In Giving We Receive: The Culture of Giving at Microsoft

There are many ways to carry out the act of ‘giving.’?We can give our possessions, time, empathy, sometimes, even our presence can be a source of comfort for someone. Yet, in these multiple interpretations of the verb ‘giving,’ what stands out for me is not what can we give, but how can we give to really make a difference.

I’d like to share a personal story of a Samaritan who understood what I really wanted and gave it to me without asking for anything in return.

I had taken a break to prepare for the IIT exam in another city, but soon after a month, I found myself without a place to live. That’s when a cook, Manikam, offered me lodging. He had just one rule- I couldn't step out in the daytime as he wasn’t allowed to have guests. His kind act of giving me shelter, especially when I was temporarily dislodged, gave me a sense of security and the much-needed time to study. I went on to get a seat at IIT Roorkee and later, landed a job at Microsoft! When I look back and reminisce about that time, I feel beyond grateful towards Manikam for his generosity and the impact it had on my life and career.

Every year at Microsoft, the global Giving Campaign offers us new ways to make an impactful difference. It could be through money (with a match from Microsoft), time or skills that can be transferred to empower other communities. Although this is a year-long effort, the months of October and November turn into a “festival of giving.”

Every festival is a time when we exchange gifts, spread joy, and celebrate as a community. At Microsoft, we celebrated our unique festival of giving in several ways.

Giving with Purpose: “I have always watched my neighbors ride their bikes. Now I can go riding with them too! I’m so happy to keep cycling and go to new places,” said a 4-year-old girl, whose wish was to own a battery-operated bicycle.

A wish, a dream, a prayer that comes true is so joyful to watch! This year, we fulfilled the wishes of 3,000 underprivileged children who told us what they really wanted. Their dream to own a toy car, a teddy bear, a bicycle, a beautiful dress came true!

As our festival of giving coincided with Diwali, we also held donation drives across our campuses, adding an extra sparkle to the festival of lights.

Bridging the Divide: The first step to bridging gaps in our communities starts by listening with empathy. That’s what our employees did! At a sign language workshop, more than 800 of us learnt the basics of sign language. With a grasp of the fundamentals, our employees sought tips for meaningful questions like, “How do I indicate there’s an emergency?” or “Do you want help?” or “Let’s go for a coffee?” At the end of the session, the only language that was spoken was gratitude!

Over October and November, 75% of our employees from The India Development Center (IDC) offices in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Noida volunteered to support underprivileged kids, women, and persons with disabilities. In more than 8,000 hours of volunteering time, they gave career tips to young women, taught children, and even made gratitude journals with them.

Imagining a Bright Future: During the global 24-hour Give’n’Go, Microsoft employees all over the world drive their initiative and pass on the baton to another country. In India, our employees teamed up with their families, friends and different organizations to plant 25k+ saplings for a greener planet.

With an eye on the future, they also attended a sustainable living workshop and learnt how to make a compost pit, a DIY house cleaning solution, and much more!

Empowering our NGO Partners: It is without a doubt that the past year-and-a-half has reversed so much of the progress we have made for an inclusive future. Non-profits around the world require multi-dimensional support to carry on their work.

In this reality, we tied up with more than 100 NGOs to help them with capacity building, enhancing their tech systems, crafting a social media strategy, and creating databases for them.

As part of our partnership, we also hosted a storytelling workshop to help them tell their story. Our partners found different narrative styles to tell an impactful story to donors, policy makers, and for awareness drives.

Sharing Lessons of Growth: Giving has always been a way of detaching myself from what I have and passing it on to others. So, this year, Microsoft Leadership Team auctioned (with proceeds going to charity) leadership experiences to share our learnings and empower our talent. We auctioned lunches and home tours with Leaders and chatted about growth, the important steps for a successful career, work-life balance, and fitness.

Celebrating with Joy: One of the most meaningful experiences of the Giving Program took place when we were joined by His Holiness Dalai Lama . He spoke to us about cultivating compassion for each other, doing our bit, and finding joy in the power of generosity.

I was reminded of the late Lebanese American writer Kahlil Gibran who once said, “There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.” This quote, for me, captured the essence of giving at Microsoft.

I found that joy- the feelings of happiness and fulfilment- echo across our company worldwide during the Giving Program. That joy resulted from giving an underprivileged child the gift of education; it stemmed from making someone’s unfulfilled wish come true; and it lay in giving someone the capacity to become self-sufficient.

In giving, we truly received a lot more in return.