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I sent this article to a friend of mine who works for Microsoft and they came back with an interesting anecdote: several groups inside Microsoft, including thei
by techsupporter 5y ago
I sent this article to a friend of mine who works for Microsoft and they came back with an interesting anecdote: several groups inside Microsoft, including theirs, have recurring "hack for good" gatherings, especially during the pandemic when regular get-togethers aren't happening. One of the things they do for this is to log into a community team (I'm not sure of the exact term, I don't contribute to OSM) and spend a couple of hours tagging landmarks and streets and edges of farms and various other geographic features while BSing together as a team.
Sounds kind of relaxing to me, and a way to contribute a bulk of hours to OSM that I hadn't thought of.
- hirsin 5y agoCan confirm, this is popular on my team. Additionally, this should also direct actual dollars to OSM - volunteering for an organization is matched in cash by Microsoft, to the tune of 20-something an hour.
- CrazyStat 5y ago> volunteering for an organization is matched in cash by Microsoft, to the tune of 20-something an hour. I've never heard of a policy like this before, but I like it a lot (admittedly I've been mostly in academia). Is this unique to Microsoft or more common?
- hirsin 5y agoGoogle does this at 10/hour as well. Unsure of others. Both Google and Microsoft match cash donations too up to 15k/year - it's a wonderful perk to have after you've basically covered all your living expenses and savings etc. I can eg fund a minor scholarship at half cost, or direct serious money to a cause I care about.
- CrazyStat 5y agoYeah, I've heard of matching monetary charitable donations before but this is the first time I've heard of matching volunteer time with money. Thanks!