On November 14, Team4Tech brought together 250 partners and supporters in Palo Alto, California, for our annual Lighthouses of Learning Impact Celebration to celebrate Team4Tech’s impact in advancing education for employment worldwide.
Our nonprofit and corporate partners shared their transformative experiences with Team4Tech, and learned about Team4Tech’s program expansion and scale of our programming that now supports 1,200 education-focused nonprofits around the world. Our community is building skills for over 49 million learners across 100+ countries.
Featuring Exceptional Contributions to Our Work
We were humbled to honor the incredible work and partnership of Team4Tech’s 2025 honorees.
NGO Partner of the Year: Projeto Arrastão
A Team4Tech strategic NGO partner since 2023, Projeto Arrastão has leveraged our support to expand their makerspace, build out tech capacity, and strengthen digital literacy for their learners. Since 1968, Projeto Arrastão has supported 1,000+ learners daily in the Campo Limpo region of São Paulo, Brazil, with a wide range of programs—from daycare and youth training to entrepreneurship and innovation—focused on empowering individuals and building strong community ties.
We’re thrilled to recognize all the ways that Projeto Arrastão has embraced the elements of Team4Tech’s accelerator programming this year:
- Staff have engaged with Team4Tech’s Community of Practice to access resources, participate in virtual networking events and webinars, connect with peers, and participate in online courses, including our Digital Literacy Learning Cohort.
- Leadership from Projeto Arrastão have joined in regional meet-ups, both virtually and in São Paulo, Brazil, where they have connected with other Brazilian NGO partners and shared knowledge and opportunities.
- Team4Tech has supported Projeto Arrastão with $30K in grant funding, which they have used to improve tech capacity and enhance their tech program.
- Team4Tech connected 10 skilled volunteers from Cadence Design Systems with Projeto Arrastão staff to create scalable solutions addressing digital literacy and leveraging artificial intelligence for STEM education.
We’re grateful that Luiz Masagão Ribeiro from Projeto Arrastão was able to join us in person at the Impact Celebration, to accept this honor and engage in a fireside chat with Team4Tech board member, Claudio Sassaki, to share more about the positive outcomes of our partnership.
Outstanding Volunteers of the Year: Charis Kalantzi and Alex Leigh, Cadence Design Systems
We honored the exceptional volunteer efforts of Cadence employees Alex Leigh and Charis Kalantzi. Alex and Charis met in 2024, during a skills-based volunteering opportunity in Cambodia, working with Team4Tech and PEPY Empowering Youth. This volunteering experience inspired them to get more involved, so Alex and Charis supported Team4Tech by trekking through Patagonia as part of a fundraising initiative, rallying $20,000 in donations for their journey to benefit a Team4Tech partner NGO. Their passion for innovation didn’t stop there. They went on to support additional NGOs through our micro-matching projects. Their contributions have included developing creative STEAM activities with low-cost materials, integrating AI skills into ICT education programs, and conducting research to improve data management systems.
Through every project, Charis and Alex have shown how technology, creativity, and compassion can come together to drive lasting change around the world.
We were so pleased that Alex and Charis joined us from Austin, TX and Munich, respectively, to accept their awards for above-and-beyond commitment to Team4Tech’s mission..
Corporate Partner of the Year: Salesforce
Team4Tech recognized Salesforce as our 2025 Corporate Partner of the Year. Over the past three years, Salesforce employees engaged in 20 capacity-building projects with 15 of Team4Tech’s NGO partners, contributing over 7,000 volunteer hours valued at nearly $1.4M.
Salesforce employees have accelerated impact for NGOs in myriad ways, including:
- Supporting Passerelles Numériques with technical guidance on managing fundraising data (Cambodia)
- Transforming access to technology and STEM education at LEAP Science and Maths Schools (South Africa)
- Supporting Fundación Paraguaya with product development and AI solutions (Paraguay)
At Salesforce, giving back is in our DNA. We’re driven by a shared purpose to empower innovation and partner with organizations around the world to drive meaningful, lasting change in our communities….The success of this latest pro bono project is a testament to the strong partnership between Salesforce and Team4Tech, now in its stride with over twenty collaborative projects.”
— Sadie Koeppel, Salesforce Employer Brand Communication and Content Manager
Joey Martin, Salesforce’s Director of Solution Innovation, joined our event to accept this award. In her role, she defines and executes the technology and solution strategy for Salesforce’s global volunteer, giving, and professional pro bono initiatives, serving over 74,000 employees.
Donor of the Year: Ezrah Charitable Trust
The Ezrah Charitable Trust, our 2025 Donor of the Year, provided catalytic funding to launch a three-year project to build knowledge among Africa-based education NGO with AI tools and to support the application of generative AI for more effective program delivery. The project leverages our global online Community of Practice and strategic NGO partners to build three annual cohorts of 10 NGOs each, ready to support the localization of AI concepts and tools in their education programs.
After just one year, cohort members show a 40-point increase from pre-assessment to post-course assessment—our courses are enabling these participating NGOs to build better education programs, ensuring that their learners are not left behind as the ever-accelerating pace of technology shapes the skills learners need for future employment.
While she was unable to join us in person for the celebration, Ezrah Charitable Trust’s Executive Director, Charlene Chen, accepted the award in the video above.
Generous Support for Our Mission
So inspired by Team4Tech’s deep collaborations, our generous community contributed over $220,000, which was matched, in part, by the generosity of the Hopper-Dean Foundation. These funds will directly amplify Team4Tech’s accelerator program, which gives our NGO partners access to:
- A global, online Community of Practice: We offer free courses, learning cohorts, toolkits, and resources, designed for NGO staff and teachers, all focused on strengthening organizational capacity and practices to build employability skills for learners. Community members can share best practices, learn together, and build meaningful connections.
- Facilitated Regional Hubs: Through our regional hubs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America, we provide hands-on support to NGO partners and contextually relevant resources, and we organize convenings for local networking, engagement, and knowledge-sharing.
- Access to Skilled Volunteers and Educational Resource Partners: Through our corporate partnerships, we provide many formats of pro bono consulting support from skilled employee volunteers, ranging from short-term, virtual opportunities to immersive on-site opportunities. We also bring in educational resource providers to offer their solutions and knowledge resources to our community.
- Access to Funding, Amplification, and Coaching: Our global team of education experts provides ongoing coaching and strategic guidance for our NGO partners, including $600K in annual technology grants to 30+ strategic NGO partners. We showcase and amplify the impact of our partners through speaking engagements and other marketing support.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone in our growing community for sharing our vision of a world where all learners have access to an education that builds skills for high-quality employment.