Ultimate Giving in 2019
By the Numbers
Philanthropic Support
UltiService Hours, Total Combined Value
Employee Contributions Through UltiGiving
$1.3 million
$9.3 million
$1.37 million
We Are Committed to Our Communities
At Ultimate Software, our from day one has been to always put .
mission
people first
Everything we do comes back to this founding core principle. From designing our award-winning human capital management (HCM) technology, to delivering our industry-leading customer service, to making a difference throughout our local, national, and global communities. We firmly believe in doing the right thing—for everyone, every day. We’re focused on helping people across the areas of health, human services, education, and public safety. Throughout the year, we partner with a variety of nonprofit organizations, participating in philanthropic projects and providing charitable support worldwide.
Ultimate encourages our employees to make a meaningful difference in their communities. To help facilitate this effort, we provide all full-time employees with three paid days each year for community service and volunteer work with charities of their choosing, which is the equivalent of $9.3 million in donated hours.
UltiService Days
UltiService Bonus
Any Ultimate employee who volunteers 24 hours or more in a calendar year is automatically eligible to receive $5,000 donated to the charity of their choice. Every December, we randomly select five qualifying employees and donate the money in their names—with a total of $25,000 going to charities annually, in addition to the millions of dollars contributed by Ultimate and our people throughout the year in support of charitable causes and nonprofits.
UltiService Bonus: $25,000 for Charities
Giving Highlights
Ultimate Overview
Supporting People in Need During COVID-19
Ultimate’s culture of giving and our leaders’ commitment to care has inspired employees from all levels to put people first in innovative ways. Amid the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic impacting millions of people across the world, Ultimate employees sprang into action to help frontline healthcare workers and essential employees in need of personal protective equipment. They used sewing machines and even 3D printers to create hundreds of masks and face shields to donate to fellow employees and front-line workers. Teaming up with local restaurants, Ultimate employees also delivered over 5,000 meals to front-line healthcare workers and first responders in South Florida, New York, and Toronto. And even while socially distant, they have leveraged their three paid UltiService days to virtually volunteer with organizations such as the American Red Cross, United Nations, and Translators without Borders. Ultimate also established a relief fund for UltiPeeps and Kronites severely impacted by this pandemic. Those affected can receive financial support through an Employee Relief Fund—which we plan to continue beyond COVID-19 help during tough times. We also partnered with our employees in donating to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) Global COVID-19 Response Fund. As of May 6, company leaders and employees had raised nearly $2 million to provide vital relief for people around the world.
GIVING Highlights
Ultimate, Employees Team Up to Make a Difference
Throughout the year, Ultimate matches dollar for dollar the total amount of donations made by our people to a number of charitable causes, including providing aid to victims of natural disasters, unforeseen tragedies, and personal crises. We are also extremely proud of our employees who volunteer their own time and donate funds to a range of nonprofit organizations.
Hosting Career Workshops for Local Communities
Relief for Midwest-Flood Victims
In 2019, Ultimate began partnering with Not Impossible Labs, a nonprofit that finds amazing individuals needing a seemingly impossible solution, and then commits to building that solution through technology. In August 2019, Ultimate employees raised more than $400,000 in support of Project Caitlin, named after a North Carolina high-school student who suffered a head injury and became unable to form any new long-term memories. With Ultimate's 100% company match, we dedicated over $800,000 to Not Impossible Labs, which is using artificial intelligence to develop a memory-augmentation tool to help Caitlin and others with memory loss.
Not Impossible Labs' Project Caitlin
Not Impossible Lab's Project Caitlin
Helping After Hurricane Dorian
In March 2019, terrible flooding and a string of tornadoes impacted the Midwestern United States. While all Ultimate employees living in the impacted areas thankfully remained safe, many of their family members were affected by the storms. As is common practice after natural disasters devastate a region, Ultimate employees came together to raise money for the victims. Our employees donated $81,345, and with Ultimate’s 100% company match, we delivered $162,690 to the American Red Cross to support its recovery efforts.
Donating $500,000 to Victims of Parkland Shooting
Ultimate employees banded together in September 2019 to raise more than $178,000 in aid for the victims of Hurricane Dorian, which devastated the Bahamas. With Ultimate’s company match, we donated more than $357,000 to the American Red Cross to support those impacted by the storm. We also partnered with the Rotary Club of Weston to collect and distribute vital relief items such as water, clothing, and non-perishable food, with Ultimate’s Facilities team helping to load up several trucks with supplies.
