Making an Impact Online and In Real Life

Greater Eugene is home to over 470 tech companies, many of them traded sector. Traded sector firms sell their goods and services into competitive national and global markets. For tech companies, this often means selling from their global storefront, online

 So while you may not see their logos on building, tech companies are still making a positive impact locally on some of the issues that matter the most to Oregonians.

 Education

 Palo Alto Software helps businesses start, run, and grow with business planning and email management software. The company has customers in over 180 countries.

Over the summer the company hosted nine college interns and one highschool teacher in Eugene,'' shared Celeste Peterson, Head of People at Palo Alto Software.

“We see it as a win-win for everyone involved. Interns are doing real work and creating value. They bring fresh ideas and we get to engage the next generation of the tech workforce,” Peterson added.

In partnership with the Connected Lane County and the Technology Association of Oregon, Palo Alto Software also provided an externship to Ken Best, a teacher at Elmira High School.

In a coordinated effort local tech and tech enabled companies including AHM Brands, Arcimoto, CBT Nuggets, IDX Broker, and Northwest Community Credit Union have been training high school teachers from around the region with dramatic results. Computer science curriculum has increased by 1200% across the Lane County high schools.

 Giving Back

 Many local tech companies are hands on when it comes to environmental stewardship.

 Palo Alto Software offers paid time off each month to employees, so they can volunteer in support of local causes and nonprofits, including the McKenzie River Trust.

 For the past two years the entire company has taken a half day off of work to go out to the river and volunteer. “In return, the McKenzie River Trust teaches us about the local environment. It is really a great learning experience for us,” shared Peterson.

 Palo Alto Software and other local tech firms including MPulse software, a global provider of maintenance management software, are also involved financially with environmental projects. Among those projects is the annual Shire for the River campaign. 

“These projects help us to maintain and improve the terrific quality of life we enjoy in this special region,'' says Jason Johnson, MPulse Software president. “The McKenzie River is one of our biggest assets, and it truly helps attract great talent and great companies to the area. Shire companies are dedicated to ensuring that what makes this place so extraordinary will always be here, he added.

 Educational technology company CBT Nuggets provides Computer Based Training for learners globally. Recently CBT Nuggets formed a partnership with Saint Vincent DePaul and together they are looking to build a boys home for youth in Eugene.

“The facility would support high performing kids who have had the chips stacked against them,” shared Shelly Galvin, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Global Business, Local Impact

 Global tech companies with a local presence are competing and winning in the global marketplace, not in spite of being community minded, but because of it.