Pledge 1%: Why did Rock Content decide to donate 1% of its shares to social impact initiatives?
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 6:17 am
Through the global organization Pledge 1% , the company is formalizing the reservation of 1% of its shares to support and finance social impact projects in the coming years. The first step was the approval of the Rock Content Board.
Our decision was inspired by global companies we admire like benefits of using our homeowner database Twilio, Crunchbase and Atlassian. In practice, what does this mean for society and the enterprise market?
In this article you will see:
A brief retrospective;
Equity Pledge Commitment;
What is a capital donation?
Why do we commit?
How do we make this commitment?
The impact of the Equity Pledge;
Our community;
The Rockers;
Our investors;
The future of social impact.
Read on to better understand our next big step in social impact!
A brief retrospective
Since 2019, Rock Content has been committed to generating a positive impact on our environment . To that end, we created Rock.org, a social impact initiative . Despite being a recent sector, the company's commitment to social impact has advanced significantly over the years.
According to our CEO of Rock Content, Diego Gomes , the commitment to give back to our communities has always been in the company's DNA.
“ We always care about creating opportunities for growth. It’s in our mission. We started with Digital Marketing education and created opportunities for our talents to make money while doing what they love. It has always been a driving force and today we have amazing stories of people who joined us in this dream and changed their lives: people who found their first job, or even managed to support their families and pay for their education. We want to continue on this path, making sure our commitment to impact is a key part of our legacy! ”
In terms of commitment to social impact, our first initiative was to engage our employees in the idea of being a force for good by donating 1% of their working time to give back.
This means that Rockers – as we call our employees – have the benefit of donating 1% of their time (3 days a year) within the company to internal or external volunteer actions.
Additionally, since the creation of Rock.org in 2019, we celebrate Volunteer Day annually to support institutions aligned with our education and employability causes.
Currently, our volunteer participation rate is 66% of our team.
In 2020 , we rediscovered our social impact mission: sharing knowledge to accelerate social transformation.
To that end, we began donating Rock University courses to socially and economically underrepresented groups—in this case, women, Black people, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Through this commitment, we have managed to impact more than 50,000 students from 2020 to June 2021. In this way, we are enabling countless people to become highly skilled professionals, and also bringing more diversity and inclusion to the labor market.
Now we want to go even further! Through the Pledge 1% initiative, Rock Content has committed to donating 1% of its share capital to impact actions.
Equity Pledge Commitment
What is a capital donation?
The Equity Pledge means setting aside 1% of our Rock Content equity (i.e. company shares) to invest in social impact.
This action demonstrates our long-term commitment to giving back and sustainably funding social impact work for years to come.
These are some of the global companies committed to the Pledge 1% initiative:
Twilio ;
Crunchbase ;
Atlassian .
Why do we commit?
We are increasingly looking to align growth with our purpose, and the Pledge 1% commitment represents the path Rock Content wants to take to achieve a positive impact on the world.
For Patricia Moraes, our advisor and investor and also founder of Unbox Capital, the decision taken by the Rock Content Board to support the Equity Pledge was a natural move within the way the company already operates. In this sense, the decision complemented a culture of giving back that already exists.
“ The Equity Pledge theme says a lot about this, as you create value in your own business, you distribute the value that is generated with others. It is part of the company culture. This passion has always been one of the pillars that most caught our attention in the case of Rock."
The Equity Pledge is one more way we reaffirm our values. With this initiative, we are leading by example, encouraging other companies to learn about initiatives such as the 1% Pledge and to truly commit to social impact.
How do we make this commitment?
Pledge 1% supported Rock Content throughout the capital donation process, providing materials, references and advice to help us make the best decision.
For those unfamiliar, Pledge 1% is a global movement to create a new normal, where giving back is in the DNA of businesses of all sizes and stages.
Its role is to inspire, educate and empower all businesses to be a force for good.
Rock Content Commitments:
1% of TIME : 1% of the profit from donating working time for internal or external volunteer activities;
1% of PRODUCT : donation of one of our products - paid courses from Rock University, our educational platform, for underrepresented and economically vulnerable groups;
1% OF SHARE CAPITAL : recent commitment to donate 1% of Rock Content shares.
