Case study: How Visit.org helps GoTo make ESG a part of the everyday

Making a local and global impact has long been core to GoTo’s mission. Founded in 2003, GoTo (formerly LogMeIn) is headquartered in Boston, MA and has a robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) program. From making a meaningful impact to engaging GoTo’s nearly 4,000 employees in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia, GoTo’s give-back initiatives are woven directly into the company’s culture.

In 2019, GoTo’s workforce completed 165 volunteer days worldwide. However, the pandemic brought GoTo’s in-person volunteering events to a screeching halt. Seeking to continue GoTo’s philanthropic missions, Amy Wendel, Director and Head of Corporate Responsibility & ESG at GoTo, sought to partner with an employee engagement platform that offered virtual social impact experiences with global impact.

“When the pandemic hit, we had to think outside of the box and switch our volunteering model to virtual,” says Amy. To serve the company’s international workforce with a variety of diverse impact experiences, Amy turned to Visit.org as an impact partner.

The GoTo and Visit.org partnership enables the software company to participate in a wide variety of virtual (and now in-person) social impact experiences designed to strengthen teams, connect colleagues, and benefit nonprofits and community members in dozens of countries.

“Visit.org allows GoTo to offer events to dispersed remote groups in ways we weren’t able to do before the partnership,” explains Amy.

Unique experiences with global impact

GoTo leverages Visit.org experiences in ways that benefit company-wide goals, departmental teams, large-scale events including annual sales kick offs, individual employees, and more.

GoTo’s robust ESG strategy is partly defined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) — initiatives that act as a blueprint for tackling critical challenges related to issues such as poverty, equality, health, climate change, and biodiversity. In 2021, 60% of GoTo’s employees participated in events that touched eight of the 17 SDGs, including Climate Action, Gender Equality, No Poverty, Quality Education, Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Health & Well-being, and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

“Visit.org helps support one of the ten ESG material areas that we focus on, within the framework of the SDGs, which is philanthropy and volunteering. But it also supports employee engagement with aspects to our sustainability program, and virtual experiences related to ERGs and diversity, equity, and inclusion work,” says Amy.

Visit.org experiences aren’t just about volunteering. They also encompass lunch and learns, fun games, team-building activities, workshops on sustainability and DEIB, mentoring sessions, and more.

Because GoTo is a SaaS company that employs many professionals in technical fields such as engineers, data scientists, and software developers, the company’s employees often rate Visit.org’s STEM-centered experiences as their favorites.

For example, Amy says that an experience GoTo employees particularly loved involved playing an engaging trivia game to inspire school-aged girls to pursue STEM careers.

Another favorite virtual experience involved hearing the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in June (when Pride month is celebrated in the United States).

“I wish this was another hour longer,” said one GoTo employee of the experience. “I have so many questions and love that I was able to participate and hear these wonderful stories.”

Ongoing ESG programming

GoTo employees have enjoyed dozens of social impact experiences that connected teams and contributed to the company’s broad ESG goals. In fact, based on an annual employee engagement survey, GoTo benchmarks above the standard for the tech industry for its ESG efforts.

GoTo leverages Visit.org experiences to achieve their social impact KPIs, foster a culture of inclusivity and belonging, and give back to inspiring nonprofits while making a year-round impact. “Support for our local communities is an ongoing effort,” says Amy.

Visit.org continues to help GoTo make ESG initiatives a part of the everyday.

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