-1 model.

If you’re looking to join an award-winning company on a mission to create tech that changes the world – what are you waiting for? Apply today.