Over the past decade, corporate philanthropy has shifted from a way to support local communities and build goodwill to a mechanism for driving systemic change. Today, it plays an instrumental role not just in how consumers view companies, but in how those companies deliver on their brand promise and demonstrate an ability to make the world better. This evolution comes at a time when the corporate world’s greatest asset—and its greatest challenge—is people. 

We have seen the Great Resignation of 2021 spread to countries around the world, creating millions of unfilled positions for thousands of companies. Recruiting and retaining workers is the top priority for employers. And as workers increasingly expect their employer to deliver a positive social impact, corporate philanthropy’s role in demonstrating a company’s values has perhaps never been more important. 

As our work in 2021 showed, the Cognizant Foundation has embraced this approach to corporate philanthropy, investing in solutions that change policies, change systems and change lives. We do that by supporting organizations that provide access to technology training and pathways to economic mobility. Developing equitable opportunities for economic mobility requires rethinking the pipelines, pathways and systems that have long funneled talent to employers.

To that end, the Cognizant Foundation spent the past year supporting organizations working to expand access to industry-aligned education and job training and to advance opportunities for economic mobility. We concentrated our efforts in five countries: the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Germany.

Through partnerships with 35 organizations in 2021, we estimate that the foundation impacted nearly 1.45 million people from historically excluded, underrepresented, underserved or underemployed populations. Those efforts include giving more people the tech and digital skills they need to meet the demands of the future.

Over the next year, the Cognizant Foundation will continue to invest in this challenging but vital work, guided by our belief that the technology sector must help shape the transformation. That is why we began 2022 just as we did in 2021—determined to shore up our PK-12 pipelines to careers in technology; support clearer pathways for creating a highly skilled, nimble workforce; and rebuild the sector’s education and training systems to match 21st- century demands. 

The foundation’s successes over the past year are fueling our commitment to making economic mobility a reality for every opportunity seeker. Download our full Impact Report below to read more.