What we do

Austin Gives is all about recognition and celebration of business philanthropy. Our goal is for Austin to become the most philanthropic city, from business giving, in the world.

We all know how important business philanthropy is to the well-being and social sustainability of our community. Austin-based businesses have a long standing history of giving back, often with little or no public recognition. Austin Gives: Businesses Giving Back is committed to changing this lack of attention and to increasing the level of charitable contributions made to the community by local businesses.

We invite businesses who donate 1% or more of their pre-tax earnings to philanthropy to sign the Austin Gives pledge, setting an example for existing and new businesses making our city their home. Austin Gives will then publically recognize these businesses through traditional media, social media, website listing, an annual community celebration event, and other means. Special thanks to the Austin American Statesman and KEYE TV for joining us as our ongoing media partner.

The first community celebration event was held on February 26, 2013 with Roy Spence, Co-Founder and Chairman, GSD&M/Co-Founder and CEO, The Purpose Institute, as the keynote speaker (see video here). Judy Maggio, KEYE News Anchor, was the emcee and Mayor Lee Leffingwell spoke about the importance of business philanthropy to Austin. All businesses meeting the 1% threshold of the Austin Gives program were honored and three GeneroCity Awards were given to small, mid-sized, and large exemplary business philanthropists. Click here for more information about our awards process and the winners.

Austin Gives is also committed to help businesses better understand philanthropy — its importance, its impact, how it is done best. To that end, look for information about periodic workshops on giving back in our eNewsletter (click here to sign up to receive) and for philanthropy tools coming soon to the Resources section of this website.