Corporate Social Responsibility - You Can Be the Catalyst

At the start and end of every day, we each have the chance to reflect on how we will spend and how we did spend our time during that day, and once used, it is gone forever.

Like many tech people during this past year, during the work week I traverse a few feet around my home, moving from sleep to Zoom calls and back to sleep. And of course there’s a few too many stops at the kitchen and not enough steps on the Bowflex.  

The reality of not having an hour commute each way has meant I can actually accomplish more at work (and at home), yet the soul is not the same when confined. Though myself and others in tech have been the lucky ones, in that our contributions to our companies could be easily morphed to a remote environment, there’s still that longing to do something for others. We continue to earn our salaries and are able to stay “safe” behind our four walls, yet you can’t miss the impact this has had on others and recognize the years it will take for many to recover.

As this state has waned on, we’ve seen the toll it has taken on those in other sectors and we’ve also seen the impact the pandemic has had on non-profits. Nonprofits rely on corporate donations (much of which has been moved to the crisis), visitors fees, and individual donations. These sources of funds are essential to their ability to offer programs and services. 

In a world where there is still a big divide in terms of access to technology and technology services, the question for me is, can we in some way take small steps to make a difference?  So often with Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, they can become bogged down in an effort to do something big. That just slows the process down and creates endless cycles of approvals, etc. 

So I wanted to share a few simple ways we at Pavilion are seeking to make a difference. We’re a small, privately held company, with big growth aspirations. Funding is tight as is typical in early stage companies. However, if you look past the constraints there are ways to find opportunities to engage in Corporate Social Responsibility, where societal goals of philanthropic and charitable actions can become part of the soul and fabric of your company’s culture and create real wins.

Most recently, our India team, led by Sanjeev Jahagirdar, donated 6 laptops to children who needed them for remote school learning.  It might not sound like a lot at first glance, the number though represents 18% of our employee base in India. And this number can happen over and over again every year. The reality is that Engineers constantly need faster and faster machines to do their work. So while the machines were “slow” by their standards, the laptops were perfectly suited for the classroom environment. How many old laptops do you have sitting around your home or office? What impact would there be if every company gave away 6 laptops a year - or - household gave away one a year? Think about the impact it would have on each of those 6 kids. Think at the micro-level.

We’ve also adjusted a standard marketing practice where your inside sales team and marketing team offers qualified decision makers $100 or a valued gift to attend an initial conversation to see if there’s a fit between the needs of the company and the offerings of Pavilion. The reality is, these “bounty” type programs are never really about the number of times people accept your offer, it’s about an incremental touch point - a reason to share some new news that can expand your company’s awareness and be part of a multi-touch program.  If you have something compelling to offer, people will reach out or respond to your inbounds. The real challenge though is if you don’t have enough brand awareness for what you offer, how do you get someone to be open to learning about your opportunity?

This is where we have brought in Corporate Social Responsibility again. 

When we offer people responsible for or who influence data storage decisions $100 to take a meeting with us, we also offer them the opportunity to donate that $100 to a charity of their choice.

When we offer two dozen elite level Titleist golf balls, we also offer them the opportunity to donate those golf balls to First Tee, a great organization introducing golf to kids who otherwise might not have the opportunity to be exposed to golf.

The answer again isn’t how many accept the bounty, although we would love it if they do, it also sets a tone with the prospects that we are a company that values CSR and we seek to find ways to live it. 

For many people, a $100 for their time may not resonate, but if you’re willing to donate that $100 to their university, to Junior Achievement, to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, or any other nonprofit organization, you can make a connection. It’s got to be authentic, and for Pavilion it is.  Our employees serve a multitude of nonprofit organizations in their own time, and it’s part of who we are.

And when NVIDIA created a special sponsorship program for their upcoming NVIDIA GTC 21 conference, where companies would use their previously earmarked sponsorship dollars to have each company re-allocate those dollars to company specific plans to promote their sessions at the conference, it served as a great opportunity for Pavilion to think outside the box, bring into play CSR, and pop above the noise level for the conference to elevate our brand awareness while helping an organization in need.

We chose to support the Girl Scout Cookie Program, the largest girl-run business in the world, as they Shatter Expectations and Invent the Future Together, as a way to offer something sweet and fun to NVIDIA conference attendees. 

Pavilion is running ads and a social campaign promoting that as a NVIDIA GTC21 attendee you can have it all!

-High performance storage

-Application acceleration, and

-Girl Scout cookies

Frankly speaking, what better way to mix up thousands of hours of on-demand webinars than by enjoying some delicious Girl Scout cookies.  If you’re attending NVIDIA GTC and you’re responsible for or influence data storage decisions, please sign-up to get your free cookies!  Of course, we’ll also be sharing the four on-demand sessions that Pavilion is hosting with the receivers and hope that they will choose to attend one of our sessions. 

To make this happen, Pavilion is working with a local NorCal Brownie troop to fulfill the orders.  It’s important to keep the girl in Girl Scouts - and - that’s what we’ll be doing. The girls will learn great skills, will benefit from the troop sales, and will expand their entrepreneurial knowledge.

So, as you end today, how did you spend your time? As you reflect on how you want tomorrow to be, what opportunities do you have to bring Corporate Social Responsibility into your organization? At Pavilion, where we offer Universally Unmatched Storage, we let our customers know they can start small and grow over time. Your CSR actions can do so as well.  

Please share your thoughts about how you and your organization can:

-Be the change you want to see in the world

-Do good

-Pay it forward

While embracing the philosophy that doing the kind thing is always right!

#datastorage #nvme #GPU #itinnovation #corporatesocialresponsibility #boards #ceos #cmos #NVIDIA @Pavilion @NVIDIA #Pavilion