Highlights of Ultimate's Giving
“At Ultimate, every opportunity to give feels like an invitation to be part of something wonderful to make this world a better place. Ultimate leads the way when it comes to walking the walk!”
—JULIE BABBITT, ULTIMATE EMPLOYEE
Learn More about Ultimate's Philanthropic support
Traveling to Haiti to Develop Curricula for Deaf Children
After the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) in Parkland, Florida—located just 25 miles from Ultimate headquarters—our people immediately worked to support those affected by the tragedy. Employees raised nearly $250,000 for injured students and the victims’ family members. With Ultimate’s company match, we were able to donate $500,000 to the Broward Education Foundation. In addition to their financial contributions, our employees also wrote messages of encouragement and support across several banners, which were then presented to survivors of the shooting.
Creating App for Nonprofit FearlesslyGIRL
In 2018, Ultimate employee Mitch Maddox decided to combine his UltiService days and Unlimited PTO in a unique way: a group service trip to Haiti. Mitch and his friends traveled there to help develop school curricula for deaf children. Although Mitch doesn’t know sign language, he still was able to help his friends formulate the lesson plans—using design principles like the ones he uses to build HR solutions for Ultimate. “Who knew that being a geek could be so practical,” said Mitch.
Ultimate partners with FearlesslyGIRL, an internationally recognized anti-bullying organization dedicated to creating a “Kinder Girl World” in schools and communities. When Ultimate learned FearlesslyGIRL wanted to leverage technology to expand its influence from its current scope of chapters, our employees used UltiService days to volunteer and build an app for the organization. First, we brainstormed with FearlesslyGIRL’s CEO Kate Whitfield to design multiple ways of expanding and communicating key messages. Then, our talented programmers helped bring the app to fruition.
Over the years, Ultimate employees have hosted several career workshops at the Salvation Army shelter in downtown Atlanta to help community members find sustainable work. During the sessions, employees from our Talent and Recruiting teams provide tips for resume-building and successful interviewing, along with other skills needed to find a job. They also give attendees flash drives, portfolios, and even laptops to assist with completing resumes and filling out applications. In South Florida, Ultimate employees host similar career-development workshops, partnering with Women In Distress.
Philanthropic support
Over the years, we’ve built and instilled a companywide culture of giving—so much so that making a difference in our communities has become a core value of our “People First” culture. In the beginning, we started small by supporting local charities. As we’ve grown in size and reach, so has our ability to serve others globally. We are fortunate for what we have, and consider giving part of our “greater calling” as a company, and as people. Every year, we support a number of nonprofits serving these philanthropic pillars: health, human services, education, and public safety.
Giving has been a of Ultimate since our founding .
cornerstone
30 years ago
Health
Give Kids the World
American Cancer Society
“There are a number of corporations in our community that provide extraordinary support to a broad range of charitable organizations—Ultimate is at the top of that list. We are so grateful to Ultimate for its thoughtful, generous, and longstanding support of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.”
—Kevin R. Janser, Chief Development Officer Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation
In January 2019, Ultimate employees volunteered at Give Kids the World (GKTW) Village, an 84-acre, nonprofit resort in Orlando, Florida, that provides week-long, cost-free vacations to children with critical illnesses and their families from various wish-granting organizations. For many wish families, holidays are not always a guaranteed experience, so the GKTW Village celebrates a different holiday every night of the week. During their volunteer outing, Ultimate employees made Halloween masks, decorated trick-or-treat bags, and created props for the weekly birthday party. GKTW said that Ultimate directly impacted the special parties that make a wish trip so magical.
Ultimate has a history of caring for our employees and the community simultaneously. One example is through our ongoing support for the American Cancer Society and its annual Relay for Life, a 24-hour event. Ultimate employee and cancer survivor Ross Sabath serves as chair of the Weston-based relay and is active in organizing the event every year. In 2019, Ultimate raised more than $61,000 for the American Cancer Society, adding to the hundreds of thousands of dollars Ultimate and our employees have donated in support of cancer research and finding a cure over the years.
Arc Broward
Feeding America
Human Services
For more than five years, Ultimate has partnered with Arc Broward, a nonprofit providing services to children and adults with disabilities. Our people participate in various service projects and volunteer days in support of the organization, such as remodeling several Achievement and Rehabilitation Centers. For the children of Arc Broward, the annual highlight is our Holiday Party, where employees spend time doing arts and crafts with the preschool children and surprising the teachers with gifts and school supplies from their “wish lists.” The party even includes a visit from Santa—always a favorite among the children.
Every year, Ultimate partners with Feeding America and its many affiliated food banks to help end hunger around the country. In some locations, such as Feeding South Florida, Ultimate employees can sign up to volunteer for monthly service events. These sessions benefit the organization’s Senior Meal Box Build, a USDA program that serves thousands of Miami-Dade County seniors over the age of 60 who struggle to make ends meet. Designed to ensure seniors have access to healthy food, the box also comes with recipes and nutrition information.
STEM Sleepover Night at the Museum
PACE Center for Girls
Education
“Ultimate embodies its ‘People First’ philosophy in all it does. Ultimate has created a culture that exemplifies this in every action and interaction—from the tools and resources it develops to the way the company supports its teams—so Ultimate can, in turn, support and understand its customers as well as its communities. Ultimate lives its philosophy, and we are proud to consider Ultimate a partner in our quest to ensure our girls and women have an opportunity for a better future.”
—Yessica Cancel, Chief Operating Officer PACE Center for Girls
In April 2019, Ultimate hosted a special STEM-themed sleepover for local girls at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale. Over dinner, our volunteers shared their personal stories of why they chose careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields. The girls in attendance also had the opportunity to ask questions about STEM jobs and future roles. In addition, Ultimate employees led hands-on STEM activities designed to invoke critical-thinking and problem-solving skills—everything from making circuit boards and rockets out of everyday objects to designing boats that float using supplies like aluminum foil.
Ultimate employees volunteer at the nonprofit PACE Center for Girls, leading a series of monthly educational workshops for the young girls there, in addition to serving as mentors for the high-school students. The workshops help the girls build practical and soft skills that help in all aspects of personal and professional life—such as effective communication, public speaking, budgeting, and successful interviewing for jobs. The workshop series is one component of a longstanding partnership between us and PACE, an Ultimate customer, with employees also completing campus-beautification projects and hosting social events.
Kids in Distress
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Public Safety
“During my 30-year nonprofit career, I have seen firsthand the impact Ultimate has made in Broward County and beyond. Its philanthropic spirit has supported so many worthy causes, and its impact and financial support grows as the company grows! Ultimate is a pillar to so many charitable organizations’ successes, and I am proud to call Ultimate our partner at MADD.”
—David Pinsker, Florida State Executive Director Mothers Against Drunk Driving
For nearly a quarter century, Ultimate has supported the nonprofit Kids In Distress. In addition to our financial contributions and volunteer service, Ultimate employees participate in an annual Angel Tree gift-giving program, purchasing holiday gifts and clothes for underprivileged children. Recently, we expanded the program using the nonprofit platform Daymaker, which enables employees across Ultimate (including remote workers) to participate and purchase gifts. In 2019, we sponsored 1,219 children, ranging from newborns to 18 years of age, with Ultimate employees purchasing over 4,420 gifts off the children’s holiday wish lists—our most successful Angel Tree campaign yet.
Another example of Ultimate helping employee-backed causes is through our sponsorship of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Determined to make a meaningful difference after losing her father to a drunk driver in 2009, Ultimate employee Heather Geronemus partnered with MADD to help raise awareness and prevent further tragedy. Ultimate became the founding sponsor of the Walk Like MADD/MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale 5K in 2011, and has supported MADD ever since. The event is now the most successful MADD fundraiser in the United States, due in large part to the many employees who walk, run, and donate to this cause annually.
Explore UltiPro Giving
“Arc Broward’s relationship with Ultimate exemplifies its deep commitment to corporate social responsibility that goes well beyond a typical culture of caring. The people at Ultimate have brought us much-needed funds and facility improvements consistently, year after year—and so much more. These are some of the most compassionate, caring people you can ever hope to meet. We love them. And, to top it all off, they are really amazing professionals in their field. Ultimate’s technology has revolutionized our recruiting and payroll processes, among so many other areas of our talent management activities.”
—Dennis Haas, President and CEO Arc Broward
Movember Foundation
To help raise awareness and funds for cancer-related illnesses impacting men, Ultimate hosts an annual “Movember Challenge” in November. During the Movember Challenge, clean-shaven men grow out and groom mustaches to bring more focus on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental illness. In this friendly competition, employees don their best facial hair throughout the month, while others donate money to support the cause (some women wear fake mustaches in support). Over the years, employees have raised thousands of dollars for the Movember Foundation.
Earth Day Park Cleanup
For Earth Day 2019, Ultimate organized a special volunteer event in South Florida at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, with green activities such as tree planting, trail maintenance, and beach cleanup. Considered Fort Lauderdale’s “Central Park,” Birch State Park is an urban oasis nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intercoastal waterway.
Partnering with The Children’s Trust, Ultimate employees came together in 2018 to donate more than 1,250 children’s books to help ensure more kids in our communities have access to reading. Through its “Read to Learn” program, The Children’s Trust provides community bookshelves that are stocked with reading material, in locations such as juvenile courts, community-service offices, clinics, parks, and community centers.
The Children's Trust
Girls Who Code
Hurricane Irma Relief
Fighting California Wildfires
Besides Ultimate employees stepping up to provide financial relief to victims of California wildfires, some employees even help fight the blazes. Eric Foy is a payroll specialist and also a First Lieutenant in the U.S. National Guard. As the summer 2018 California fires spread and grew, more than 400 Guardsmen were deployed to aid in fighting the fires. Among them was Eric and his crew of 24 soldiers. They treaded dangerous territory to help contain the Carr Fire, located in Redding, California.
After Hurricane Irma slammed the Florida Keys in 2018, Ultimate employee Alexis Maureau volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse to assist with the massive cleanup effort. She asked members of her team to join her, and they immediately said yes. The team headed to the Keys around 5:00 a.m. and volunteered for the day by cleaning up debris, tearing down ruined houses, chopping trees, and helping residents rebuild. A team of Ultimate employees also loaded up trucks with essential supplies and hand-delivered them to impacted areas.
UltiPro Giving
Nonprofit support
The original UltiGiving concept and design came from Ultimate’s “48 Hours,” a biannual two-day innovation event where employees can take time away from their current projects to develop personal ideas and solutions. To make it even easier for our employees to give and support charitable causes, our developers created a giving app with a convenient, three-step process for donations. Employees simply log in with their credentials, select their donation amount, and the total is automatically deducted from their next paycheck.
Paying it to our .
forward
customers
UtliFact:
Ultimate employees have donated more than $2.4m using UltiGiving since the platform’s companywide rollout in 2016, providing direct support to a variety of nonprofits and charitable causes.
“It makes me proud to be an UltiPeep, and it makes me so grateful for the culture that we have and the fact that I can ask for people’s help here. Everyone is so willing to give at Ultimate.”
—ALEXIS MAUREAU, ULTIMATE EMPLOYEE
Due to the overwhelming popularity and success of our in-house UltiGiving platform for employees, and after increasing demand from our customers, Ultimate is proud to introduce UltiPro® Giving—a new feature in our cloud HCM suite that enables our customers to easily set up giving campaigns to donate to causes they’re passionate about. In the spirit of giving, we’re offering UltiPro Giving free of charge to all Ultimate customers. We hope our lifelong history of charitable work, and the rollout of UltiPro Giving, inspires companies and people everywhere to make a greater difference in their communities.
Ultimate employees have donated more than $2.4 million using UltiGiving since the platform’s companywide rollout in 2016, providing direct support to a variety of nonprofits and charitable causes.
During our “Connections” customer conference in 2015, in celebration of Ultimate’s 25th year as a company, we surprised each of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit customer organizations in attendance with a $2,500 donation. We have since continued this tradition every year at Connections, adding $100 to the donation amount each year. In addition to our company donations at Connections, we frequently partner with our nonprofit customers to support their missions. Throughout the year, Ultimate employees volunteer with organizations such as Arc Broward, Feeding America, PACE Center for Girls, and the YMCA.
"We have always believed in the importance of supporting charitable organizations. We could not have succeeded over the years without our customers. We’re excited to share our success with our nonprofit customers, who work so hard to improve the world we live in.”
—Scott Scherr, Ultimate's founder
Supporting Our Nonprofit Customers in Fulfilling Their Missions
At Connections 2019, Ultimate donated $2,900 to 212 nonprofit customers, with a total contribution of $614,800 going to support the vital work of organizations across North America.
national weeks of service
At Connections 2019, Ultimate donated $2,900 to 212 nonprofit customers, with a total contributionof $614,800 going to support the vital work of organizations across North America.
