Release: Twilio.org Impact Fund

Twilio, (NYSE: TWLO), the leading cloud communications platform for developers, today announced that as a part of the company’s pledge to commit 1% of its equity to further social impact programs, it has awarded one million dollars in grants to eight nonprofits.The grants are awarded to organizations who are using innovative communications strategies to remove the friction for the people who participate in their programs and have demonstrated the potential to scale further through technology. To learn more about Twilio’s social impact program visit, www.Twilio.org.

“Whether it’s the message that reminds an at risk woman to get screened for cancer or the call that connects someone with their lawmaker, we have seen firsthand the impact the right communication at the right time creates,” said Erin Reilly, Vice President of Social Impact at Twilio. “We are honored to play a role in helping these eight organizations scale their impact even further.”

Recipients of Twilio.org Impact Fund grants include:

CareMessage is a nonprofit organization using mobile technology to make underserved populations healthier. Healthcare organizations use CareMessage to remind, inform and educate over 1 million patients about primary care appointments, preventive care screenings, and disease self-management. CareMessage plans to use funds from the Twilio.org Impact Fund to expand its go to market model using mobile messaging and voice to reach over 3 million people.

The OpenGov Foundation makes it easier for citizens to see, shape and understand their government while helping elected officials meaningfully engage at scale with their constituents. In partnership with legislatures across America, The OGF builds open-source tools that power inclusive, effective and digital democracy. They are currently leading bipartisan efforts to create a Congressional Digital Service modeled on President Obama's pioneering digital services teams.

Mission Asset Fund is a nonprofit that seeks to offer financial stability to low income families by facilitating zero-interest lending and credit building. Mission Asset Fund will use these funds to maximize client engagement via SMS and increase the number of families they lend to.

Fast Forward provides funding, training, mentorship, resources and community for tech-based nonprofits. Twilio.org’s funding will support the Fast Forward Accelerator program, which equips entrepreneurs with the capital, curriculum and connections needed to scale their tech solutions to global social issues.

Democracy Works is a nonpartisan nonprofit committed to improving the voting experience for voters and election officials by upgrading our democracy’s communication infrastructure. Democracy Works uses messaging to remind voters about election dates and registration information so that no one misses the opportunity to cast a ballot.

Trek Medics is dedicated to improving emergency medical systems in communities without reliable access to emergency care. Trek Medics plans to use the grant to expand its Beacon platform to make it easier for its partners to design, test, launch and manage emergency dispatching systems in over 50 countries.

Lesbians Who Tech is a global community of 25,000 queer women and allies in the technology industry who are committed to increasing the number of women and queer women in leadership positions. With this grant, Lesbians Who Tech will provide 50 scholarships to gender nonconforming and LGBTQ women to learn how to code and connect to professional opportunities that will kickstart their careers.

#YesWeCode is a national initiative committed to helping 100,000 young women and men from underrepresented backgrounds find success in the tech sector. Twilio.org will support a national job training pilot that recruits underrepresented minorities to participate in coding bootcamps and then places them in 9-12 month apprenticeships with tech employers.

Twilio.org provides grants to nonprofits as well as investments to social enterprises. Twilio.org plans to award an additional one million dollars in impact funds by the end of the calendar year.

Financially supporting the institutions that strive for equity, equality, and a better future isn’t enough. Twilio.org has also partnered with impact venture firms including Omidyar Network, Kapor Capital and Village Capital, venture philanthropy firm, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Fast Forward Accelerator and the Foundation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

For more information on the Twilio.org Impact Fund, visit twilio.org/twilio-org-impact-fund.

Source: Twilio