Liz Baird
A large part of my role on the Employee ESG & Impact team is managing Autodesk’s volunteer program and the platform that enables us to track our collective volunteer hours, offer rewards, and create global volunteer opportunities.
What I like most about my job are the “problems” that come my way. Most often, I’m solving problems in order to help people give more. I just love that my days are spent collaborating with people and teams so we can all give more back to causes we care about, support communities in crisis, and make a positive impact.
Autodesk makes it easy for employees to support the organizations they care about most. Every full-time employee, no matter their role, can contribute to making an impact through volunteering, using up to 48 hours per year of “paid” volunteering (on company time) for nonprofit organizations. On top of that, for every 10 hours volunteered, employees receive $100 that they can gift to a nonprofit of their choice.
Autodeskers have already volunteered more than 13,000 hours this year, and we still have one month to go!
In addition to supporting their local communities through events with friends and family or by engaging individually with causes they care about, Autodeskers can participate in company programs such as:
- Autodesk TechWomen, which empowers, connects, and supports the next generation of women leaders in STEM.
- Autodesk Education Experiences, which helps students gain in-demand skills and credentials to prepare for the future of work.
- Global Month of Impact, an annual campaign dedicated to volunteering. (This year’s campaign focused on total carbon emissions awareness – learn more here.)
- Our Pro Bono program, which facilitates incredible projects that support the Autodesk Foundation’s portfolio grantees and Tech Impact Partners who are doing interesting and innovative impact-oriented projects. (Just by the nature of what we do at Autodesk, we have a wealth of skilled people like engineers, designers, and communication teams who can help these cool companies reach their goals.)
In my job, I see the generosity of Autodeskers every day — even more so in times of hardship. When the crisis in Ukraine started, Autodesk leadership pledged $200,000 and held a 2:1 match campaign for refugees. Within one month, we had raised $1.2 million for humanitarian efforts affecting Ukrainian and European people. Going above and beyond, Autodeskers in Europe also volunteered to coordinate rides, find shelter, organize food and material drives, donate laptops, and so much more for the people who were being displaced.
This kind of giving happens all over the world. Just recently, our Costa Rican employees organized a drive and raised money to support Venezuelan refugees in Costa Rica. And in October, 44 employees in Bengaluru, India hosted a blood donation camp with the Indian Red Cross Society and Prerana NGO.
Autodesk really believes in quality work-life balance, and that goes beyond working hours. We’re enabled to not only engage with each other but also with our communities, both local and global (or “glocal”), through Employee Impact Programs. I’ve seen firsthand how generous and passionate my fellow Autodeskers are – we want to be involved in making a better world for all!
Learn more about how Autodesk fosters an inclusive culture of impact worldwide.