Akamai Foundation: Our Values in Action in 2022
As an Akamai Foundation board member, and head of our EMEA region, I take part in and witness firsthand the impact of our community work. I also wholeheartedly believe that an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy is a vital part of building and maintaining a strong organisational culture.
Whether we are connecting with Stemettes in the United Kingdom, Rocket Girls in Costa Rica, Akshara Foundation in India, or NPower in the United States, our partnerships become an extension of our shared passion for creating a diverse and inclusive tech ecosystem.
You can read about this work in our recently released 2022 ESG Impact Report, which reflects on the year we’ve had and showcases some key highlights as we continue to empower those in the communities where we live and work and make life better for billions of people, billions of times a day.
2022: A year of growth and impact
In 2022, we continued to support Akamai employees during times of unexpected hardship with the Akamai Compassion Fund. We also increased the number of grants awarded in partnership with our employee resource groups; and launched our new Empower grant program, which focuses on completing the pipeline from education to tech employment for currently underrepresented populations in the field. In its first year, the program distributed US$1 million in funding to 11 organisations that are supporting that pipeline.
In addition to these and other ongoing efforts to support early learners in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, the Akamai Foundation awarded grants to aid disaster relief efforts and strengthen community networks around the globe.
The Akamai Foundation was incredibly proud to stand in support of the Ukrainian people by providing humanitarian aid, an employee matching gift campaign, and STEM education grants. We were also heartened by the numerous acts of kindness and compassion shown worldwide and especially by our Akamai community located in Poland.
Caring for one another and our communities
As always, the heartbeat of all of our efforts is Akamai’s global community of employees. From volunteering their own time and expertise to selecting which organisations received grant support through our nine employee resource groups and coming together to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, our employees drive our philanthropic mission and bring our values to life.
Together, we logged more than 5,164 volunteer hours last year via individual volunteer efforts and Danny Lewin Community Care Days events.
Looking ahead
Although the annual report looks back on the incredible work we accomplished in 2022, we have even more to look forward to this year as the Akamai Foundation celebrates the fifth anniversary of its global STEM education grant program. We will share more details for the fifth anniversary celebration over the coming months.
We're energised by the impact we will make over the next year and we hope you enjoyed what we accomplished together in 2022.
