Volunteering in the community
Xero’s employee volunteer program, Community Connect, supports for-purpose organisations around the world by giving Xero employees one paid day off each year to make a difference in the communities in which they live and work.
Employees can volunteer time in their communities knowing they have Xero’s full support.
In FY21, our people contributed almost 3000 volunteer hours (this figure was impacted by COVID-19 restrictions).
Learn more
International Volunteer Day: Rallying together to make a difference
Community Connect: Making a difference in our communities one day at a time
Supporting under-represented groups
We believe in supporting the communities in which we operate by working with for-purpose organisations to provide employment opportunities. For example:
We’re long time sponsors and strategic partners of Code like a Girl and the Tech Girls Movement, who are committed to bridging the gender divide within the technology industry.
Our internal design teams contributed their time and skill to refresh the branding and iconography used by Indigenous Australian organisation Indigitek, of which we’re also a Sliver Partner Sponsor.
Our senior leaders have First Nations cultural awareness and inclusion education available to them in each major region.
We continue our community outreach and engagement program aimed at increasing racial, gender and ethnic diversity among today’s students. Our recent initiatives include creating an online coding adventure for young people; co-creating the Trailblazing Women in Tech quiz for girls aged 9 to 13 with the She# team; and supporting a number of our people to participate as mentors in the GirlBoss Edge: engineering and technology online career accelerator for high school-age young women.
Donations and disaster support
We’ve donated to community groups and for-purpose organisations across our countries of operation for causes including front-line COVID-19 support, racial justice, wellbeing, natural disaster relief and more.
In 2020, Xero donated AU$100,000 to support the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund to support those impacted by the Australian bushfires.
Almost NZ$200,000 was donated through the 2020-21 Xero Community Appeal, to support charities helping the most vulnerable and marginalised people in the countries Xero is based.
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Xero for non-profits
Xero currently offers a 25% discount on our standard subscriptions for non-profit organisations globally, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in discounts annually.
Xero provides more than a million dollars in discounts annually to non-profit organisations and community groups through our non-profit discount program.
Find out more about discounted subscription for non-profit organisations here.
Sponsorship and funding
Xero has a sponsorship programme in each major region, providing funding to organisations, events and charities that align with our company values and expertise.
For example, we announced scholarships for three New Zealand small business owner/managers to participate in the Owner Manager Programme run by The Icehouse, valued at $10,000 each. Throughout this five-month programme, recipients develop the capability to drive momentum and achieve better results for themselves and their business.
In 2021, Xero supported the very first Small Business Day in New Zealand, which was held to show support to our small business community after a tough financial year. Xero was one of the major sponsors, and also drove engagement online and in the media.
Interested in applying for sponsorship funding? Head to our sponsorship page for guidance and a proposal form.
Forward Fund
In 2020, we awarded the first Xero Forward Fund scholarships for students pursuing careers in accounting. The three winners each received a US$10,000 scholarship to apply to tuition or other costs associated with earning their degree. The accounting and bookkeeping partners that nominated the winners each received US$10,000 in co-op marketing funds that partners could use to access tools and resources to market their firm.
Read more
Xero announces winners of inaugural U.S. Forward Fund Scholarship
Introducing our inaugural 2020 Xero Forward Fund scholarship winners
Forward Fund - building communities of purpose
Education support
Through the Xero Learn program, participating educational institutions can create and teach courses using the same Xero software that’s widely used by businesses today. This means students get to apply their knowledge, and develop skills that are in demand in today’s workforce.
Xero Learn has previously received the AFR award for best service innovation and hundreds of educational institutions globally have signed up.
They include Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), and the University of Waikato.
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Xero wins best service innovation and ranks third on AFR innovative list
Environment
We are always looking to deliver new initiatives, improving on our environmental and sustainability efforts, and developing a roadmap...
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Diversity and inclusion
Xero continues to strongly champion diversity and inclusion to cultivate an engaged global team, who also represent the diverse needs...
Business support
Our purpose at Xero is to have a positive impact on the lives of people in small business, their advisors and communities around the world...
Social impact
For Xero, building a fast-growing but sustainable business means taking responsibility for our social and environmental impact...