In January, Seesaw co-founder Carl Sjogreen saw that his education app was experiencing a drastic uptick in new accounts in Asia. By February, students were posting projects on it at 10 times the normal frequency. As schools closed around the world because of Covid-19, Seesaw became a crucial link for at-home students and their teachers. The company quickly intro­duced more teachers to its library and began hosting town hall-style meetings multiple times a week for teachers using the platform. Seesaw’s much-needed service led to a tripling in revenue this year, according to the company.

Improving people’s technical skills and employability is the core mission of Codeacademy. When Covid-19 hit, the company launched philanthropic programs to make education more accessible to those affected. For example, for every single Pro subscription purchased, the company donated five free, three-month memberships to people who had been laid off or furloughed. Codecademy also expanded its work with students and teachers throughout the year, offering its Pro curriculum for K-12 teachers and their classrooms at no charge. Through these programs and others, the company provided free access to its platform to more than 200,000 learners globally.

InStride promotes progress through workforce education and lifelong learning. When Arizona State University partnered with Starbucks in 2014 to help its employees acquire college and graduate degrees relevant to their work, the program was so successful it spun off InStride. Today, the company works with 30 corporate clients to offer their employees more than 1,500 complementary degree programs, credentials, and courses through a global academic network, all at minimal or no expense to employees. Additional universities in their academic network include Harvard Business School Online and the University of Wisconsin. So far InStride's programs have helped more than 26,000 learners and their families.

In June, Pine Gate Renewables became the first solar developer to secure a 10-year Purchase Power Agreement with Duke Energy, one of the largest power-holding companies in the country, for its Green Source Advantage program, which will provide 45 percent of all Bank of America’s electricity consumption in North Carolina. In August, Pine Gate’s Duke University partnership represented the first with a higher education institution that will cover roughly half of its electricity needs. Pine Gate is developing more than 500 Megawatts of projects in Michigan, which will make it the largest solar developer in the state. The company also makes contributions to charitable organizations including the Manna Food Bank in Asheville, the Red Cross, Sierra Nevada Restaurant Coalition, Midland Community Foundation, and Campaign Zero.

By installing electronic charging stations nationwide, EV Connect is effectively building the low-emissions highway of tomorrow. The launch of its Partner Program and its open-source partnership with competitor Greenlots demonstrates EV Connect’s desire to improve the experience of both site owners and electric vehicle drivers. The company is working toward building relationships with charging station manufacturers, bundling charging solutions, and giving drivers access to charging stations across North America. EV Connect also participated in Time to Vote, a nonpartisan, business-led initiative that helps ensure U.S. employees don't have to forgo their pay to vote.