GoDaddy partners with community organizations to expand entrepreneurial opportunities

GoDaddy is empowering everyday entrepreneurs around the world by providing all of the help and tools to succeed online. With 19 million customers worldwide, GoDaddy is the place people come to name their idea, build a professional website, attract customers and manage their work. Its vision is broader than that, however; the company wants to shift the global economy toward life-fulfilling independent ventures. It is in GoDaddy’s own self-interest, therefore, to raise awareness about how the company can be a catalyst for small business and local economies. Its approach has earned GoDaddy first place in the “Corporate-Community or Nonprofit Partnership” category of PR Daily’s Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

It made perfect sense for GoDaddy to align its vision with its corporate giving program, with the aim of equipping entrepreneurs in underserved communities who lacked the support and resources to learn how to build their small businesses. GoDaddy took the unique approach of partnering not only with national nonprofits but also with local organizations in more than 40 cities across the nation, where programs were developed that met the needs of each individual region and aligned with the missions of the nonprofit partners.

One such partnership was with the Jane Boyd Community House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The organization didn’t focus on entrepreneurship or small business when it partnered with GoDaddy in 2016, but it was interested in expanding a program to help those in underserved areas find and keep jobs.

GoDaddy, Cause Consulting, a social impact strategy and communications firm partnering with GoDaddy, and Jane Boyd House met with 10 local leaders to develop the program plan, resulting nine months later in the first Cedar Rapids Entrepreneurial Program. GoDaddy experts designed the customized learning experience around a variety of digital topics, which they delivered both in person and virtually; the company’s creative and production team designed videos, presentations, homework sheets and tutorials.

More than 100 entrepreneurs were recruited, with graduations held for each cohort. The program also attracted media coverage and drew new clients to Jane Boyd House, along with new sources of revenue.

Congratulations to Empower by GoDaddy.