National weeks of service
National Weeks of UltiService
Each year, we host three National Weeks of UltiService that provide all Ultimate employees, including our virtual people, opportunities to get involved and volunteer in their local communities during concurrent events.
Rebuilding Together
Salvation Army
In 2019, we introduced our third National Week of UltiService supporting our customer, The Salvation Army. Hundreds of UltiPeeps in 36 cities across the country sorted and delivered angel tree gifts to children in their communities.
Through our collective efforts with Rebuilding Together, part of our 2019 National Week of UltiService, we’ve been able to improve over a dozen homes, supporting veterans, the elderly, and low-income homeowners.
During our 2019 National Week of UltiService with Feeding America, over 540 Ultimate employees volunteered in 36 locations across the country, sorting more than 384,000 pounds of food to create 286,000 meals for hungry families.
communities of interest
“You know Ultimate is a culture of giving because people who work remotely travel from nearby states to volunteer. It shows who we are and what we believe in as a company.”
—TIFFANY BAKER, ULTIMATE EMPLOYEE
Communities of interest
Supporting the Community Through Communities of Interest
UltiVETS
Women in Leadership
UltiHOPE was founded to bring cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers together to empower one another to continue fighting and thriving through cancer. UltiHOPE supports the American Cancer Society, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and many others.
UltiHOPE
PRIDEUS
Women in Technology
Ultimate’s companywide Communities of Interest are diverse networking groups designed to promote inclusivity, equality, respect, and care for all individuals, while aligning with Ultimate’s “People First” culture. Each group—PRIDEUS, Women in Leadership, UltiVETS, UltiHOPE, and Women in Technology—support a variety of nonprofits each year through fundraising and volunteering, inviting all Ultimate employees to join in the community service.
Ultimate's Communities of Interest
Communities of Interest
PRIDEUS, which stands for People Respecting Individual Differences Empower Ultimate Software, is for our LGBTQ+ community, with a mission to ensure all Ultimate employees feel safe, welcome, and comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. PRIDEUS supports The Trevor Project, the Poverello Center, Rainbow Railroad, and many others.
Women in Technology promotes the importance of diversity and inclusion to aid in the success of Ultimate, with a focus on supporting women in technology through a variety of educational programs, networking, mentoring, and community involvement. Women in Technology partners with AnitaB.org, Girls Who Code, Lesbians Who Tech, and many others.
UltiVETS stands for Ultimate Veterans Exemplifying True Service. Its members include all military veterans and active service members of Ultimate, as well as their families and friends. UltiVETS supports Fallen Patriots, United States War Dogs Association, the Wounded Warrior Project, and many others.
Women in Leadership, open to women at all levels of Ultimate, was founded to help women reach their maximum potential and to support one another at Ultimate and within the community. Women in Leadership partners with Dress for Success, PACE Center for Girls, Women In Distress, and many others.
“Life is just so much more rewarding when you can do for others—and that’s what Ultimate does."
—Phillipa Stephenson, ULTIMATE EMPLOYEE
Go to Recognition
Supporting Diversity, Equality, and Belonging
U BELONG
U Belong is Ultimate’s new diversity, equality, and belonging program dedicated to ensuring all employees continue to feel safe and welcome in the workplace. Formally launched in 2019, U Belong builds upon the foundations and principles of Ultimate’s longstanding diversity practices, partnering with leaders across the company to develop a comprehensive diversity program and support system to better serve Ultimate’s employees. Much like Ultimate’s diverse Communities of Interest, U Belong supports a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the Art Prevails Project, The Kyle Pease Foundation, and many others.
Recognition
Recognition for Ultimate’s Corporate Social Responsibility
Over the years, various organizations have Ultimate with awards and honors for our commitment to and to our communities.
recognized
giving
serving
Together, we all can make a meaningful difference.
We encourage everyone to join us in the community.
Ultimate partners with a spectrum of nonprofit organizations across North America, Canada, and around the world, including those listed below and many others. Each contributes to the betterment of society through ongoing service and support.
Friends of Birch State Park’s Birch Caring Corporate Citizen Award
Broward Education Foundation’s Inaugural Heart of Broward Award
#2 PEOPLE’s 50 Companies That Care 2019 List
Feeding South Florida’s Volunteer Group of the Year Award
Download Ultimate Software's 2019 Corporate SOCIAL Responsibility Report
