SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unity (NYSE: U), the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content, today announced its Unity Social Impact division to empower employees and creators of all backgrounds to foster a more inclusive, sustainable world. The Social Impact division is underpinned by the establishment of the Unity Charitable Fund, in partnership with Tides Foundation, a program that provides the financial mechanism to bring the goals of Unity’s newly-formed division to life. The announcement marks the one week countdown to the Unity for Humanity Summit: a two-day event that assembles luminary creators, nonprofits, investors, and philanthropists harnessing real-time 3D technology to power social impact and real-world change.
“By coalescing social impact efforts into its own division at Unity, we’re now able to do more to have a positive impact for creators and communities around the globe,” said Jessica Lindl, Vice President, Social Impact, Unity. “Unity has long made strides to make education and economic opportunity widely available, to ensure privacy and online safety, and to demonstrate environmental responsibility through sustainability initiatives. Unity Social Impact allows us to centralize these efforts, so we can identify new opportunities to foster a cleaner, safer, and more equitable world.”
The Unity Social Impact division is built on three key pillars:
- Education and Economic Opportunity for All - Unity contributes its products, technology and expertise to enable more than 300,000 students and teachers each year to learn and create with Unity to further its belief that learning should be accessible to everyone. The company partners with companies, nonprofits, and governments around the world to encourage inclusive economic growth for individuals and communities.
- Sustainability - Unity is integrating environmental responsibility and sustainability initiatives throughout its operations, product, and overall business strategy, working proactively to reduce its carbon footprint across more than 40 offices worldwide.
- Health and well-being – Unity believes that everyone deserves the ability to live a healthy life. Unity’s tools are being used to explore innovative and practical solutions for managing physical and mental health, train medical professionals, and test new healthcare technologies.
To support these pillars, Unity Social Impact has announced the establishment of the Unity Charitable Fund through a partnership with Tides Foundation: a philanthropic partner and nonprofit accelerator dedicated to building a world of shared prosperity and social justice. Seeded with 750,000 shares of Unity equity, the Unity Charitable Fund will provide direct grants to non-profit organizations in the areas of education, inclusive economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, safety and accessibility, and human wellness. Tides Foundation will serve as Unity’s partner for disbursement of the funds.
“Effective, authentic corporate philanthropy requires a thoughtful strategy that aligns with your company's values,” said Leena Barakat, Director, Strategic Partnerships at Tides. “Giving creators access to funding to realize the changes they want to see in the world is core to our shared missions, bringing forth a tomorrow filled with shared prosperity, social justice, and limitless possibility.”
The existing Unity for Humanity program provides selected impact-driven Made with Unity projects with funding, mentorship, and technical and marketing assistance. The program selects projects through a call for submissions, which will open on October 21, 2020.
Unity Social Impact will be a centerpiece of the Unity for Humanity Summit, a free two-day event taking place October 21 and 22. The theme -- “Creators are Changemakers” -- will thread through the event’s programming, from the keynote presentation by best-selling author and one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Malcolm Gladwell, to diverse discussions and presentations aimed at helping social impact-driven creators around the world to learn, connect, and celebrate their work. The Summit is a call-to-action designed to inspire and empower people to create for positive change.
To learn more about Unity’s commitment to impacting social change, or to learn how to submit a project for consideration, please visit www.unity.com/social-impact. To learn more about the Unity for Humanity Summit taking place October 21-22, please visit ufhsummit2020.unity.com.
About Unity
Unity is the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content. Creators, ranging from game developers to artists, architects, automotive designers, filmmakers, and others, use Unity to make their imaginations come to life. Unity’s platform provides a comprehensive set of software solutions to create, run and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company’s 1,800+ person research and development team keeps Unity at the forefront of development by working alongside partners to ensure optimized support for the latest releases and platforms. Apps developed by Unity creators were downloaded more than three billion times per month in 2019 on more than 1.5 billion unique devices. For more information, please visit www.unity.com.