On today’s first National Black Voter Day, Salesforce’s Racial Equality and Justice Task Force is sharing our latest commitments to empower our employees — and our communities — with the tools to exercise their right to vote, and our efforts to protect the right to vote and fair representation for all.
We know action and philanthropy are most effective together, and this update includes progress on both our Policy and Philanthropy pillars.
Policy
Civic engagement has been a long-standing priority for Salesforce. This year, Salesforce declared all national federal elections a paid holiday for Salesforce employees, and we are allowing them to use Volunteer Time Off (VTO) to serve their communities as poll workers.
Building on this long-standing focus on civic engagement, the Racial Equality & Justice Task Force is addressing the importance of how access to the ballot continues to impact the Black community.By increasing non-partisan opportunities to the right to vote, Salesforce will support the following policies in Congress and our top employment states:
- Restoring the federal Voting Rights Act to limit states from enacting discriminatory voting laws
- Restoring voting rights for post-incarcerated citizens, who are disproportionately Black and other marginalized communities, giving them the ability to fully participate in the electoral processes shaping their communities
- Supporting independent redistricting processes that should establish, with public input, clear and prioritized criteria for map drawing, ensuring that underrepresented minority voices are not diluted or diminished with their elected leaders
- Implementing automatic voter registration to streamline the opportunity for eligible citizens to become registered voters
- Enabling no fault mail-in absentee voting to protect and increase safe access to voting for all voters
- Increasing funding for modern election operations to enhance and update equipment, secure more polling locations and fund staff to safely operate elections
Philanthropy
Over the next five years, Salesforce will donate $200 million and 1 million volunteer hours globally with organizations working to advance racial equality and justice at the global, national, and local levels.
To encourage fair access to voting, we are donating $1 million ($500K each) to the following organizations:
- Democracy Works: To help Americans vote, no matter what, by providing the tools, information, and support needed to confidently participate in elections
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.: To promote the full, equal and active participation of Black Americans in America’s democracy
These donations build on Salesforce’s previously announced $3.5 million in donations to the NAACP, National Urban League and Urban Institute to advance community-based strategies for racial justice and equip civic institutions with the data, training and support to root out racism.
Additionally, the Tableau Foundation is committed to supporting organizations working to encourage voting on college campuses and with underrepresented communities.
- $100K to the nonpartisan Campus Election Engagement Project (CEEP) to support 50 CEEP Fellows working in HBCUs and other campuses with high populations of students of color to encourage students to register to vote and vote on election day
- $50K to four organizations working to improve Census counts and encourage voting in underrepresented communities: OCA, Fair Count, Hispanics in Philanthropy and Nava Education Project
This week, we hosted Representation Matters, our annual racial equality summit where Black, Latinx, and Indigenous talent can see themselves reflected as business leaders, founders, investors, changemakers, and keynote speakers, as we share the importance of representation in our industries. This year’s event included important conversations on civic engagement including how every member of our community can be empowered to participate. Watch the recap here.
