Braze Employee Resource Groups Direct $250,000 to Community Organizations

In 2021, Braze joined the Pledge 1% movement and committed to disbursing 1% of our then outstanding equity over 10 years to support charitable organizations. To help accomplish this goal, we created the Braze for Social Impact Fund. Through this fund, we aim to amplify our mission of using our technology, ecosystem, and people to advance equitable growth, accelerate science-based climate solutions, and create opportunities for underserved groups within our communities.

When exploring potential strategies for directing funds in a way that advances equity and positive community impacts, we wanted to work with employees who were passionate about standing up for their own communities—namely, our employee resource groups (ERGs). And so the Braze ERG Grant Program was born, allowing ERGs the opportunity to direct a portion of the Braze for Social Impact fund to nonprofits and charities in direct service of their respective communities.

Employee resource groups are voluntary, employee-led groups brought together by a common interest, membership in a protected class, or shared experience. At the time this program launched, there were nine ERGs at Braze: Asians@Braze, Black@Braze, Elle@Braze (women), Healthy Minds @ Braze (mental health), Jews@Braze, Muslims@Braze, Parents@Braze, Pride@Braze (LGBTQ+), and SOMOS (Hispanic and Latina/o). This number has since grown to 10 with the more recent addition of Brown@Braze (Middle Eastern and South Asian employees).

“The Parents@Braze ERG, 260 parents and allies strong, selected the three organizations because they aligned with our core values as Braze employees and as parents. As a community, we support each other in our most important role to care for our children. Braze allows us to extend that support to children in the communities we live in. These three organizations embody that support in their mission to help children around the world dealing with the unimaginable. It is a privilege to help them fulfill their mission.”

—Elisa Chohan, Learning Effectiveness Manager and Parents@Braze ERG leader

Through the Braze ERG Grant Program, nine ERGs directed $250,000-worth of conditionless grants to 25 global nonprofits and charities that aligned with their group’s purpose and mission. Each ERG was able to direct funds to up to four organizations; however, some chose to disburse their allotted funds to a single organization. All grant recipients are listed below:

ERG Grants:

Asians@Braze:

• Asian Americans Advancing Justice works to strengthen roots, promote equal protections, and build political power for Asian Americans through policy advocacy, community engagement, and litigation.
• Asian Pacific Community Fund of Southern California invests in organizations that empower underserved Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) to prosper by building healthier communities, creating a stronger API voice, and developing API leaders.
• Asian Mental Health Project aims to educate and empower Asian communities in seeking mental healthcare.

Black@Braze:

• Children’s Defense Fund ensures every child is positioned for a successful passage to adulthood, with a particular focus on the needs of poor children, children of color, and those with disabilities.
• Coding Black Females actively removes barriers for Black women entering or progressing in software development and technical roles in the UK.
• Lead with Love combats social injustices youth face relating to mental health, physical health, education, and exposure within Southside Chicago`s priority communities.

Elle@Braze:

• Dress for Success empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
• Girls Who Code works to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does through coding clubs, summer programs, and college and career programs.
• World Central Kitchen is first to the frontlines, providing meals to communities impacted by natural disasters and during prolonged humanitarian crises, such as the war in Ukraine.
• Ipas works globally to advance reproductive justice by expanding access to abortion and contraception.

Healthy Minds@Braze:

• To Write Love On Her Arms is dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.
• Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is a suicide prevention movement that provides free and confidential helpline and webchat for those who need to talk, among many other community and campaign services.

Jews@Braze:

• Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization that confronts anti-semitism, hate, and terrorism; promotes human rights and dignity; defends the safety of Jews worldwide; and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations.

Muslims@Braze:

• Pious Projects is a platform that mobilizes volunteers and donors to respond efficiently, effectively, and purposefully to humanitarian causes around the world.
• Asiyah Women's Center provides shelter and support services for survivors of domestic violence.

Parents@Braze:

• Make a Wish International aims to provide every eligible child a life-changing wish, believing this gives kids the resilience, courage, and strength they need to fight their critical illnesses.
• Room to Read is creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality by helping children in historically low-income communities develop literacy skills and a habit of reading, and by supporting girls as they build skills to succeed in school and negotiate key life decisions.
• Save the Children International works to ensure children around the world have access to healthcare, food, and shelter, as well as learning and child protection services when children need it most.

Pride@Braze:

• Brave Space Alliance is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ Center located on the South Side of Chicago, dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals on the South and West sides of the city.
• SAGE is a national advocacy and services organization that’s been looking out for LGBTQ+ elders since 1978.
• Hidayah UK provides support and welfare for LGBTQI+ Muslims and promotes social justice and education about the community to counter discrimination, prejudice, and injustice.
• Galop runs four national support helplines and longer-term support services for LGBT+ victims and survivors of: Domestic abuse; hate crime; rape and sexual abuse; and so-called “conversion therapy.”

SOMOS:

• Hispanic Heritage Fund identifies, inspires, prepares, and connects Latino leaders in the community, classroom, and workforce.
• Latino U College Access empowers first-generation Latino students on their journeys to and through college so they can fulfill their remarkable potential.
• Que Paso Latinx, Inc. destigmatizes mental health by educating and empowering the community through healing, conversations, and culture.

We are grateful to our ERGs for their thoughtful selection of these community-first organizations and proud of the difference that these grants will make in the lives of people who are members of underrepresented and underserved communities. Braze is committed to driving progress for a more equitable world, and the Social Impact team looks forward to sharing more about their work and grantmaking initiatives in the future.

To learn more about Braze and how we’re working to support corporate social responsibility, check out our 2022 ESG Report.