Coming together for good

DigitalOcean is a values-driven organization. In addition to our mission to simplify cloud computing, we seek to foster community and spread love within the global developer and entrepreneurial communities. These past two years have been a challenge, but we’re proud of the way in which DigitalOcean has come together for good.

Over the past few years, a culture of giving has become ingrained in our organization’s DNA. We’re excited about what we’ve accomplished and thrilled to continue our efforts into 2022 and beyond. I’m thrilled to join DigitalOcean as the new VP of Social Impact, to our team to help guide our actions and strategically supplement the work we began.

This Giving Tuesday, we’d love to highlight a few of the ways we’ve come together to make a difference in our communities.

Hollie’s Hub for Good

Hollie’s Hub for Good began in 2020 as a way for DigitalOcean to invest back into and support our global community. This community is full of inventors and entrepreneurs who use their talents to make the world a better place, finding ways to improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth. We’re proud to be a part of their stories.  For nonprofits who need resources or visibility into their efforts, DigitalOcean provides infrastructure credits, cash donations through the Hollie’s Hub for Good Fund, and visibility through a resource hub.

In early 2021, we announced our commitment to join the Pledge 1% movement as part of our IPO. We are allocating 1% of our pre-IPO equity valuation, around $50 million, to expand our Hollie’s Hub for Good over the next 10 years.

Some of the Hollie’s Hub for Good projects that we’ve continued to support include:

QuestaGame is a global social enterprise that believes in working (and playing) together to protect life on our planet for a sustainable future. They are using Droplets to support their gaming app that allows citizen scientists to improve the health of their local environment and of the planet as a whole.

EVE list is working to close the gender gap in the workplace by offering content, equipping tools, and a global community to professional women looking to advance their career and their allies dedicated to fostering inclusive culture. They are using MySQL and Droplets to support their website.

Trusted World is addressing situational poverty by providing a more effective donation process while tapping into a naturally built distribution system – first responders, social workers, case managers, crime victims advocates, school counsellors, etc. They are using Droplets for web based applications that can be downloaded on a police officer’s cell phone or car computer and they can order resources from Trusted World, while on call.

Partnerships with builders making an impact

DigitalOcean is committed to supporting a wide range of initiatives, and another project DigitalOcean supports is BigBlueButton, an open-source virtual classroom that enables teachers to engage remote learners effectively. BigBlueButton came to DigitalOcean in 2020 in order to scale quickly, as schools around the world shuttered their doors and increasingly relied on providers like BigBlueButton to connect with their students.

Since BigBlueButton is an open-source project, its features are developed by a worldwide community of teachers, commercial companies, and educational organizations.  The project focuses on deep integration with popular learning management systems, tools to engage students for online learning, and analytics to guide the teacher in delivering effective online classes. To date, over half a billion minutes of online classes have been hosted by BigBlueButton on DigitalOcean.

Today, DigitalOcean is pleased to share that it has furthered its support of BigBlueButton by donating $25,000 to the project, which will help them promote awareness and advocacy, foster and recognize research, introduce contribution awards, and support more collaboration amongst the community, all benefiting teachers worldwide.

Employee-led commitments

This year, DigitalOcean launched a charitable match program for employees and committed to matching up to $150,000 of qualifying employee donations. DigitalOcean employees donated to causes close to their hearts and were able to see their impact double throughout the year.

“I have worked with Philadelphia Futures for a number of years and seen the impact their program has on students preparing for, matriculating to, and graduating from college. This program is near and dear to my heart as a first-generation-to-college student myself. I know how important having support structures can be for success. Futures provides structure, mentoring, and care to ensure students succeed. Sponsoring a student guarantees that Futures has the funding necessary to support that student from 9th grade through college graduation. Having DO match that donation means two students are fully funded for their journey. Supporting the next generation is a great way to invest in the future.” — Tim, Director Security

“Support Our Scholars is a wonderful local organization that helps disadvantaged young women succeed in college. Only about a third of low-income students who enroll in a four-year college program graduate. SOS has a 93% graduation rate for scholars. I started volunteering with SOS in early 2020 (before the pandemic) when I was paired with a young woman heading off to study pre-med at Northwestern. Over the past two years, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges low-income students face in college and how vital a financial and emotional safety net can be. I am so grateful for DigitalOcean’s charitable match program because I am able through it to give even more to this wonderful organization and the ambitious, deserving young women it serves.” - Sydney, Senior Product Manager

“I felt helpless watching India battle the worst COVID crisis this spring. Being so far away from India, I was exploring options that can directly have an impact on the relief efforts. I chose to donate to AID because I know that the volunteers work directly with communities that need the most help. DigitalOcean matched my contribution and I feel that my employer is a partner in supporting causes that are important to me. Can’t thank DO enough for the generous program!” — Pragya, Senior Product Marketing Manager

“I chose to donate to Wreaths Across America (WAA). WAA has a mission to remember, honor, and teach. We remember and honor our local veterans who have passed away by placing wreaths upon their graves at Christmas time and during the rest of the year by honoring our veterans wherever we see them and teaching others about the price of freedom. Both my father and my son are Navy veterans with many other veteran members in my family, so remembering and honoring their service and sacrifice are very important to me.” — Robin, Senior Tax Accountant, Indirect Tax

Are you a nonprofit actively fighting to improve health and education, reduce inequality, or spur economic growth? Register your project on Hollie’s Hub For Good.

We can’t wait to continue these efforts into the next year and find new ways to impact our community for good —and we encourage you to find a way to make a difference in yours too. Expect to hear more from us in the new year on our growing social impact program!