The impact of the Equity Pledge
According to Diego, it is clear that customers, employees and the surrounding community are concerned about being connected to a company that wants to leave its “small footprint” on the world.
According to him, “ participating in the Equity Pledge means that we are committed to sharing the value created by Rock with causes we believe in (...) We think this is very important to ensure that our legacy of impact is preserved. Success for us is building an impactful company that projects itself in time beyond our generation! ”
Patricia Moraes also believes that this type of commitment is related to all of our stakeholders. She maintains that “ the way you invest reflects the impact you want to have on the world .”
We share the same thinking. Therefore, we want to show how the Equity Pledge positively impacts our stakeholders:
Our community
Once the donation has liquidity, for example in the case of an initial public offering or secondary stock sale, we will strategically make donations to non-profit organizations and projects around the world that share our mission , with a focus on education and employability.
In this way, we will have more resources to scale our impact, donating in a structured way to those who need quality education and better job opportunities.
To the Rockers
Diego Gomes points to Rockers as the main drivers of social impact within Rock Content.
“ The main people in charge are the Rockers, from the board to the front lines! They not only care about the impact, but they also act and build with a focus on leaving meaningful impacts for the communities around us! They are the ones who make it possible ,” says the CEO.
Regarding his role in this area, Diego is a facilitator: “ I am interested in creating a positive impact in the world and this is an important part of what we want for our legacy (...) My role as CEO of Rock is: To be an impact facilitator!"
Diego says that when he asks employees about Rock Content’s social impact, they all say that this approach is one of the main reasons they choose Rock as their workplace.
“ Rockers come to work more motivated, excited and proud of their work, of what we are building here. Wearing a Rock t-shirt today means ‘we care about making a difference, we care about our legacy.’ And because of that, we continue to deliver great business results. To me, this is the best of both worlds. Impact is a purpose-driven business and our commitment ensures that these things go hand in hand! ”
To our investors and market
The decision now means that our existing investors have that long-term mission and goal aligned with us. The commitment received a positive response from the board to go ahead, meaning that investors are fully engaged in the initiative.
Future investors will also share this point of view with us. This demonstrates how social impact is in our DNA at all levels and is a priority for us.
For Patricia, manager of Unbox Capital, all companies need to find their purpose and, from there , discover how to improve and promote a positive social impact . Due to the advisor's vision and experience, companies like Rock Content, which have cultural openness and a defined purpose, manage to retain more talent, win more clients and attract investors .
It is now part of the due diligence process of major investors to investigate companies' commitment and maturity with ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). “ All these governance, social and environmental issues are part of the company culture. It is the whole, not just one pillar .”
When the company has already found its purpose or is ready to pursue it, the role of investors and advisors will be to “ help the seed flourish ,” as Patricia illustrates. It is an opportunity to enable a new way of doing business with a commitment to social impact.
The future of social impact
While it's hard to imagine the ideal scenario for the best version of the world, steps like those taken by Rock Content indicate a major social transformation underway.
Diego believes that the commitment to equitable giving is an important step in ensuring that our impact initiatives grow in the future .
“ The impact we create now is tied to business growth. Capital commitment for us means that, in a liquidity event, in a future round or (most likely) in an IPO, we will have a significant amount of resources to continue funding these important initiatives! ”, details the CEO.
Furthermore, the commitment to impact over the next few years strengthens Rock Content's globalization strategy and culture . For Diego, commitments like this bring the company closer to people who think about impact in the same way we do.
Thus, we have a very positive formula as an organization, facing the market and society: more talent, more cultural alignment = more impact .
For director Patricia Moraes, there is no doubt that a naturalisation of social and ESG impact is taking place within the corporate market. And in the future, this will be even stronger. Therefore, there is a need for “ companies with soul ”, an expression she uses to define companies that have a purpose and a strong culture.
According to the advisor, one possible path for companies to follow is to “first look inside their own company, find the gaps that are important and that can change their level, and then implement actions that can transform the culture and the company.”
“Rock Content has always been very consistent in this, ever since it had Rock.org, as the company has been evolving within this awareness,” Patricia highlights.
