Community Partners

Acumen Fund is a nonprofit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. Cisco's most recent funding supports the development of success measurement metrics and the promotion of technology-based solutions.

Digital Opportunity Trust connects people with technology, providing tools and building capacities to promote locally-driven social and economic development. They are instrumental to Cisco's 21S initiative, which seeks to rebuild and improve areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and to launch a global model for sustainable education initiatives. Cisco also support DOT's work in Southern Lebanon to determine how the country can leverage information technology for faster recovery in the present and sustained growth in the future.

Grameen Foundation shares Cisco's commitment to building individual economic opportunity. We supported the development of Mifos, their open-source financial software platform for microfinance institutions, which seeks to strengthen the operations and sustainability of microfinance organizations worldwide. Four microfinance institutions are already working with Mifos: Grameen Koota in India, ENDA in Tunisia, Jitegemea in Kenya, and ABS-CBN in Philippines.

Habitat for Humanity International seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. The Cisco Foundation matches employee volunteer time by donating $10 per hour per employee worked to the local Habitat affiliate, and employees can team up to earn a Cisco Foundation build grant for a local Habitat affiliate to build a home.

Inveneo is a non-profit social enterprise whose mission is to get the tools of ICT into the hands of organizations and people who need them most -- those in remote and rural communities in the developing world. To do this, Inveneo creates and sells highly affordable and sustainable ICTs that are specifically designed for organizations -- governments, NGOs, private enterprises -- that serve these rural communities with vital services that include education, healthcare, economic development, relief and telecenters.

NetHope is a nonprofit IT consortium of leading international NGOs, serving tens of millions of end beneficiaries each year in 100+ countries. Its members have well-established ICT (information and communications technology) departments that use technology strategically to support their programs.

One Economy seeks to maximize the potential of technology to help low-income people improve their lives and enter the economic mainstream. One Economy brings broadband to the homes of low-income people and provides extensive capacity building resources in the form of a multilingual web portal called The Beehive.

Teachers Without Borders is closing the educational divide through teacher training and community teaching & learning centers. Cisco's most recent grant supported the development of a web-based portal providing an open-source, modular, scalable toolset for teachers.

TechSoup Stock connects nonprofits and public libraries with donated and discounted technology products, while its parent organization, CompuMentor, is dedicated to helping nonprofits enhance productivity and build sustainable technology systems that foster their missions.

YouthNoise helps young people find, explore, and network a cause. Cisco recently supported two web-enabled programs. MyCauseIs is an online portal designed to engage youth collectively and individually in service projects to improve their communities, while YHealth empowers youth to deliver peer to peer preventive health messaging, resources and referrals.

City Year has been built on the belief that one person can make a difference, and with the vision that one day service will be a common expectation — and a real opportunity — for citizens all around the world. Cisco has helped City Year adopt internet-based solutions for their operations and recruitment, as well as supporting two pilots of their "Whole School, Whole Child" program.

Community Voice Mail empowers people in crisis and transition by distributing free, personalized 24-hour voice mail access nationwide in the US. Cisco's extensive support seeks to increase CVM's reach, capacity, and social value.

DonorsChoose empowers teachers to submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become classroom reality when concerned individuals choose projects to fund. Cisco's support will help Donors Choose develop and implement internet-based efficiencies to facilitate their current National Expansion.

Mind Research Institute teaches 2nd and 3rd grade students living in low-income, urban neighborhoods how to think, reason and create mathematically. MIND expects to serve 240,000 students and 1,300 schools by 2011.

National Center for Learning Disabilities bridges the achievement gap for children who struggle to learn from pre-K to grade 5. Using early identification and early intervention, this effective research-based model will ultimately benefit 22 million students.

Network for Good provides a range of services for nonprofit organizations, helping them to fundraise, communicate, and strategize. They served a total of 16,012 nonprofits in 2006 and processed $35M in donations. Cisco's most recent grant will help them continue to develop Internet-based tools for nonprofits.

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating real and lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. Cisco's support has most recently focused on Save's very effective literacy initiatives for least-served, rural communities.