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Friday, November 21, 2008
Tech Citizenship
Ipswitch sees ROI from giving
By Mass High Tech Staff
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For Roger Greene, CEO and founder of Lexington’s Ipswitch Inc., deciding where to focus his company’s charity efforts is much like making any other business decision. Just like deciding on, say, a business partnership, Greene says he looks for “high-impact, low-cost organizations where each dollar makes a big difference.”
As in the business world, return on investment is key for Greene. And one of the ways he feels he can have the biggest impact is by placing a large part of the company’s efforts on children-focused charities. Among those are Boston Children’s Chorus, Cambridge Family/Children Services, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Boston, the Rodman Ride for Kids and Year Up.
But while the company has a focus on children in its charitable activities, it doesn’t force that focus on its employees, when they decide to look for matching company dollars for their donations.
“We leave that up to employees. We don’t want to force people to participate,” Greene said. “We make them aware of what we are doing and hope they’ll want to get involved.”
Ultimately, the payback for the employees and Ipswitch itself is both the personal growth and the company’s growth that comes from giving back.
“It makes us a stronger company. We attract and retain smart people who like our culture,” Greene said. In addition, he acknowledges the rarely spoken benefit — good public relations — that results from such charitable activity. “It gives customers a good feeling about doing business with us.”
Citizenship Facts
Ipswitch Inc.
Total cash contributions in New England in 2007: $320,000
Number of volunteer hours in New England in 2007: More than 300
In-kind contributions of equipment and services in New England in 2007: $15,000
Principal recipients of charitable activities in 2007: Autism Speaks; Alzheimer’s Association; American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay; Avon Breast Cancer Walk; Big Brother/Big Sister; Boston Children’s Chorus; Cam Neely Foundation; Cambridge Family/Children Services; CARE; Charles River Public Internet Access Center; Habitat for Humanity; Jimmy Fund - Pan Mass Challenge; Year Up; Youth Tech Entrepreneurs.
Interesting philanthropic activities: After taking on a Year Up apprentice, Ipswitch was so impressed, the company hired him after he graduated.
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