Microsoft releases annual citizenship report

Microsoft has released its annual Citizenship Report, which documents philanthropic work worldwide.

The Redmond giant's report says that the 2013 fiscal year was a "significant" one for the firm, as projects focused on education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth worldwide. In software donations, training and competitions, Microsoft hopes to eventually reach over "300 million" young people worldwide.

In 2013, Microsoft says it gave an average of $2 million per day in software donations to nonprofits across the globe, as well as releasing Office 365 for Nonprofits to 41 countries for charity work and schemes -- although the company wants to raise this number to 90 countries by July 2014.

In addition, if the company's employees contribute to charity, Microsoft matches donations. The firm says that in 2013, the 30th year of its campaign has resulted in over $1 billion of employee contributions and matches to over 31,000 nonprofits since 1983.

However, it is not all about forces outside of the business world. Microsoft also launched the Microsoft Technology and Human Rights Center to "further integrate human rights into our culture and throughout operations," by launching events to advance understanding of human rights on IT.

Via: Microsoft

Image credit: Microsoft

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com