Last week, we said that we will not be silent. We haven’t been, and we will continue to speak out about injustice.
But that is not enough. We need more than statements. We need action.
We’ve taken the past week to listen and learn and consider what we could do to join in this fight and bring meaningful change both internally and externally. So, I wanted to share what we at Drift are doing to support the Black community, further improve diversity and inclusion efforts within Drift and to contribute to the efforts of those fighting for racial justice:
- Donating to charitable organizations: At Drift we believe that one of the ways to make change is to start at the beginning. That’s why we committed to supporting technology education initiatives that help prepare the workforce of tomorrow. In order to further our impact, the Drift Board is donating $100,000 to Hack.Diversity. In addition, through personal donations and a match, our employees donated more than $40,000 to over 75 organizations. And, Drift will be donating an additional $25,000 to BUILD Boston and San Francisco, Building Impact, Resilient Coders, SMASH and Tampa STEM.
- Engaging our community: On June 16, we are hosting an action-focused webinar for our friends, family and community. In this virtual panel with DEI leaders from Drift, Wayfair, Smartbear, DraftKings, and Toast, we will discuss tools for incorporating anti-racist behavior at work and in your personal lives. You can register here.
- Continuing the conversation: Last week and into this week, Drift’s People team has been hosting dialogues where team members can discuss what’s on their minds about the current anti-racism movement. We will also work to continue this important conversation beyond these dialogues. To date, more than 115 team members have shared resources, personal action items, and a commitment to respond to aggressions and microaggressions in the moment.
- Amplifying Black voices: As part of our commitment to sharing diverse and inclusive stories, we will be reserving space on our blog and social channels to amplify Black voices. If you are interested in sharing your voice, please reach out to Gail at gaxelrod@drift.com. In addition, we are working to continue to find ways to ensure we embed anti-racism into every area of our business.
- Being transparent and holding ourselves accountable: We know that change starts from within and that it’s important for us to stand behind our statements of solidarity. That’s why, starting this summer we will be launching a DEI page on our website that showcases our goals, statistics, programs and actions
We recognize that the problem of systematic racism will not be solved with a corporate statement, #blackouttuesday or our above efforts alone. Our hope is that by educating ourselves and having honest conversations, we can find more ways to take action and bring meaningful change to the world.
If there is anything else you would like to see from Drift, please let me know. You can reach out to me at david.cancel@drift.com.
