REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. is delighted to announce the results of its 2011 employee giving campaign: our U.S. Microsoft employees raised $100.5 million (inclusive of the company match) for more than 18,000 U.S.-based community organizations doing work in the U.S. and around the world last year. With this milestone, Microsoft employees have now raised more than $946 million for nonprofits and community organizations since the company's giving program started in 1983.
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Each year, every full-time employee at Microsoft in the U.S. receives a $12,000 corporate matching gift that matches volunteer time ($17 per hour) or dollar-for-dollar charitable contributions to eligible nonprofits. Microsoft's Employee Giving Program is designed to honor the diversity of our workforce by supporting a broad spectrum of organizations and institutions doing work domestically and internationally. Microsoft matches employee gifts to all eligible organizations with a 501(c)(3) public charity status and educational institutions. In 2011, Microsoft employees in the United States committed 426,671 volunteer hours to nonprofit organizations in the United States; this is 73,000 more hours than in 2010, which brings the total number of volunteering time to 1.7 million hours since tracking started in 2006. The matched volunteer hours committed by employees in 2011 raised $7.2 million for nonprofits.
"Last year, Microsoft U.S. employees broke their annual giving record, raising more than $100 million for community organizations," said Brad Smith, executive vice president, Legal and Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Corp. "The money and time donated by our employees is one way we aim to play our part in creating opportunities for people in the U.S. and around the world. This new fundraising record is a great start to the 30th year of our Employee Giving Program."
Entering the 30th year of the Employee Giving Program, Microsoft employees have had an unprecedented impact in their communities. Below is a snapshot and tribute to some of the Microsoft employees who have made a significant impact in their communities.
Creating Opportunities for Youth
Twenty-four-year-old James Liao started his career at Microsoft in July 2011 as an associate consultant in the Sales, Marketing and Services Group in Charlotte, N.C. Within his first six months at Microsoft, Liao earned his entire corporate match and raised $12,000 for Dream Corps, a youth education nonprofit, through dedicating more than 700 volunteer hours. Dream Corps recruits volunteers around the world to promote reading among children in rural China by opening libraries and developing reading programs.
"My passion is to use technology to improve children's lives," Liao said.