With high and positive expectations for the future, Gabriela Crego, social impact leader at Rock Content, says:
Our decision was inspired by global companies we admire like benefits of using our homeowner database Twilio, Crunchbase and Atlassian. In practice, what does this mean for society and the enterprise market?
In this article you will see:
A brief retrospective;
Equity Pledge Commitment;
What is a capital donation?
Why do we commit?
How do we make this commitment?
The impact of the Equity Pledge;
Our community;
The Rockers;
Our investors;
The future of social impact.
Read on to better understand our next big step in social impact!
A brief retrospective
Since 2019, Rock Content has been committed to generating a positive impact on our environment . To that end, we created Rock.org, a social impact initiative . Despite being a recent sector, the company's commitment to social impact has advanced significantly over the years.
According to our CEO of Rock Content, Diego Gomes , the commitment to give back to our communities has always been in the company's DNA.
“ We always care about creating opportunities for growth. It’s in our mission. We started with Digital Marketing education and created opportunities for our talents to make money while doing what they love. It has always been a driving force and today we have amazing stories of people who joined us in this dream and changed their lives: people who found their first job, or even managed to support their families and pay for their education. We want to continue on this path, making sure our commitment to impact is a key part of our legacy! ”
In terms of commitment to social impact, our first initiative was to engage our employees in the idea of being a force for good by donating 1% of their working time to give back.
This means that Rockers – as we call our employees – have the benefit of donating 1% of their time (3 days a year) within the company to internal or external volunteer actions.
Additionally, since the creation of Rock.org in 2019, we celebrate Volunteer Day annually to support institutions aligned with our education and employability causes.
Currently, our volunteer participation rate is 66% of our team.
In 2020 , we rediscovered our social impact mission: sharing knowledge to accelerate social transformation.
To that end, we began donating Rock University courses to socially and economically underrepresented groups—in this case, women, Black people, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQIA+ community.
Through this commitment, we have managed to impact more than 50,000 students from 2020 to June 2021. In this way, we are enabling countless people to become highly skilled professionals, and also bringing more diversity and inclusion to the labor market.
Now we want to go even further! Through the Pledge 1% initiative, Rock Content has committed to donating 1% of its share capital to impact actions.
Equity Pledge Commitment
What is a capital donation?
The Equity Pledge means setting aside 1% of our Rock Content equity (i.e. company shares) to invest in social impact.
This action demonstrates our long-term commitment to giving back and sustainably funding social impact work for years to come.
These are some of the global companies committed to the Pledge 1% initiative:
Twilio ;
Crunchbase ;
Atlassian .
Why do we commit?
We are increasingly looking to align growth with our purpose, and the Pledge 1% commitment represents the path Rock Content wants to take to achieve a positive impact on the world.
For Patricia Moraes, our advisor and investor and also founder of Unbox Capital, the decision taken by the Rock Content Board to support the Equity Pledge was a natural move within the way the company already operates. In this sense, the decision complemented a culture of giving back that already exists.
“ The Equity Pledge theme says a lot about this, as you create value in your own business, you distribute the value that is generated with others. It is part of the company culture. This passion has always been one of the pillars that most caught our attention in the case of Rock."
The Equity Pledge is one more way we reaffirm our values. With this initiative, we are leading by example, encouraging other companies to learn about initiatives such as the 1% Pledge and to truly commit to social impact.
How do we make this commitment?
Pledge 1% supported Rock Content throughout the capital donation process, providing materials, references and advice to help us make the best decision.
For those unfamiliar, Pledge 1% is a global movement to create a new normal, where giving back is in the DNA of businesses of all sizes and stages.
Its role is to inspire, educate and empower all businesses to be a force for good.
Rock Content Commitments:
1% of TIME : 1% of the profit from donating working time for internal or external volunteer activities;
1% of PRODUCT : donation of one of our products - paid courses from Rock University, our educational platform, for underrepresented and economically vulnerable groups;
1% OF SHARE CAPITAL : recent commitment to donate 1% of Rock Content shares.
