COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
RESPONDING TO COVID-19
One of the things COVID-19 didn’t shut down is our employees’ generous spirit of giving back and helping those most in need.
Our Global Volunteering Group transitioned our twice yearly volunteer weeks to virtual format, and worked hard to find new and safe ways to support causes that were directly addressing the fallout from the pandemic. We had to get inventive about remote volunteering, and got our families and roommates involved too - picking up litter around Dublin; baking sweets for a seniors home in Bogotá; checking in on elderly neighbors quarantining alone in Tel Aviv; and helping out at food banks in Boston.
And during the 2020 holiday season, each of our global offices partnered with a local organization to provide holiday help for residents in need. Offices chose a number of initiatives including filling backpacks with necessities and gifts for homeless youth in Boston; sponsoring families and providing them with kitchenware, toiletries, and gifts in Toronto; adopting a school and purchased gifts for over 100 low-income students in Beijing; purchasing personal holiday gifts for youth victims of crime in London; and sponsoring relief boxes for over 30 families in Seoul.
employees donated
employee-directed donations
We introduced Benevity gift-matching back in 2018 to complement the giving spirit of HarbourVest individuals and to support the causes that matter to them. In the face of the pandemic, we felt compelled to rise to the occasion as a firm, and in May 2020 we made our first corporate donation of $2.2 million, personally funded by our managing directors. This was donated to more than 40 charities across our regional locations focused on alleviating COVID-driven food insecurity.
Each employee was also allocated $250 through our donation and matching platform, Benevity, to donate to causes that are important to them. It was important to the firm that every HarbourVest employee was able to take part in the relief effort and ensure that the organizations close to their hearts received a boost during these unprecedented times.
As a team, we were all moved by the Managing Directors generosity, and global employees came together to not only step up their personal donations, but also to surprise the Managing Director’s with a heartfelt Thank You video, sharing what the firm’s donation meant to them. All in all, HarbourVest and its employees donated more than $2.4 million to over 600 organizations, a new firm record for staff donations and firm matching in 2020.
global charities
received COVID-relief fund donations
unique global causes
receieved HarbourVest employee portions of the COVID-relief fund
“It was a challenging year, but the commitment to giving back was so inspiring for our team, who once again went above and beyond to give back to their local communities, even as they were facing daily uncertainties in their own lives. It has meant a lot to our firm that we can contribute, and we will never forget this experience.”
-Katherine McCord
Global Volunteering Group
GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTED