Workday Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Workday Foundation mainly invests in workforce development programs for the technology sector.
IP TAKE: The Workday Foundation is affiliated with the Workday, a software company that specializes in finance and human resources applications. The foundation aims to create opportunities for underrepresented people in the technology industry. Its grantmaking consists mainly of ongoing partnerships with large workforce development nonprofits in the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland. To a lesser extent, the foundation has also given to animal welfare organizations in the U.S.
Workday is not accessible, but encourages organizations working in its area of interest to reach out via email with information about their work and goals. It’s responsive and approachable, though giving can be bureaucratic.
PROFILE: The Workday Foundation was established in 2013 and aims “to create meaningful employment, break the cycle of poverty, and transform lives. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Workday, an enterprise software company specializing in cloud-based applications for finance and human resources. Workday provides ongoing support to a corps of grantees through its “big partnerships” and runs a signature program, Opportunity Onramps, a workforce development program that helps people from underrepresented backgrounds develop careers in the technology sector.
Grants for Economic Opportunity, Veterans, and Refugees
Workforce development is the Workday Foundation’s main philanthropic focus, accounting for well over half of its annual grantmaking. The foundation’s impact grants support “forward-thinking organizations that prepare people of all ages for careers in tech.” Veterans and youth, including refugees, have been populations of interest. Workday has partnered with several well-established national programs in this area, including Boys and Girls Clubs, Per Scholas, Job Train, Year Up and Upwardly Global, which helps immigrants and refugees find work in the U.S.
Workday’s signature workforce development program, Opportunity Onramps, “provides training, internships, and opportunities to job seekers from nontraditional backgrounds.” A subprogram, the Career Accelerator, is a four-month paid internship for veterans. Another subprogram, Workforce Week, is an annual talent development and recruitment program for “people facing barriers to employment.” A third program, Returnship, helps adults who have put their careers on hold for two years or more “get a jumpstart back into the workforce.”
Grants for Global Development
Workday’s global development grantmaking mirrors its U.S. philanthropy in its aim to help underrepresented people train for and obtain work in the technology sector. The foundation has mainly partnered with workforce and training institutes in Dublin and London, where its parent company maintains operations.
Grants for Animals and Wildlife
Funding for animals and wildlife is a much smaller area of grantmaking for the Workday Foundation, which does not outline specific goals for its giving in this area. Recent grant recipients include the Humane Society of Utah, Wags and Walks of West Hollywood, California and the Valley Humane Society of Pleasanton, California.
Important Grant Details:
The Workday Foundation makes about $2.5 million a year in grants. The foundation’s average grant size is about $10,000. This funder’s primary focus is workforce development, and it mainly works through existing partnerships with large, established organizations in the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland. Its signature programs mainly help individuals from underrepresented backgrounds train for and obtain work in the technology field.
Workday does not run an open grant application program but encourages organizations to email the foundation “if your organization pioneers workforce development programs and your mission aligns with ours.” The names of the members of the foundation’s board of directors are available at Workday’s website.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
