Giving Tuesday Highlights Gen's Culture of Giving

By Kimberly Bishop

November was a busy month at Gen (formerly NortonLifeLock). In addition to announcing our new company name, and promoting employee giving as we approach the holiday season, we launched the Gen Giving Hub. This online platform, hosted by Benevity, provides employees with a seamless way to find volunteering, giving, and educational opportunities. To celebrate this launch, Gen gave each employee $50 in “seeding,” which can be donated to a charity of their choice. Since our mid-November launch, 57% of active users have already redeemed their seeding!

Even more exciting was the incredible employee generosity we witnessed last week on Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday, which was on November 29, 2022, was originally started 10 years ago at the 92nd Y in New York City, is a global movement dedicated to promoting radical philanthropy in all its forms. It has since grown into its own nonprofit that is successful in raising millions of dollars each year for charitable causes around the world.

Last year, the NortonLifeLock team raised more than $250,000 in just one day. This year, as Gen we more than doubled that! With an unprecedented employee match donation of 3:1, 694 Gen employees donated $140,910, resulting in $509,992 in total donations to 674 different causes.

Mohanakrishnan G, a Gen principal VoC analyst based in Chennai, India, set up a giving opportunity to pool donations from colleagues for Project WINGS. Project WINGS supports 70 orphaned children at the Chennai Good Life Centre by providing communications, computer, fitness, and other life and work skills training. In addition to donating, Mohanakrishnan also serves as a Project Wings mentor. He sees the alignment between Project WINGS and Gen’s goal to enable and motivate the next generation to become their best selves. Regarding the 3:1 donation match, Mohanakrishnan said, “That was a fantastic thing and encourages our employees to contribute towards a community or cause. I appreciate the efforts and want to thank the entire CR Team, my colleagues for donating to such a wonderful cause, and all the employees who contributed.”

Michal Trs has organized Movember, an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide, at Avast (now Gen) for about eight years. Having lost his mother to cancer at a young age, Michal is motivated to do what he can to prevent others from experiencing a similar loss. “I’m really grateful to the company leadership and our colleagues around the globe for supporting this fundraiser each year,” Michal said. Within the Czech Republic, Avast (now Gen) has been recognized by Nadační fond Muži proti rakovině (Men Against Cancer Foundation) as the most generous company team for several years running, and many employees look forward to the tradition each year. Erin Gallegos is one of those employees. She has helped to coordinate the annual internal campaign, which over the years has involved moustache stickers, posters, Zoom backgrounds, men’s health events and photo shoots to raise awareness and funds. “Movember is a fantastic and lighthearted way to get people talking about really difficult and personal subjects, and to raise money for underfunded causes. It was very supportive of Gen to provide a 3:1 match to support the cause,” Erin said.

In the U.S., Jess Monney, VP of Corporate Brand, Marketing & Communications, made Giving Tuesday a family affair. She chose to give to the Alzheimer’s Association, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and Folsom Zoo Sanctuary because the organizations are close to the hearts of her family members. Jess used these donations as early Christmas presents for her family, saying, “For me the holiday season is about looking back and forward. I donated to these causes because they inspire my family throughout the year. With three kids under four, we are at the Zoo most weekends and being able to donate to such local causes within my hometown felt so personal. The 3:1 match really maximized my impact and I was proud to share with my family members that a donation of that scale was made in their name.”

Giving Tuesday may have passed, but giving is always in season at Gen. In fact, we now call our corporate responsibility program Giving@Gen. Next up, we’ll be providing corporate grants as part of our holiday giving efforts focused on alleviating food insecurity. Several of the organizations we support through holiday giving, also received donations on Giving Tuesday.

We’re excited to continue to utilize the Gen Giving Hub to help enable our employees to support the causes that mean the most to them. I encourage you to get involved in your community! For ideas on donating, volunteering, and showing kindness throughout the year, visit GivingTuesday.org today.