The impact of the Equity Pledge
According to Diego, it is clear that customers, employees and the surrounding community are concerned about being connected to a company that wants to leave its “small footprint” on the world.
According to him, “ participating in the Equity Pledge means that we are committed to sharing the value created by Rock with causes we believe in (...) We think this is very important to ensure that our legacy of impact is preserved. Success for us is building an impactful company that projects itself in time beyond our generation! ”
Patricia Moraes also believes that this type of commitment is related to all of our stakeholders. She maintains that “ the way you invest reflects the impact you want to have on the world .”
We share the same thinking. Therefore, we want to show how the Equity Pledge positively impacts our stakeholders:
Our community
Once the donation has liquidity, for example in the case of an initial public offering or secondary stock sale, we will strategically make donations to non-profit organizations and projects around the world that share our mission , with a focus on education and employability.
In this way, we will have more resources to scale our impact, donating in a structured way to those who need quality education and better job opportunities.
To the Rockers
Diego Gomes points to Rockers as the main drivers of social impact within Rock Content.
“ The main people in charge are the Rockers, from the board to the front lines! They not only care about the impact, but they also act and build with a focus on leaving meaningful impacts for the communities around us! They are the ones who make it possible ,” says the CEO.
Regarding his role in this area, Diego is a facilitator: “ I am interested in creating a positive impact in the world and this is an important part of what we want for our legacy (...) My role as CEO of Rock is: To be an impact facilitator!"
Diego says that when he asks employees about Rock Content’s social impact, they all say that this approach is one of the main reasons they choose Rock as their workplace.
“ Rockers come to work more motivated, excited and proud of their work, of what we are building here. Wearing a Rock t-shirt today means ‘we care about making a difference, we care about our legacy.’ And because of that, we continue to deliver great business results. To me, this is the best of both worlds. Impact is a purpose-driven business and our commitment ensures that these things go hand in hand! ”
To our investors and market
The decision now means that our existing investors have that long-term mission and goal aligned with us. The commitment received a positive response from the board to go ahead, meaning that investors are fully engaged in the initiative.
Future investors will also share this point of view with us. This demonstrates how social impact is in our DNA at all levels and is a priority for us.
For Patricia, manager of Unbox Capital, all companies need to find their purpose and, from there , discover how to improve and promote a positive social impact . Due to the advisor's vision and experience, companies like Rock Content, which have cultural openness and a defined purpose, manage to retain more talent, win more clients and attract investors .
It is now part of the due diligence process of major investors to investigate companies' commitment and maturity with ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). “ All these governance, social and environmental issues are part of the company culture. It is the whole, not just one pillar .”
When the company has already found its purpose or is ready to pursue it, the role of investors and advisors will be to “ help the seed flourish ,” as Patricia illustrates. It is an opportunity to enable a new way of doing business with a commitment to social impact.
The future of social impact
While it's hard to imagine the ideal scenario for the best version of the world, steps like those taken by Rock Content indicate a major social transformation underway.
Diego believes that the commitment to equitable giving is an important step in ensuring that our impact initiatives grow in the future .
“ The impact we create now is tied to business growth. Capital commitment for us means that, in a liquidity event, in a future round or (most likely) in an IPO, we will have a significant amount of resources to continue funding these important initiatives! ”, details the CEO.
Furthermore, the commitment to impact over the next few years strengthens Rock Content's globalization strategy and culture . For Diego, commitments like this bring the company closer to people who think about impact in the same way we do.
Thus, we have a very positive formula as an organization, facing the market and society: more talent, more cultural alignment = more impact .
For director Patricia Moraes, there is no doubt that a naturalisation of social and ESG impact is taking place within the corporate market. And in the future, this will be even stronger. Therefore, there is a need for “ companies with soul ”, an expression she uses to define companies that have a purpose and a strong culture.
According to the advisor, one possible path for companies to follow is to “first look inside their own company, find the gaps that are important and that can change their level, and then implement actions that can transform the culture and the company.”
“Rock Content has always been very consistent in this, ever since it had Rock.org, as the company has been evolving within this awareness,” Patricia highlights.
With high and positive expectations for the future, Gabriela Crego, social impact leader at Rock Content, says: