ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Buzzer makes must-see live sports moments easily accessible. Buzzer as an organization and sponsor of the Strive Initiative is committed to cultivating an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace and using our resources at Strive to level the playing field for communities of color.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
Buzzer’s purpose is to build community. From our app that brings sports fans together to the responsibility, our company has in helping athletes to share their unique stories. With this community-driven focus engrained in the team culture and product, it was important that we created opportunities to level the playing field and celebrate equitable outcomes for underrepresented people in our community.
One of the early decisions in building Buzzer's culture was to identify opportunities to hire talent from HBCUs, ensuring the company was developing career access points. A job description for an internship was posted, and hundreds of applications came flooding in from hopeful students interested in sports and technology.
Throughout the hiring process for these internships, the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction, challenging corporate leadership to rethink how companies are structured to create a more equal and inclusive culture. As a start-up just beginning to define its culture, Buzzer took this as a sign to be proactive in its development of a team with diversity and in the investment of talent who come from underrepresented and underinvested backgrounds. Rather than sending rejection emails to the internship applicants who were not selected, a mentorship program was born: Strive.
Strategy & Execution
Strive has 3 key pillars:
- Social Justice: Advancing equality and justice in the US. Strive partners with organizations to raise awareness, educate and take action toward meaningful reform and progress.
- Economic Justice: Creating and driving economic opportunities for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, AAPI and other underrepresented communities. Strive will partner with organizations that address and support innovative solutions that focus on diverse leadership pipelines, the racial wealth gap, and other economic inequities.
- Sports Participation: Increasing access to sports participation for communities of color, women, the transgender community, and other underrepresented communities.
The Strive program consists of the Strive Impact Model and the Strive Mentorship Program:
Strive Impact Model:
- Equity: 1% of the company’s equity will be allocated to ‘leveling the playing field.’
- Net Profit: 1% of net profits will be reinvested into nonprofits focused on empowering communities of color.
- Consumer Engagement: Invite participation and engagement from each Buzzer customer to affect change through partnerships with non-profit organizations.
- Employee Volunteerism: 1% of employees’ time spent at Buzzer is dedicated to volunteerism.
Strive Mentorship Program:
- Aims to foster meaningful connections between college students, with a special emphasis on those enrolled in HBCUs, with experienced industry professionals in Sports, Entertainment, Media, Technology, and Venture Capital.
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 5th Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 14, 2023 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
