Giving With Passion, Serving With Talents

With so many people and businesses devastated by COVID-19, giving has taken on new urgency this year. And yet of course, other needs haven’t vanished.

Some who want to help may find themselves unable to this give year — so I believe there’s an onus on those of us who can help to step up. There’s also a call to remember that giving needn’t be strictly financial. In fact, it’s often even more rewarding to give our skills or time to a cause to which we feel personally connected.

Supporting causes is a part of my family culture. Our kids have grown up seeing my wife and me participate in a range of initiatives. Several years ago, my wife and I decided to focus our efforts in specific areas we are particularly passionate about: cancer research and children’s health and education.

Our interest is rooted in personal experience: My family is affected by the BRCA gene mutation, which confers a significantly increased risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers. Four years ago, I created the BRCA Foundation to further research this gene and push the envelope of cancer research — something that resonates with me as an entrepreneur. That foundation recently merged with the V Foundation, which has awarded more than $250 million to cancer research projects, including $9 million specifically for BRCA research grants. In serving on the board of that organization, I’m able to witness its work firsthand and lend insights from my time as an entrepreneur, a truly rewarding experience.

Our other area of focus is finding ways to address the discrepancies in educational opportunities that are available in our community. We work with multiple organizations dedicated to expanding access to education, and I channeled my love of playing squash to form what has become a growing after-school program for underserved students in the Bay Area. Squash on Track provides underserved students with squash instruction from professionals in the sport and, even more importantly, a relationship with a mentor/coach they may not have otherwise. For volunteers, it’s a great way to stay active and give back to the community. And for me, it’s a wonderful combination of two things I care deeply about.

To every organization I’m involved with, I bring my perspective as an entrepreneur and my experience of building NetSuite to help guide and grow them. It’s rewarding to both reflect on what I’ve learned in my career and watch these organizations powerfully pioneer paths of their own.

As a cloud technology company, NetSuite has a lot to offer nonprofits as they fulfill their missions. Our Social Impact program donates NetSuite technology to nonprofits and connects employees, partners and customers to organizations that could benefit from their professional skills. Employees use the same knowledge and skill they use every day at work to help the organizations they're most passionate about through our Suite Pro Bono program.

For example, early this year, a team of NetSuite employees donated their time and technical skills to help the CDC Foundation, an independent nonprofit established by Congress to mobilize philanthropic and private-sector resources in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in times of need. With the onslaught of COVID-19, the foundation was receiving more donations than it was capable of handling with its existing processes. NetSuite employees quickly worked to further automate the processing and allocation of all those contributions — and as a result, the foundation was able to get funds to the appropriate programs in hours instead of days.

Many nonprofits need volunteers with specific skills, from IT to accounting to marketing to legal to online teaching. Food banks need volunteers to hand out food (with strict safety protocols, of course). Other charities need volunteers to deliver supplies to the elderly or immunocompromised or provide Christmas presents to kids whose families are struggling. In other words, not all giving is financial.

On this Giving Tuesday, I encourage you to think about ways you can make a meaningful difference and support causes you’re passionate about. No matter what you donate — time, talents or finances — look for ways to apply your unique gifts to help nonprofits serve their communities.