We’re excited to (re)announce Recharge Cares—our reimagined approach to corporate social responsibility.
For the past several years, Recharge has donated $10,000 monthly to a variety of nonprofit organizations, such as the American Red Cross, No Kid Hungry, and The Trevor Project. In early 2023, we recognized an opportunity to deepen our impact by shifting our investment to fewer, more meaningful partnerships that will allow us to develop stronger, long-term relationships with organizations and underserved communities.
Introducing our inaugural partnerships
For our pilot partnership, we’re proud to collaborate with BLK Men in Tech, an organization providing scholarships and support to Black students who are underrepresented in the tech space.
In May 2023, we funded scholarships for 30 high school and college students while also partnering with the organization to develop a mentorship program between students and Recharge employees. We are currently supporting 18 college students on their development journeys, meeting monthly to provide insights into networking, goal setting, and resume building.
We also attended BLK Men in Tech’s annual Thrive Conference where our VP of People, William West, spoke about Transformational Leadership: Allies in Action. At the Thrive Conference, we were also able to connect with some amazing talent and share the Recharge story. (More on the Thrive Conference in our next blog post!)
Our second partnership is with Santa Monica College. The college services nearly 30,000 people, made up of a diverse student body. We plan to partner with on-campus programs that support marginalized students, such as formerly incarcerated students and members of the Black and Hispanic/Latinx communities. This program is still being built, but our partnership will provide scholarship funding, support, and mentorship!
Looking ahead
These collaborations will be our first step in building long-lasting relationships with nonprofit organizations and individuals. Our hope is that we are able to take the experience from these initial partnerships to build a robust, repeatable mentorship program for underrepresented groups. Additionally, we intend to develop an internal mentorship program through the application of external learnings. And finally, these partnerships will create a diverse talent pipeline for future hiring.
Why this matters
Strategic partnerships provide access and opportunity. By funding scholarships and mentoring students directly, we’re expanding the talent pipeline. Marginalized individuals get support to overcome barriers, and we get a more diverse workforce and products that better reflect the ideas and needs of our society.
We believe in the power of human connections to drive change. That’s why our Recharge Cares program focuses on collaboration with purpose-driven organizations and engaging with communities directly, to provide resources and support. We’re committed to building long-lasting relationships and making a meaningful impact together. This is just the start of a new era of philanthropy for Recharge. We can’t wait to see the change we can inspire.
