Celebrating 10 years of giving back

Posted June 25th, 2009 at 1:59 pm by Rachana Choubey, Global Front Doors

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Ten years ago, our cofounders and a group of employees gave all Yahoos a really unique way to give back to their communities – they established the Yahoo! Employee Foundation (YEF). Since then, it has generated some pretty impressive statistics:

More than $8 million in grants to 275 nonprofit organizations;
More than 225 passionate Yahoo! employees have successfully championed grants for their favorite nonprofit;
At least 1 in 3 Yahoos in the U.S. have donated to YEF.

Needless to say, these figures make me proud, but they don’t tell the whole story. It doesn’t give credit to the incredible generosity and compassion of Yahoos who rallied together to raise a record $2.1 million in October 2008, just one week after the Dow took the biggest tumble in nearly a decade. This is just one instance of where, in the midst of tough times, my colleagues found it in their hearts to give back to those who were less fortunate.

YEF is unique in that it is 100% run by Yahoo! employee volunteers. Yahoos donate all of the money, champion all of the grants, and organize all volunteer activities, whether building playgrounds or renovating homes. And YEF funds projects that focus on the areas of youth and education, community building and families, and the environment which are chosen by, you guessed it, our employees. One of the best parts of YEF is that by simply donating $50, an employee can champion their favorite organization for a grant of up to $40,000. That’s powerful.

We marked our 10th anniversary milestone with events in U.S. offices from Sunnyvale to New York yesterday. These celebrations were our way of thanking the donors and volunteers who have made YEF what it is today. The Yahoo! Employee Foundation brings out the best in Yahoos, empowering us to give back and make a difference, and is a huge part of why I’m proud to work for Yahoo!.

Here’s video and photos of our thank-you event at our Sunnyvale headquarters:

Yahoo! Employee Foundation celebrates 10 years @ Yahoo! Video