IBM's On Demand Community program
In late 2003, IBM introduced a new initiative - the On Demand Community (ODC) - to encourage and sustain IBM’s philanthropy through volunteerism. ODC involves IBM's global workforce and retiree population, utilising the energy of employees in 160 countries to support their local communities. The ODC program arms employees with technology solutions, strategies and tutorials they can access online and share with the community organisations in which they volunteer.
IBM employees gain access to these resources by registering at the ODC site. This web site also enables employees to assess their skills, and complete online training to improve their volunteering abilities. For those employees new to volunteering, the ODC program provides a quick and easy means of working out how they can best serve the IBM-supported programs through our community engagement projects. Depending on how much time our volunteers have to give, the site offers solutions geared for those who wish to volunteer once a week or once a year.
For seasoned volunteers, the ODC program also supports employees' individual voluntary work by rewarding their volunteer time with corporate donations. When individuals or teams of IBM employees or retirees volunteer for a consecutive period of time, they can earn a cash or technology grant for their chosen charity through the ODC program.
By mid 2006 in Australia and New Zealand, IBM has over 1900 IBM employees and over 130 IBM retirees registered on our On Demand Community web site. Volunteers have completed and tracked over 100,000 hours of volunteer service in their local communities. Since the program began, IBM has made 53 Community Grants of IBM technology and cash to not for profit organisations and schools where IBM employees and retirees have volunteered significant amounts of their time and expertise. |
