Season without Swag
At Upwave, we strive to weave our company values into all of our business decisions. As the holidays approached in 2020, and offices (or homes, in the now mostly remote workforce) became filled with branded goodies and gifts — we took a step back and asked ourselves: how can we be more thoughtful in our approach to thanking customers and partners?
The answer was to give to those in need. That’s why this Giving Tuesday, for the 2nd year in a row, Team Upwave is participating in Givsly’s Season Without Swag.
Season Without Swag is an industry-wide initiative launched by social impact company, Givsly, in partnership with Advertising Week. This innovative and first-of-its-kind effort encourages companies to redirect budgets previously spent on company swag and gifts towards meaningful charitable donations.
Each year Team Upwave votes on a 501c3 organization that is near and dear to Upwavers hearts. This year’s donation is going to the Women’s Daytime Drop-in Center in California’s Northern Alameda County. The drop-in center provides homeless women and their children a safe place to stay during the day while overnight shelters are closed. They welcome an average of 150 women and children each month with warm meals, counseling, and support to help them get back on their feet.
Upwave Momentum
“Upwave Momentum” is our internal initiative that’s comprised of three pillars; community engagement, volunteering, and donations. We support community engagement throughout the year by partnering with organizations specific to communities where our Upwaver’s live. We host quarterly volunteering efforts which range from local in-person events, to virtual events that allow our entire remote team to participate and give back. 
Every other week, Upwave donates to non-profits that are employee submitted. Our team submits suggestions for Upwave Momentum donations throughout the year and those selected are presented to the rest of the company – highlighting the cause, their mission, etc. It’s a great way for us to connect about something that goes beyond day-to-day work lives. Season Without Swag adds an additional nonprofit to the already lengthy list of donations that Upwave contributes to throughout the year. 
Industry pro bono work
In addition to Upwave’s end of year donation in partnership with Givsly, we also do pro bono work throughout the year. In 2021, our work with the Ad Council to help educate Americans about the Covid-19 Vaccine and encourage more vaccinations, was a particularly special campaign. This campaign was selected as a finalist in Digidays “Greater Good” awards and we are proud of the impact that this campaign has had on educating the public on the safety of the vaccine.
We’re thrilled to be able to close out another year at Upwave that’s filled with philanthropy and giving back to the communities that Upwavers care about. If you’re interested in joining the inclusive culture at Upwave, visit our careers page and reach out to us – we’re always looking to hire new, passionate people who embody Upwave’s values. 
Read about our 2020 Season Without Swag donation to Save the Children International on the blog here and see the full list of our 2021 donations below.

• Ability Path
• Acta Non Verba
• ARC SF
• Barstool Fund
• Big Hearts to Little Hearts
• Camp Indigo
• CEID – Center for Early Intervention of Deafness
• City of Dreams
• CORE – Community Organized Relief effort
• Girls that Code
• George Floyd Foundation
• Humane Animal Rescue
• Kapiolani Health Foundation
• Maitri SF
• Muttville
• Project Night Night
• Protect Our Winters 
• Put me in
• Python
• The Hidden Genius Project of Oakland
• The Trevor Project
• Thurgood Marshall College Fund
• Triad Family Services
• Tuesday’s Children 
• Unstoppable
• Vets who code
• Locks of Love 
• The Bayou Fund
• Together We Rise 
• ARC Pittsburg