Communities and Giving

Accenture Development Partnerships is a group within Accenture that provides strategic advice and technical and project management support to nonprofit organizations, nongovernmental organizations, foundations and donor organizations operating in the development sector. We help these organizations achieve their social and economic development goals. Accenture employees who volunteer and are chosen for this program accept a salary reduction while serving on assignments ranging from three to six months, primarily in developing countries.

Accenture offices in 16 countries participate in the VSO Business Partnership program. Here, Accenture people have the opportunity to take a leave of absence to volunteer their time and skills to work, often at the grassroots level, as an employee of a development organization.

Since its inception, Accenture and its people have demonstrated generosity and compassion for individuals and communities in need and have partnered with relief agencies not only in the immediate aftermath of humanitarian disasters, but also in longer-term reconstruction efforts.

We pledge our support to rebuilding efforts and to helping our employees direct their contributions to appropriate organizations and relief funds as well as provide pro bono services, cash grants and skills volunteering on a regular and ongoing basis.

Further, as part of our Skills to Succeed focus, we look for opportunities where we can help make a sustainable difference to the long-term economic vitality and resilience of individuals, families and communities around the world.

Recent examples of our disaster relief efforts include the following:

• In the wake of the earthquake and tsunami devastating Japan in March 2011, Accenture mobilized an employee giving campaign, directing more than US$700,000 in donations toward the Japanese Red Cross Society Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Relief fund.

   

• Following the series of floods that hit Queensland in December 2010, Accenture facilitated multi-country employee giving toward the Australian Red Cross campaign, and mobilized local employee volunteering initiatives to assist with the cleanup at the local level. Accenture people who were impacted by this disaster benefited from the assistance of colleagues who volunteered their time to help.

   

• After the earthquake that struck Chile in February 2010, Accenture people responded with compassion and generosity. The Chilean government urged that contributions be made to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), an organization with which Accenture has a long-standing relationship. Accenture people made personal contributions to the relief efforts via the IFRC website. Accenture Chile also made a significant contribution and employees collected supplies, such as diapers and hygienic kits, in response to a public call for such items by the Chilean Red Cross.

   

In addition, Accenture and the Accenture Foundations provide support to the NetHope Academy in Haiti, which graduated its first class in March 2011. The Academy provides computer science graduates with internships and on-the-job information technology (IT) skills so they can find work in the IT sector. In September 2011 Accenture and NetHope announced the expansion of this program, which will help train 1,000 interns in three years.