Drift Launches Charitable Fund to Support the Workforce of the Future

Drift Launches Charitable Fund to Support the Workforce of the Future

Conversational Marketing Leader Commits to Enhance Educational Programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

BOSTON, MA – June 13, 2019 – Drift, the world’s leading conversational marketing platform, today announced the Drift Charitable Fund. Through the fund, the company will support technology education initiatives to help prepare the workforce of tomorrow.

For the inaugural year of the Drift Charitable Fund, Drift will support:

• Hack.Diversity, which tackles the underrepresentation of high-skilled minority employees in Boston’s innovation economy. A division of the New England Venture Capital Association, Hack.Diversity recruits Black and Latino computer science and engineering students into the city’s fastest-growing companies — training, coaching and mentoring both employer and employee throughout the experience.
  
• BUILD which uses entrepreneurship to ignite the potential of youth from under-resourced communities and propel them to high school, college and career success.
  
• Building Impact, which partners with civic leaders, business leaders and nonprofit leaders in addressing complex social issues through volunteering.
  
• Silicon Valley Education Foundation, the largest education nonprofit in Silicon Valley that champions education solutions that inspire underserved students to succeed in college and careers.
  
• Wallbreakers, a solution to connect talented students from underrepresented backgrounds with companies hungry for talent and looking to build inclusive teams to serve a global marketplace.
  

In addition, Drift hosts weekly workouts with InnerCity Weightlifting, which reduces youth violence by connecting proven risk youth with new networks and opportunities, and is also participating in the Mayor’s Summer Jobs program.

“It has been proven time and time again that culture, diversity and inclusion are key ingredients to a successful company,” said David Cancel, founder and CEO of Drift. “We have been focused on building a diverse company since day one so that we can better serve our customers and make a difference in the community. That’s why we’re thrilled to launch the Drift Charitable Fund. Not only will it give us access to an untapped pipeline of highly-skilled people, it also allows us to play a part in the workforce of the future.”  

“Hack.Diversity is focused on connecting the city’s fastest growing companies with high-skilled Black and Latino Software Engineers and IT professionals,” said Jody Rose, co-founder of Hack.Diversity. “Drift plays a critical role in the success of our program, making it possible for Hack.Diversity Fellows to gain access to resources, training and internship opportunities that eventually lead to full time employment. Drift’s partnership with Hack.Diversity demonstrates their commitment towards fortifying a future of work saturated with diverse talent that will drive innovation forward.”

“Strengthening our approach to pipeline development is critical to fostering a more inclusive and sustainable Boston business economy,” said John F. Barros, Chief of Economic Development, City of Boston. “We are pleased to see how Drift is giving back to the community, and as it continues to expand its footprint in Boston, the Walsh administration looks forward to collaborating on future workforce development opportunities.”

For more information about the Drift Charitable Fund, contact Brendan Toohey at btoohey@drift.com.

About Drift

Drift is the new way businesses buy from businesses. With its quickly evolving set of tools and playbooks, Drift is the world’s leading conversational marketing platform, trusted by top enterprise businesses like Ellie Mae, GrubHub, InVision, Marketo, MongoDB, Okta, Outreach, Eventbrite, Vidyard, and over 50,000+ other businesses. Sales and marketing teams rely on Drift to connect now with the customers who are ready to buy now. Based in Boston, Drift was founded by serial marketing technology entrepreneurs David Cancel and Elias Torres and is backed by leading venture capitalists including CRV, General Catalyst, and Sequoia. Learn more at www.drift.com.