Symantec Gives Back

Symantec gives a lot back to the nonprofit and library community through their donation program here at TechSoup — See what organizations like yours are saying about their donated Symantec products. Symantec also has an abundance of other corporate social responsibility efforts going on as well. As a company, they works to have a positive impact on the local communities around the world where it has offices.

Matching Gifts, Dollars for Doers, and Nonprofit Board Service

Symantec offers a generous Matching Gift Program  — up to $1,000 per employee per year  — and also rewards sustained volunteerism by making a contribution to organizations where employees volunteer their time through their Dollars for Doers Program. Many of us have worked at companies that offer a small form of gift matching, but Symantec's efforts to promote volunteerism push that to an even higher tier.

They donate $15 for every hour of volunteer service that an employee contributes to a nonprofit, up to $1,000 a year, doing for employee volunteers what their matching program does for employee philanthropists. They also use this to encourage employees taking part in nonprofit boards of directors  — employees serving on a nonprofit's board of directors can receive their annual Dollars for Doers maximum in one lump sum without accounting for individual hours. 

Symantec Supports Women in Technology

Women are underrepresented in the field of technology, and it’s a global problem. In some parts of the world, enrollment of women in computer science programs is even declining. To help, Symantec has sponsored programs aimed at getting more women into and interested in science, computers, and engineering.

Symantec has made corporate grants to the National Center for Women & Information Technology and Vital Voices. NCWIT is an organization working to improve diversity across the entire academic and corporate spectrum.

Vital Voices identifies, invests in, and brings visibility to working women around the world. Symantec’s grant is applied toward their Global Partnership Businesswomen’s Network in the Middle East and North Africa. This program aims to expand the number of women in business and promote a regional culture of women’s entrepreneurship.

Another way they’re helping is through the internal Symantec Women's Action Network (SWAN) — which has eleven chapters and 1,350 members — and is designed to attract talented women and support their careers at Symantec. Learn more about Symantec’s programs in promoting women in technology, gender equality, and diversity in hiring and promoting.

Employee Engagement and Giving

Symantec doesn’t just give back as a company — their employees are also a big part of their worldwide philanthropy. Last year, Symantec employees donated $650,000 to nonprofits and libraries in their local communities, as well as 19,000 hours of volunteering.

In Alexandria and Herndon, Virginia, Symantec employees, together with Team Business, Girls in Technology, and the Women in Technology Education Foundation, organized and facilitated a business simulation for young women to highlight the impact of technology on business and help them build leadership and communication skills.

In Lindon, Utah, 50 employee volunteers planted trees that Symantec donated to TreeUtah using its local Community Outreach funds. The trees were planted around parking lots owned by the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in order to cool the parking lots (which become mini "heat islands.") The trees reduce the temperature of the asphalt by up to 36 degrees, and temperatures inside parked cars by up to 47 degrees.

Corporate Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector

Last year, Symantec gave more than $22 million in cash and donated software to schools, nonprofit organizations, and local communities. Education received approximately 50 percent of Symantec’s dollars.

Over the next three years, Symantec is investing $900,000 in Room to Read, an international nonprofit dedicated to promoting literacy and gender equality in the developing world. Their support will help Room to Read extend its operations into new parts of India and reach over 20,000 children. They’re also strengthening their relationships with partners such as One Economy and Common Sense Media.

With security being at the center of what Symantec does, they also focus significant resources on educating parents, schools, and students about staying safe on the Internet. They have several programs to help raise awareness of Internet threats—such as online predators and cyber-bullying—among school administrators, teachers, librarians, and counselors. Read more about these efforts on Symantec’s Securing Information page.

To learn more about Symantec’s philanthropy, and to see some of the many programs that have benefited from Symantec grants, programs and partnerships, check out their corporate responsibility page. 

Want to hear more about the corporate social responsibility efforts of other TechSoup donor partners? See how SAP, Symantec, and B Corps like BetterWorld and Azavea are giving back.