BetterUp commits to Pledge 1%

BetterUp is perhaps best known for hiring Prince Harry as chief impact officer amidst his highly publicized schism with the British royal family.

However, the San Francisco-based coaching and wellbeing company has had plenty of other successes this year. Notably, the company has reached a valuation of over $1 billion dollars and became a unicorn earlier this year.

On the back of an impressive and headline-grabbing 2021, the company now looks set to focus on creating sustainable social change over time with Pledge 1%.

What is Pledge 1%?

Pledge 1% positions itself to businesses as a simple way to leverage a portion of future financial success to support nonprofits.

The company that encourages businesses to make ethical donations does this by meeting inspiring early-stage corporate philanthropic endeavors and encouraging them to give 1% of equity, 1% of profit, 1% of product, and 1% of employee time to social impact.

Speaking about the commitments of BetterUp, Prince Harry told Fast Company: “Our commitment to Pledge 1% is just one of many initiatives we’re taking as an organization to generate positive social change.

“In the spirit of creating real and lasting impact, BetterUp will continue to focus on proactively building mental fitness into various communities in the areas of education and employability training, to name [two].

“We know the impact of our mission on a global scale. We saw it, for example, in our partnership with the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust earlier this year, when young leaders across the Commonwealth gained tools for resilience and mental fitness that will be with them for life, and will help them to accelerate their impact on the world, by making their ideas a reality.”

Naturally, Pledge 1% will be a key part of Prince Harry’s role as he “is using his voice, experience, and background for advocacy and leadership around mental health” according to BetterUp cofounder and CEO Alexi Robichaux.

On top of being an ethically conscious move, the commitment to Pledge 1% may also help attract young talent.

LEWIS found that only 19% of Gen Z candidates would work for an employer that doesn’t share their values.

Whether this is part of a recruitment strategy or not, it is clear that Pledge 1% is an appealing concept as Remitly, Sprinklr, and Toast commit to the scheme.

Speaking about the importance of Pledge 1%, Amy Lesnick, chief executive and president of Pledge 1% said: “The meaningful impact our Pledge 1% members and Boardroom Allies have made in such a short period of time underscores the power of the equity model.

“Not only are more business leaders able to bring their values to life by setting aside pre-IPO stock for social impact, but also the dollar value of these commitments has the potential to grow exponentially as these companies succeed and their share price rises.”

So far Pledge 1% has convinced philanthropic companies to give $2 billion in just over a year, and the company intends to reach a goal of $5 billion by 2025.