A Culture of Giving Back: Articulate’s First Impact Campaign

At Articulate, our commitment to creating a positive impact goes beyond the e-learning tools we design for our customers. We believe our work is a force for good—not only for learners and educators—but also for the communities where we live and work. 

This year, we brought that spirit to life through our first-ever Employee Impact Campaign—an initiative that demonstrated the power of collective action, generosity, and connection.

Why launch an impact campaign?

This campaign aimed to achieve three key goals:

• Raise awareness of our social impact initiatives.
• Strengthen connections among employees through fun, purpose-driven activities.
• Create meaningful impact by maximizing participation and giving back as a team.

It was also a great way to close out the year with a sense of purpose and gratitude amidst the busy routine.

How the impact campaign came to life

Our campaign kicked off three weeks before Giving Tuesday, with a flurry of activity that culminated in a high-energy, three-day main event. We grouped employees into teams and created Slack channels for each group to foster friendly competition and collaboration. 

Here’s a closer look at the initiatives and activities that brought our employees together:

• Cash for Change: A beloved Articulate tradition since 2021, Cash for Change allows employees to nominate nonprofits close to their hearts for a chance to receive corporate donations. 
• Donation matching: Employees who used our donation-matching benefit during the four-week-long campaign collectively contributed more than $27,000 to almost 350 different organizations. Their generosity extended to everything from local shelters to international aid groups. 
• PC recycling initiative: employees donated unused tech equipment through a partnership with PCs for People. The donations will either be refurbished and distributed to underserved communities or recycled. This effort aligns with Articulate’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and digital equity.
• Daily challenges: Over the course of the campaign, we encouraged employees to share more about the organizations they were supporting, recent good deeds they’d done, their favorite feel-good songs, and notes of gratitude for a colleague or team. These small acts sparked many uplifting conversations and connections across teams.

A tradition of giving

Since its introduction in 2021, the Cash for Change initiative has become an integral part of Articulate’s culture of giving back. Each year, employees nominate nonprofits they’re passionate about, and the top vote-getters receive grants from the organization.

This year, we received 77 nonprofit nominations from our employees—the highest ever. Our employees then cast their votes to allocate six $25,000 grants, for a total of $150,000. We’re proud that our 2024 recipients reflect a diverse range of causes:

• Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): MSF is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that provides emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters, and exclusion from health care, regardless of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation.
• Human Rights Foundation: Dedicated to protecting human rights and civil liberties in closed societies, HRF supports human rights advocates and promotes democracy in the places where it is most at risk.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness: NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMI provides advocacy, education, support, and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives.
• Peace at Home Family Shelter: This nonprofit offers critical support to survivors of domestic violence, including emergency shelter, counseling, and advocacy, helping them rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.
• The Trevor Project: The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) young people.
• Woodstock Farm Sanctuary: This sanctuary protects farmed animals from abuse and neglect through rescue, education, and advocacy.

The results: Raising the bar on giving and engagement

We were blown away by our employees’ enthusiasm for this pilot campaign: 

• Overall, more than two-thirds of employees engaged in the impact campaign—surpassing typical U.S. workplace engagement levels, which, according to Gallup, hover around 30 percent.
• Cash for Change saw the highest levels of engagement ever since the inception of the program, with a 145 percent increase in participation since 2023.
• Matching donations jumped from 9 percent in 2023 to 27 percent in 2024—more than doubling the average 10 percent participation rate typically seen in employer-sponsored giving programs, according to research by America’s Charities.

Perspectives from participants

While the engagement metrics are exciting, the feedback from our employees truly underscores the campaign’s impact. More than 90 percent of survey respondents said they had a highly positive experience, gained more awareness around Articulate’s company’s social impact initiatives, and are ready for the 2025 Impact Campaign. 

Even new employees who had just started within the last few weeks mentioned how this was an “awesome way” to start at Articulate. Of course, the campaign motivated many folks to take action—whether it was donating, sharing more about themselves, or simply spreading kindness.

Articulate is walking the walk 

Ultimately, this campaign wasn’t just about dollars donated or activities completed—it was a reflection of what’s possible when a company aligns values with actions. It’s easy to talk about building a culture of purpose and giving back. It’s harder to create moments that make it tangible, where people feel connected to each other and to the communities around them.

Of course, campaigns like these don’t solve every problem or even achieve instant impact. The true measure of success will be in how we build on this momentum—continuing to push boundaries, challenge ourselves, and inspire others to do the same. 

If this campaign has inspired you, we encourage you to find your own ways to give back. Whether it’s volunteering, donating, or simply spreading kindness, every act makes a difference.