Great work supports great work: Bonusly users surpass $1,000,000 in donations

Today marks a major milestone that's been years in the making! Employees at more than 2,000 companies around the world have collectively donated $1 million to charity via Bonusly's Reward Catalog.

So far in 2021, Bonusly users have donated over $27,000 to Give India, more than $10,000 to Asian Americans Advancing Justice, $33,000 to Lebanese Red Cross - Beirut Disaster Relief, and nearly $6,000 to The Trevor Project.

Bonusly users regularly donate their Bonusly points to nonprofit organizations through the Bonusly Reward Catalog, organizations like Water.org, Habitat for Humanity, WWF, and Unicef. While the most popular options in the Bonusly Reward Catalog are digital gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks, Target, and Walmart, at least one out of every 20 reward redemptions is a charity donation. 

“We know that workplace charitable giving cultivates a sense of purpose that has positive effects on employee morale, productivity, and retention. It also improves recruitment by demonstrating that a company lives its values and gives back to the community,” says Raphael Crawford-Marks, Founder and CEO of Bonusly. “Since Bonusly’s inception, we have partnered with charities all over the world to enable employees to contribute to causes that they believe in.”

In 2020, user donations made via our platform increased by 450%, accounting for 5.41% of all Bonusly reward redemptions that year compared to 1.41% in 2019. More than half of user donations in 2020 went to four nonprofits whose work was especially urgent: the WHO COVID-19 Response Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU, and Red Cross Australia Bushfire Relief.

Bonusly's recognition and rewards platform connects peer-to-peer and 360-degree recognition with real-world monetary value, incentivizing employees to connect and strengthen working relationships by showing their appreciation for one another.

Building connections and camaraderie

“It’s incredible to see how Bonusly helps companies build a sense of camaraderie and community on a foundation of positive recognition,” says Amish Jani, Founder and Partner of FirstMark, a venture capital firm. Jani is an investor in Bonusly and technology companies like InVision, Pendo, Guru, Shopify, and Frame.io. "We use Bonusly at FirstMark and I’ve experienced firsthand how powerful it is to be able to give and receive recognition without friction."

"By responding in realtime to facilitate donations to causes that are on peoples’ minds," says Jani, "Bonusly provides companies and employees an outlet to give back together."

I just donated my @bonusly earnings to @RedCrossLebanon because #GreatWorkSupportsGreatWork!
Thanks @jellyfishglobal for the opportunity 🙏🙏
Find out just how much Bonusly users have donated to charity: https://t.co/iyHKDp38r3

— Mohamed Salah Helmy (@mohamed_riddler) May 20, 2021

"We want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for our customers," says Vicki Yang, Vice President of People Ops at Bonusly. "Bonusly is committed to delighting customers and seeking and embracing diversity. Offering in-platform donation options is one way we live out these company values."

Bonusly-facilitated donations are one way that employers can live out their values, as well. 

The team at ITHAKA, the nonprofit behind educational and research platforms like JSTOR and ARTSTOR, is committed to delivering equity in access to education and knowledge.

As Nicholas Scarpa, ITHAKA's Director of Human Resources, explains, "our commitment to our organizational values of belonging, teamwork, trust, evidence, and speed is what motivates us to do our best work and show up as our best selves. Our daily use of Bonusly and the option to donate to other organizations in need gives us the opportunity to demonstrate not only our commitment to these values, but also to our DEI priorities and our organization’s mission."

The way ITHAKA puts commitments into action empowers its 400 or so employees to take action, as well: 

This is why I love working at @ITHAKA_org I mentioned we need to help India during their 2nd wave & 2 days later we are #speed I just donated my @bonusly earnings to @GiveIndia because #GreatWorkSupportsGreatWork!

— Kristin Braddock (@KBradd) May 7, 2021

What's good for employees is good for business

Research and real-world experience clearly indicate that empowering employees to take socially responsible action can motivate teams and promote retention. By facilitating opportunities for their employees to bond with each other over the positive impact they’re having on the world, business leaders can combat disengagement, burnout, and low morale.

“People want to work for companies that make an impact and one of the ways that Bonusly helps companies do that is by making it so easy to donate,” says Crawford-Marks.

Bonusly made in-platform donations possible but it’s the Bonusly community that made $1 million in charitable donations a reality. We're inspired by your continued generosity!