A message from
Cisco Foundation leadership

What does it mean to make an impact?

Since 1997, the Cisco Systems Foundation (Cisco Foundation) has been on a mission to answer that very question.

Established by a gift from Cisco Systems, Inc, the Cisco Foundation set out to support basic human needs across the Bay Area by partnering with California-based nonprofit and non-governmental organizations (NPOs/NGOs). Twenty-seven years later, that localized support has grown to a global mission across multiple sectors—one that leverages our people, our technology, and our catalytic funding model to promote a healthy planet and increase the well-being of people and communities everywhere.

Over the years, we’ve continued to accelerate on impact–surpassing our ambitious 10-year goal to positively impact the lives of one billion people worldwide–a full year ahead of schedule. After achieving our One Billion Lives goal, we felt inspired to share lessons learned, celebrate the transformative work of our partners, and communicate our unique social impact investment model.

This year, we’re proud to share our first ever Cisco Foundation Impact Report, which covers the Foundation’s commitments, strategic investments, and key accomplishments from fiscal year 2024. Below are just a few examples of this year’s meaningful work:

Positively impacted more than 170 million lives around the world
Launched new partnerships and expanded existing partnerships to tackle all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Deepened collaboration with our partners through follow-on investments, roundtable discussions to develop communities of practice among partner organizations tackling common issues, expert pro-bono consulting, communications support, employee engagement activities, features at Cisco events, and more
Provided funding to more than two dozen organizations innovating to create and test AI solutions
Completed the third year of our 10-year, US$100 million climate commitment
Implemented the second year of our Regional Solutions Grant program supporting hyper local issues and organizations

Looking ahead

Though we have accomplished much, we recognize there is always more to be done. We will continue to build upon our learnings and successful investment model: early-stage investments that lead to scale, proximate investments and client-centric solutions, ecosystems change, and organization capacity building for sustained impact—backed by the full force of Cisco’s global offerings and capabilities.

In just a few short weeks, we’ll be celebrating Cisco’s 40^th anniversary and the impact of Cisco and the Cisco Foundation. We look forward to sharing more about Cisco’s four decades of Purpose—and the Cisco Foundation’s role in that critical work—later this year.

On behalf of the Cisco Foundation, thank you for all you’ve done to help support our mission.

Brian Tippens
Chairperson and Trustee, Cisco Foundation; Senior Vice President and Chief Social Impact and Inclusion Officer, Cisco

Charu Adesnik
Executive Director, Cisco Foundation; Director, Social Impact and Innovation Investments, Cisco