Each of Sage’s 14,000 employees will be able to contribute five days per year in work time to volunteer with any non-profit organisation they elect to support. The Sage Foundation will also give grants to create entrepreneurial opportunities for the young and disadvantaged within communities, as well as grants to match employee charitable donations and fundraising.

The Sage Foundation has created a model of ‘2+2+2’: donating 2% of employee time each year (5 days), 2% of free cash flow* and 2 of Sage’s smart technology products for any charity, social enterprise or non-profit organization. This model demonstrates Sage’s commitment to philanthropic leadership. Driven by Sage’s ambition to connect its customers, colleagues and communities within an integrated model, the Sage Foundation will be open for business globally from 1st October 2015.

With tens of thousands of non-profit organisations as existing Sage customers, the Sage Foundation will enhance Sage’s relationship with charity and social enterprise. Non-profit organisations will be able to apply for donated Sage One, Sage Life or X3 products, through the newly created Donation program.

Ivan Epstein, Chairman of Sage Foundation and CEO of Sage Africa & Asia, said: “At Sage we care and are committed to enhancing the lives of the less fortunate in a meaningful and sustainable way. The Sage Foundation will provide support to non-profit organisations and communities around the world by sharing the resources of Sage. We will help these organisations to create social impact by giving our time, money, expertise and technology. Sage is at the heart of millions of businesses around the globe who play a vital role in their communities. By partnering with the non-profit sector we will free organisations from operational complexity and enable them to run efficient, socially-driven organisations.”

“It’s great to see plans for the Sage Foundation and its support for the philanthropic model we pioneered at Salesforce,” said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce. “By integrating philanthropy into its culture on a global scale, Sage can make a difference in the lives of millions of people around the world.”

Alan Osrin, Managing Director Sage Australia and Sage Handisoft, added: “Corporate Social Responsibility is something we take seriously at Sage. Many companies treat it as a tick-box exercise, but we feel it is central to the culture we nurture across the business. Across Australia, our Sage colleagues are actively engaged in charitable endeavours and we want to further enable employees to follow their values and passions. The Sage Foundation will take our support to the next level empowering our people to assist the causes they care about most.”

*The Sage Foundation will benefit from Sage revenues from the non-profit sector; notionally ‘2%’ of free cash flow is equivalent to revenue gained from non-profit sector in FY2014.