Salesforce.com Foundation Makes CGI America Commitment to Action to Expand Youth Employment Opportunities

Salesforce.com Foundation will commit $6 million to support the creation of 400 new internships and 150 new post-internship placements by expanding partnerships with Genesys Works and Year Up

Commitment announced by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton onstage at Clinton Global Initiative’s 2014 CGI America meeting

DENVER – 2014 CGI AMERICA MEETING – June 24, 2014 – The Salesforce.com Foundation today announced that it will commit $6 million as part of a new effort to expand youth employment opportunities. This Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action is included as a part of Job One, a major set of commitments announced by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at this week’s 2014 CGI America meeting. By expanding partnerships with Genesys Works and Year Up, the Salesforce.com Foundation will support the creation of 400 new internships and 150 new post-internship placements for youth.

Comments on the news:
• “At the Salesforce.com Foundation, we’re dedicated to improving communities around the world, particularly local communities where our employees live and work,” said Suzanne DiBianca, president, Salesforce.com Foundation. “We’re excited to announce this Clinton Global Initiative commitment as it will expand youth employment opportunities both in the United States and abroad.”
• "The Salesforce.com Foundation is committed to scaling up its BizAcademy program, which provides real job skill workshops and intensive mentoring to underserved youth and plans to provide 400 paid, corporate internships for at-risk youth," said Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Bridging the Gap: Salesforce.com Foundation’s Commitment to Opportunity Youth

In the United States alone, there are nearly six million young adults between the ages of 16-24 who are out of work, out of school and without access to education and career opportunities. Defined as Opportunity Youth, these young adults – often from under-resourced and low-income communities – lack access to education and careers that provide them with a living wage. At the same time, while the U.S. Department of Commerce recently reported that the number of jobs involving science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) expertise has tripled in the past decade, many of these jobs go unfilled due to a lack of qualified applicants.

To bridge this gap, the Salesforce.com Foundation will commit $6 million over three years to scale its youth mentoring and internship programs. The commitment includes:

• Expanding partnerships with nonprofits Genesys Works and Year Up to provide job training to Opportunity Youth. The Salesforce.com Foundation will support the creation of 400 internships and 150 post-internship placements for Opportunity Youth in a variety of roles, including tech support, project coordination and software testing at salesforce.com and other technology companies.
• Scaling and expanding BizAcademy, the Foundation’s mentoring and workforce development program. Through progressive opportunities such as seminars, mentorships, courses and internships, BizAcademy provides Opportunity Youth a chance to learn core business and entrepreneurship skills at salesforce.com. Over the next three years, the program expects to serve more than 170 students in North America and 60 students in Europe and Asia. The Salesforce.com Foundation will also expand the reach of its BizAcademy curriculum to other participating companies.
• Educating other companies about the benefits of engaging youth into the workplace and continuing to educate the Salesforce.com Foundation partner network to take on Opportunity Youth interns and job applicants.

Job One and The Clinton Global Initiative

At the 2014 CGI America meeting, Secretary Clinton announced Job One, a major set of commitments – including the Salesforce.com Foundation’s – focused on improving job pathways for youth in the United States. To facilitate the sharing of best practices and encourage more companies to adopt youth employment activities, Secretary Clinton also announced at the 2014 CGI America meeting that CGI will be creating a U.S. Youth Employment Action Network to help CGI members continue to work on this important issue over the year ahead.