Strong employee engagement with workplace giving isn't happenstance, it’s the result of a purpose-built platform that supports employees no matter where they are, what causes they care about, or how they prefer to give back.

Read on to learn how Goodstack is helping Atlassian make workplace giving more measurable, scalable, and intuitive.

Atlassian Foundation Rewards

"We wanted to focus on the impact people are making, not just hours logged."

Mallory Burke

Senior Program Manager - Atlassian Foundation

How do you empower thousands of employees around the world to give back, not just as individuals, but as a coordinated force for good?

For Atlassian, the answer lies in Foundation Rewards, a program designed to help employees ("Atlassians") connect with causes they care about. From volunteering at animal shelters to donating their professional skills to nonprofits, Atlassians effect meaningful change intentionally and efficiently.

But scaling that kind of impact across a global, remote-first workforce takes more than noble intentions; it requires nimble infrastructure. "We transitioned to distributed working during COVID and never went back," explains Mallory Burke, a senior program manager for Atlassian's social impact programs. "So, we needed a platform that could support people all over the world with different logistics and resourcing needs."

In early 2024, when it became clear that Atlassian's existing workplace giving solution wasn't the best fit to support the company's long-term goals, the Atlassian Foundation team began exploring alternatives. "We really wanted to focus on tracking actions instead of volunteering hours," explains Burke. "We wanted to focus on the impact people are making, not just hours logged."

Seeking a partner, not just a platform

To realize that goal, Atlassian needed more than just a new platform, they needed a true partner with a shared vision for the future. The search started with a clear assessment of pain points. Aside from a strong customer success mindset, other priorities included ease of use and the ability to grow alongside the team's expanding operations.

Goodstack stood out among the crowd of contenders for a few reasons. First of all, the platform is designed with enterprise flexibility in mind. Its intuitive user experience, complete with AI-powered tools for creating campaigns and volunteer opportunities, reduces friction and results in less time spent on manual setup or troubleshooting.

Sealing the deal for Atlassian, Goodstack also came to the table armed with a concrete demonstration of potential, not just lofty promises. Goodstack even built a mock-up of what the program would look like in action. "This let us see the full potential, rather than just hear talk," explains Burke.

A 'native-feeling' user experience

“Employees really feel like [Goodstack] is part of Atlassian... It's just a very smooth and user-friendly process.”

Grace Kim

Program Manager - Atlassian Foundation

After a pilot phase, Atlassian fully implemented Goodstack's workplace giving platform in October 2024.

Grace Kim, a program manager with the Atlassian Foundation, says that even though Goodstack has only been in the mix for a short time, it feels deeply integrated into the company's ecosystem. "Employees really feel like [Goodstack] is part of Atlassian… We don't have to walk employees through much admin for setting up events or fundraisers. It's just a very smooth and user-friendly process."

Burke and Kim also note that the Goodstack team has been easily accessible and collaborative every step of the way. "There's constant communication," says Burke. "Goodstack is willing to hear how things work for us and apply those insights to real-life scenarios. They really take our needs to heart."

Features that drive impact

• Automated recognition: Goodstack's smart badging system helps visualize employees' giving and volunteering milestones, making it easier to recognize outstanding efforts.

• A seamless user experience: Simplified UI minimizes administrative questions.

• Powerful data visualization: "The ability to pull data is exceptional. We've never been able to see this kind of data before," says Burke.

• AI-powered creation tools: Employees can quickly create fundraisers and events with AI assistance, making the process feel "fun and fresh."

Looking to the future, Goodstack's AI-powered creation tools are transforming how quickly teams can launch new initiatives. Where competitive platforms might require dozens of steps to create a single volunteer opportunity, Goodstack's intuitive workflow design and emerging AI capabilities aim to reduce this process to just a few clicks.

Turning data into action

“The ability to pull data is exceptional. We've never been able to see this kind of data before.”

Mallory Burke

Senior Program Manager - Atlassian Foundation

Data-driven decision-making is at the heart of Atlassian's workplace giving success: An external Goodstack dashboard allows team members to check participation rates within their groups, while an internal one provides program administrators with deeper analytics. Data lives in a centralized place, making it easy to access, analyze, and act on in real time.

"We can see what months are more popular [for giving] for example, our 'Week of Good' campaign in December shows a spike, and we see lower engagement from January to March," explains Kim. "This helps us evaluate if it's a good time to add another initiative or reach out to teams to boost engagement."

The data also reveals which causes resonate most with employees. "Atlassians tend to work closely with [causes like] fighting hunger and protecting animals... We can use those insights to design campaigns and volunteering experiences," says Kim.

Atlassian 'Changemakers' in action

Esperanza Education Fund

Atlassian software engineer Bryan Mejía-Medina's relationship with the Esperanza Education Fund represents the powerful cycle of giving back. After receiving a scholarship from Esperanza as a high school senior pursuing computer science, Bryan now dedicates significant time to the organization as a Board Member and Chair of the Scholarship Committee. 

Through Foundation Rewards, Bryan's skilled contributions as an application reader, data analyst, mentor, organizer, and fundraiser are recognized and celebrated. "To me, being a Changemaker means finding joy and fulfillment in helping others via labor," explains Bryan. "Esperanza is like a second job, but I love every moment I spend working to help my local immigrant community."

CareerVillage

When Atlassian and strategic operations of brand and creative Christine Dela Rosa partnered with nonprofit CareerVillage through the Foundation, she expected to help with capacity planning. Instead, she discovered deeper organizational challenges that required a different approach.

"I realized the problem wasn't about efficiently sending workstream updates," Dela Rosa explains. "Their team members didn't understand why they were reporting certain metrics or needed to collaborate with other parts of the team."

Dela Rosa implemented a series of Atlassian Plays: frameworks designed to improve team collaboration, but with a twist. Rather than running them with the whole team, she guided CareerVillage's leadership to run targeted sections with specific teammates to assess alignment. "CareerVillage took my energy as a catalyst to have more conversations that trickled down into smaller changes across the whole team" says Dela Rosa.

Another core benefit is that the Goodstack platform empowers the Foundation team to be self-sufficient during data analysis, without constant tech support. "It feels like we have everything we need to build our own reports without having to ask permission," notes Burke. "That is just a huge breath of fresh air."

An agile partnership to foster future innovation

“It's an agile partnership, and everyone is very flexible and willing to hear our ideas or feedback.”

Grace Kim

Program Manager - Atlassian Foundation

Though still in the early stages of their partnership, Atlassian is already seeing promising results from its work with Goodstack and setting ambitious goals for the future. Upcoming enhancements to the platform's capabilities include more dynamic campaign pages and greater transparency into the complete donation journey.

"It's an agile partnership, and everyone is very flexible and willing to hear our ideas or feedback," says Kim. "Having that strong feedback loop has been amazing for innovation."

Measuring success

• 42% employee engagement

• 38,000+ hours volunteered (since Oct '24)

• 140+ Changemakers driving lasting impact (since Oct '24)

For Goodstack's part, we're focused on reimagining what today’s workplace giving tools should offer rather than simply replicating features that exist elsewhere. That means prioritizing real-world usability, listening closely to feedback from values-driven companies like Atlassian, and delivering features that meet the needs of modern, distributed teams.

When employees are equipped with the right tools and support, giving back becomes a shared, global effort, one that’s measurable, meaningful, and scalable across both teams and time zones.

To learn more about how Goodstack can power your workplace giving program, visit goodstack.io or reach out to the Goodstack team at https://goodstack.io/get-in-touch.