Six Years Into Cisco's Housing Commitment: Where Are We Now?
By Erin Connor
In 2018, Cisco made a historic pledge and bold commitment to address homelessness in Santa Clara County. We committed $50 million in grant funding over five years – the largest corporate donation of its kind at the time – with the aim to:
- Make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in Santa Clara County
- Develop a model that could be replicated outside of Silicon Valley, and
- Encourage other companies to step up and join us in combating homelessness
Fast forward to 2024. What has been accomplished?
Cisco’s six-year housing journey by the numbers (full article)
Interactive Story Map
Check out the interactive story map showcasing all the great progress made in addressing homelessness across Santa Clara County and beyond. Dive deep into our work with Destination: Home, Covenant House, Habitat for Humanity, Westhab, LifeMoves, and others. Find out how we’re deepening and scaling our impact, and how you can help.
$50 Million Commitment
In 2018, Cisco made a historic pledge and bold commitment to address homelessness in Santa Clara County. We committed $50 million in grant funding over five years – the largest corporate donation of its kind at the time – with the aim to:
1) Make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring in Santa Clara County
2) Develop a model that could be replicated outside of Silicon Valley
3) Encourage other companies to step up and join us in combating homelessness
In the last six years, we have far exceeded our original commitment and geographic scope - investing over $130 million to address housing and homelessness around the world.
Addressing homelessness in Santa Clara County
Cisco's funding focused in three areas:
1. Accelerating the development of supportive and extremely low-income housing.
- Cisco's flexible, private funding was used alongside public funding designated for affordable housing (Measure A Housing Bond), which allowed us to move faster and create more housing than any one of us would have done otherwise. Cisco’s funding has leveraged over $1.5B of other funding to support the development of over 3,380 new homes across 35 developments in Santa Clara County.
2. Homelessness Prevention
Cisco supported the pilot and scale of a county-wide program to prevent episodes of homelessness and maintain housing stability for at-risk residents. The program focuses on the highest risk individuals and families, providing a range of support to prevent homelessness. The early-stage philanthropic capital allowed Destination: Home and its nonprofit partners to test and refine the model, measure results and prove the impact of this approach, which has paved the way for increased investments and support from the public sector to scale and sustain the program long-term. This month, the homelessness prevention program will be fully adopted and managed by the County of Santa Clara and will be part of the ongoing services available to all residents at risk of homelessness in Santa Clara County.
3. Technology Optimization
Cisco’s funding also focused on closing the digital divide by increasing equity and access to connectivity for those receiving services. This has included:
- Creating and launching a client-facing information management portal called MyConnectSV, which allows those experiencing homelessness to have greater access to their own information.
- Installing in-home Wi-Fi access at supportive housing sites across Santa Clara County, to ensure access to vital information and resources. Erika’s story is just one example.
- Launch of the TECHquity Fund, which provides small grants for nonprofit partners and individuals in need to procure the technology tools necessary to access resources, build capacity and fully participate in the digital economy.
Cisco…has demonstrated how a corporation can leverage both its financial and human resources to have a truly catalytic impact. Private sector leadership is critical, and Cisco’s transformational partnership has allowed us to move from scarcity to abundance, an exceedingly rare perspective when it comes to homelessness.
Jennifer Loving, CEO of Destination: Home
Creating a model that can be replicated outside of Silicon Valley
While Cisco can’t make the same size commitments in every community, our hope was that we could create a model that could be used by others looking to launch similar efforts in their area. In late 2021, we published a Practical Guide highlighting the partnership, key learnings, elements of success, and a blueprint for replication.
Cisco and Destination: Home are now part of a national effort underway to replicate our Homelessness Prevention model and public-private partnership with the federal government, with an aim to replicate in 10 cities/jurisdictions across the United States in the next year.
Encourage others to join the effort
Cisco’s commitment in March 2018 came with an urging from CEO Chuck Robbins for other companies to step in and help. Over the following two years, we saw scores of tech companies and leaders announce massive commitments to housing and homelessness.
What we didn’t anticipate? That this challenge would create a movement within Cisco, inspiring and mobilizing employees around the world to get involved.
