Technology start-up Nebraska Global embraces its hometown spirit of philanthropy and has built a unique culture of giving. The company has pledged to expand its own employee volunteer work as part of A Billion + Change, a national campaign, housed and managed by Points of Light, to mobilize billions of dollars of pro bono and skills-based services by 2013. As part of this pledge, it has also committed to leading a statewide challenge to recruit 100 Nebraskan businesses to join the campaign and advance the movement of corporate volunteerism and service.

"There's a real shift I think we need to see... it's about getting companies large and small to realize that helping in their communities isn't just about giving money, but that giving time can be far more impactful," said Steve Kiene, managing principal of Nebraska Global, in a Silicon Prairie News article published on the day A Billion + Change celebrated its milestone of mobilizing more than $1 billion worth of skills-based and pro bono business services to help nonprofits meet community needs.

Beginning in 2012, Nebraska Global will launch a peer-to-peer business challenge to raise awareness about A Billion + Change in the state, and recruit businesses to join the national campaign and expand their skills-based volunteer programs.

"Most companies in Nebraska are already doing skills-based volunteering, but they don't think about it as such, and they aren't doing it as a formal program," said Amanda Garner, Nebraska Global's director of community and public affairs. "I think they will be very receptive to the message of A Billion + Change."

Although Nebraska Global's next volunteer project will be with MilkWorks, a Lincoln-based nonprofit that helps mothers meet their breastfeeding goals, its statewide campaign will recruit businesses from a variety of sectors to target a wide range of social issues in a way that helps nonprofits be more sustainable actors for social change.

"We help nonprofits develop cost-effective, scalable IT and technology solutions that nonprofits can sustain on their own. That sustainability mindset will be our guide in the challenge," said Garner.

Nebraska Global's challenge will keep the momentum of A Billion + Change moving forward, and illustrates that while not all businesses may be able to donate money, they can create value and make a positive impact in society by lending their most valuable assets - their talent - to filling critical gaps in community needs.

A Billion + Change will celebrate the progress and the latest achievements of the campaign at Morgan Stanley's headquarters in New York City on Feb. 27 in conjunction with International Corporate Philanthropy Day. To learn more about the event and on how your business can attend, please contact Jennifer Lawson at jlawson@pointsoflight.org. To learn more about A Billion + Change and how your business can take the pledge, visit the campaign's website.