It’s fair to say the past 12 months have been tumultuous for the majority of the world’s population. The impact of COVID-19 has truly tested people emotionally and financially, and upended entire industries. Charities are among the organisations that have most keenly felt the impact of COVID-19.
That’s why I’m incredibly proud to share that with the help of our amazing community, Xero has raised almost $200,000 through the Xero Community Appeal, and this week we donated those funds to eight charities around the world. All of the charities we have identified through our program are committed to supporting the most vulnerable and marginalised members of their communities. These include:
- Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) globally
- Beyond Blue in Australia
- Women’s Refuge in New Zealand
- Save the Children in Asia
- Advancement Project in the United States
- Black Business Professional Association in Canada
- Samaritans in the UK
- Won Life in South Africa
Supporting our local communities
The appeal, announced in August 2020, encouraged our staff and wider community to donate to charities via our online giving platform, powered by Xero small business customer Catalyser. Xero kicked off the donations with its own contribution of NZ$50,000, and then matched donations dollar-for-dollar in every region.
I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the appeal. Your support couldn’t have come at a better time for our charities. To give you a sense of the impact we’ve achieved together, our donations could fund: a safe night of accommodation for 1,400 women fleeing domestic violence, 3,670 mental health consults, 6,139 hygiene kits to help kids stay safe during COVID-19 and support 458 black youth to build the skills and confidence to run their own businesses.
At Xero, our purpose is to make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and their communities around the world. We’re proud to honour our purpose by doing our bit in our local communities.
Once again, thank you to everyone who supported the appeal. If you’d like to know more about the charities we supported, and how the appeal was set up, check out my blog post from August 2020. For more information about Xero’s broader efforts in social and environmental impact visit xero.com/socialimpact
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