Erin Connor, Director of Social Impact and Cisco Crisis Response
The last six years have shown us the power of leadership speaking out and taking a stand on this issue. This not only catalyzed a slew of commitments from the tech sector, but empowered employees across Cisco and beyond Silicon Valley to get involved. We have seen a groundswell of employee-driven initiatives, supporting those experiencing homelessness and the organizations serving them – from pro bono engagements to annual Sleep Outs, hosting events to pack household items or hygiene kits, mentoring unhoused youth or volunteering with move-ins.
Covenant House
Cisco’s partnership with Covenant House is an example of an employee-driven, grassroots movement that continues to expand and deepen. Their annual Sleep Out experience and flagship fundraiser has provided a way for Cisco employees to engage in cities across Canada, Latin America and the United States.
The deep engagement has led to $3.85 million in additional grant funding from Cisco for Covenant House sites; $3.4M in product grants to Covenant Houses across the US, and employees serving on Covenant House boards, volunteering as mentors, advising on network design and technology needs, as well as introducing Networking Academy courses to Covenant House youth in 10 sites.
Time and time again, Cisco has stepped up for Covenant House to help provide access to safe and long-term housing opportunities for youth facing homelessness. There is a tremendous need and opportunity to help young people out of homelessness and into employment and supported by a community that really cares about them, and I know we can count on Cisco to be with us every step of the way.
Bill Bedrossian, President and CEO Covenant House International
Habitat for Humanity
Cisco employees around the world continue to organize builds, volunteer their time and unlock Cisco donations and matching gifts to support families served by Habitat for Humanity around the world.
Comunità di Sant'Egidio
Cisco leadership in Italy championed a replication program in Rome, committing $1M over five years to pilot a Housing First program in Rome with nonprofit partners Comunità di Sant'Egidio and fio.PSD. In 2024, Cisco Foundation awarded a follow-on grant to support replicating this program in Milan and Naples.
Product Donations
Cisco has been able to engage not just with funding and volunteering, but with our own technology. Access to secure connectivity is vital – and Cisco has prioritized support for nonprofit organizations supporting those facing homelessness, as well as connectivity for those accessing services and housing.
Westhab
Since 2020, Cisco has partnered with Westhab to provide technical guidance and donations of nearly $3M in Cisco equipment to equip 11 sites across the New York area, ranging from shelters to supportive and affordable housing developments for low-income and formerly unhoused residents. The equipment has provided Wi-Fi for over 2,000 residents, and more robust security and networking systems for Westhab staff to better manage their workload and support the residents. The Cisco in-kind donations have also allowed Westhab to unlock public funding to support installation costs.
LifeMoves
For over two years, a group of networking engineers have volunteered with LifeMoves to help envision and implement the ways Cisco technology could improve their operations and the services they provide. The engagement has resulted in $2M+ of product donations to support LifeMoves offices and housing sites.
Our partnership with Cisco has been transformative. The Cisco team went above and beyond traditional volunteerism, taking the time to truly understand our toughest challenges and co-creating solutions that empower our clients on their journey out of homelessness and the efficiency of our staff.
Paul Simpson, CFO of LifeMoves
Haven
Cisco employees came together in 2022 to form the “Homelessness Action Volunteering Education Network”, or Haven, an employee resource group focused on raising awareness, educating our employee communities, fundraising and volunteering to drive action on behalf of the unhoused and vulnerable in our own communities and around the world.
In the last six years, Cisco has invested $130+ million dollars - over $110 million in cash and product donations – to address housing and homelessness around the world.
Erin Connor, Director of Social Impact and Cisco Crisis Response
What's Next?
We know this work is hard. We are facing a worsening homelessness crisis across the United States and the world, as housing costs grow faster than wages and affordable housing development is not funded or prioritized. Stemming this tide takes unwavering commitment, collective action and deep partnerships.
We also know the solutions that work: increased housing production, supportive housing with wrap-around services, comprehensive homelessness prevention programs, and digital access and inclusion.
As we look at the next phase of Cisco’s support, we intend to apply these proven solutions to deepen, replicate and scale our impact around the world.
We will continue to invest in these partnerships and communities, leveraging the breadth of Cisco’s resources – our people, technology, financial resources, influence, job trainings and pathways – to power an inclusive future for all.
How Can You Help?
- Donate to housing and homelessness efforts or volunteer with homeless service organizations - click on the links below to explore Cisco's nonprofit partners
- Get involved locally and advocate in your community simply by visiting YIMBY Action
- Learn more!
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