Giving the Gift of Giving Back

Every year, Yahoo!’s founders, David Filo and Jerry Yang, reach into their own pockets to buy gifts for all the Yahoos around the globe. In 2008, each employee was given $50 to donate to any one of the millions of charities under four partner organizations: Network for Good, DonorsChoose, GlobalGiving and Yahoo! Employee Foundation India/Parikrma). Employees were invited to share their donation stories on a special internal microsite to inspire others or rally group impact.

The inspiration for this idea came when some employees asked if they could forego the 2005 holiday gift and donate the cash to Hurricane Katrina victims instead. It was too late by then—thousands of jackets were already on order—but it got David and Jerry thinking.

Well over a million dollars later, Yahoos around the world are all about re-gifting.