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Autodesk Foundation serves as catalyst for impact & innovation

Categories: Impact Autodesk Foundation Future of Work Sustainability People & Culture
Tags: philanthropy

At a time when humanity is reeling—from the pandemic and its aftershocks to the scorching effects of climate change—we find reason to hope in the vision, tenacity, and innovation of the nonprofits and startups supported by the Autodesk Foundation.

Capital provided from Autodesk to the Autodesk Foundation provides early-stage, risk-tolerant, and flexible funding along with capacity-building in-kind support to innovations with the potential to transform industries. Last year the Autodesk Foundation continued investing financial capital, technology, and talent resources across our portfolio of nonprofits and startups.

We also saw promising results across our three areas of focus: energy and materials, health and resilience, and work and prosperity. The nonprofits and startups we fund have forged solutions to our most pressing social and environmental challenges. They have led the charge in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving resilience in communities most vulnerable to climate change, and preparing workers to thrive in an era of automation.

Our capital is sparking industries to transition to more sustainable, resilient, and equitable ways of doing business. In Autodesk’s FY22 Impact Report, we share their stories and the measurable results of their work.

New building constructed with prefabricated timber bamboo.

BamCore is developing the world’s first global supply chain of timber bamboo. Image courtesy of BamCore.

Consider construction startup BamCore, which is transforming the market for low-carbon building systems by creating the world’s first global supply chain of prefabricated timber bamboo wall systems. By leaning into the Autodesk Foundation’s comprehensive support, BamCore has tripled its fabrication rate, reduced installation time by 50%, and raised $15 million in just two years’ time.

For Bridges to Prosperity, a rural communities-focused nonprofit, we provided a working capital loan to equip them with the upfront resources they needed to keep scaling bridge construction in Uganda during the pandemic. This infusion of flexible funding allowed Bridges to Prosperity to overcome disrupted cash flow and build a track record of repayment to position them to tap into larger levels of investment as they grow.

Person crossing a foot bridge in rural Uganda.

Bridges to Prosperity has built more than 350 trailbridges, serving over 1.2 million community members throughout the world. Image courtesy of Bridges to Prosperity.

The Autodesk Foundation’s support of these and other organizations is leading to measurable impact. In fiscal year 2022, the Autodesk Foundation’s global portfolio achieved the following:

  • Mitigated 1.4 million metric tons of CO2e emissions
  • Reached more than 29 million people with resilient solutions in housing and infrastructure, energy access, agricultural productivity, and workforce development
  • Placed nearly 14,900+ people in new or improved jobs, with roughly 90% (13,400) of workers receiving a $5,000 annual increase in income.

These are substantial successes, and we’re excited to invite you to learn more about how we define and measure impact through the work of our portfolio organizations rising to meet the social and environmental challenges we face across the world. Truly tackling these challenges will require a journey of successes and failures from innovators who are relentless in their pursuit of impact. We are honored to play a role in supporting that journey.

Read Autodesk’s FY22 Impact Report to learn more.