Philanthropic representatives from a dozen leading information technology (IT) companies met with the CompTIA Educational Foundation as part of its first-ever IT Philanthropy Summit last week during CompTIA's annual Breakaway conference in San Antonio, Texas. The invitation-only summit provided participants the opportunity to leverage and collaborate with other leaders to make all industry philanthropic programs more effective.

The attendees represented AMD, Applied Materials, CDW, Dell, IBM, Intel, iSys, Microsoft, SalesForce.com Foundation, Symantec, VMware and Xerox. For most of the attendees, the summit was the first time they had met with their counterparts in other IT companies. This groundbreaking collaborative effort aims to show all IT industry leaders what the future of IT philanthropy can look like and the impact it can have.

"Philanthropy today is about creating shared value - helping both the company and its local and global communities come together and gain success," said Charles Eaton, executive director of the CompTIA Educational Foundation. "With the amount of time, talent and money that IT companies and their employees are giving back to their communities, if we can build more collaboration, our industry can have a tremendous impact on society."

IT companies across the board see a growing trend of volunteerism within their companies and have numerous creative programs to aid the communities in which they work. Many are particularly involved in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) educational programs both in the U.S. and across the globe, but they also are active in disaster relief, environmental efforts, civic development, mentoring, health and hunger challenges, workforce skills development and job creation, and diversity issues.

During the summit, attendees identified that as an industry they need to creatively use their technology and people to help non-profits accomplish their missions on a greater scale. They also need to collaborate more across the industry and better measure the impact of their efforts.

The attendees hope to create a more formal coalition of philanthropic IT leaders, gather industry research to provide a baseline assessment of their collective efforts, collaborate in mapping solutions for non-profit needs, and develop a diverse future workforce of global IT innovators.

As next steps, the CompTIA Educational Foundation will summarize discussions from the summit, seek additional input from the participants, and meet via teleconference in late September. Summit attendees praised the small group atmosphere of the summit, allowing them to get to know each other much better and remain more nimble in their future efforts. However they also will plan to add a few more members to reach more IT companies within the channel. IT philanthropic leaders should contact Dennis Zimmerman, dzimmerman@comptia.org, if they are interested in joining the group.

About the CompTIA Educational Foundation
The CompTIA Educational Foundation provides career opportunities for individuals who historically have been under-represented in the IT workforce. With the support of individuals, industry leaders, companies and the government, the Foundation creates programs aimed at helping U.S. veterans, at-risk youth, women, minorities, dislocated workers, and individuals with disabilities to obtain the technical and business skills employers require. Since its creation in 1998, the Foundation has helped more than 1,000 individuals enter the IT workforce, helping the industry alleviate its shortage of skilled workers. For more information or to make a donation to the CompTIA Educational Foundation, visit http://www.CompTIA-EF.org.

About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. For more information, visit www.comptia.org.

Creating IT Futures Foundation

Creating IT Futures Foundation

The CompTIA Educational Foundation provides career opportunities for individuals who historically have been under-represented in the IT workforce. With the support of individuals, industry leaders, companies and the government, the Foundation helps U.S. military personnel and their spouses, at-risk youth and individuals with disabilities obtain the technical and business skills employers require. Since its creation in 1998, the Foundation has helped more than 1,000 individuals enter the IT workforce.

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