Salesforce Celebrates Grand Opening of Salesforce Tower

Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of Salesforce, announced it will donate $1.5 million to Hamilton Families’ Heading Home Initiative to end long-term family homelessness in San Francisco. This gift will be matched by Marc and Lynne Benioff, who will give $1.5 million to the initiative. These donations to one of the city’s most urgent causes are being made as part of the grand opening celebration of Salesforce Tower.

As the largest technology employer in San Francisco, Salesforce is deeply committed to serving the community in which its customers and employees live and work. Since 1999, Salesforce and Salesforce.org have donated more than $200 million in grants toward community programs, including public schools, hospitals and organizations working to end family homelessness. In addition, Salesforce employees have spent more than 3 million hours volunteering in their local communities and with nonprofits around the world.

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Since 2016, Salesforce.org has given $3.5 million toward Hamilton Families’ Heading Home Initiative, and Marc and Lynne Benioff have given $11.5 million. Heading Home aims to address family homelessness in San Francisco by providing housing for 800 families by 2020. Funding for Heading Home will be used to reduce the amount of time a family experiences homelessness—from today’s average of 414 days to a maximum of 90 days. It will also provide wraparound support services to increase financial and housing stability and provide direct benefit to the more than 1,800 homeless students in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

The Heading Home Initiative is a $30 million joint effort conceived by the late Mayor Ed Lee between the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Unified School District, Hamilton Families and private philanthropy. Today, Hamilton Families shared a progress update on the initiative, highlighting the more than 200 families who have been housed since it launched in 2016.

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“At Salesforce.org, we are deeply committed to improving the communities where we live and work through grants, volunteerism and our technology,” said Rob Acker, CEO of Salesforce.org. “The Heading Home Initiative is a great example of businesses, community leaders and the government working together to address the most critical issue facing our city and we’re proud to be a part of the solution to get every family in the city into stable housing.”

“Homelessness is the most urgent issue we face in San Francisco and it is unacceptable for any child to sleep on the street,” said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce. “As a city and community, we have a moral obligation to make sure that every person and family in our city has a home. Lynne and I are proud to support the tremendous work of Hamilton Families and the Heading Home Initiative to end family homelessness.”

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“The donations we’ve received from Salesforce.org and Marc and Lynne Benioff through Heading Home have helped local families receive wraparound support since 2016,” said Tomiquia Moss, CEO of Hamilton Families. “In addition to the monetary gifts directly impacting our community, we’re proud to work side by side with Salesforce volunteers to support our overall work, resulting in a tremendous impact.”

To further Salesforce’s commitment to the local community, Salesforce Tower will feature a unique hospitality floor, called the Ohana Floor, which will open in September 2018. Ohana is the word for “family” in Hawaiian and represents Salesforce’s family of employees, customers, partners and the community. Located on the top floor of Salesforce Tower, it will not only be a gathering space for Salesforce employees and customers to foster collaboration, it will also be available to nonprofits to host their own events on weeknights and weekends. With an exhibition kitchen, coffee barista bar, social and networking space, and sweeping views of San Francisco, this innovative floor design will help Salesforce serve its local community. Ohana Floors will launch soon in all named Salesforce Towers globally, including Indianapolis, New York and London.

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