As we reflect on the past year here at Riskified, it’s important to not only celebrate our accomplishments but also to acknowledge the challenges we encountered. For all of us connected to Riskified Cares, our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, global uncertainty shaped our work in 2023. We particularly felt the reverberations of civil upheaval related to judicial reforms in Israel and, on October 7, the horrific start of the Israel-Hamas war. 

The war’s impact on our operations and its emotional toll on our global team has been enormous, and it’s a testament to the Riskified team that we were able to keep our customers’ businesses secure and strong. 

But instead of allowing these difficult times to derail our CSR efforts, we found strength in solidarity. We renewed our pledge to give back to communities in need around the world and our belief that how we support customers, care for our employees, and serve our communities defines our company. 

As a result and for the second year in a row, we were honored to receive a TrustRadius TechCares Award, which recognizes technology companies with a demonstrated commitment to supporting their employees and communities through impactful CSR initiatives. Riskified Cares also proudly participated in a Home Furnishings Association (HFA) webinar entitled Transform Your Furniture Business with CSR and wrote a guest blog for HFA: Learn How to Build an Impactful CSR Program for Your Business. 

Here are a few more highlights from our CSR activities in 2023.

Riskified Cares by the numbers

In 2023, Riskified employees clocked more than 1,500 volunteer hours across 55 different volunteer events, with 289 employees volunteering at least once throughout the year. We collaborated with 46 charities, supporting 2,490 people in communities across the world. 

We are proud of these numbers and even more of the stories behind them.

2023 12 CSR End of Year

Tsofen HR + tech interview simulation

We kicked off the year hosting Full Stack Bootcamp graduates from Tsofen in our Tel Aviv office. Tsofen is a nonprofit organization founded by Jewish and Arab tech professionals and economists who aspire to develop the tech sector in the Arab community as an economic lever and catalyst for shared society in Israel. The graduates visited Riskified for a day of HR interview simulations with our recruiters and for technical interview simulations with our development team. 

SuitUp business panel

Through SuitUp,  we hosted 50 middle school students from the Hoboken Dual Language Charter School at our New York office. Riskified volunteers and the students participated in a business competition in which they created an innovative business pitch for one of our merchants, Peloton. The goal of the pitch was to bring in more revenue and sales for the company. The volunteers coached the students before helping them pitch to Riskified judges for a cash prize. 

After the event, the students answered a SuitUp survey to understand the impact of the event on their future career choices: 94% of students said that engaging with the volunteers influenced their career choice, with 53% saying they were now interested in exploring marketing and 40% indicating they would like to explore business administration/entrepreneurship. Our SuitUp liaison wrote: “For many students, this was their first time being invited to sit at the corporate table — to be heard and seen as a CEO. You were part of this. You helped make this happen.” 

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APAC volunteers 

As our APAC sites continue to grow, so does their positive social impact.

In Shanghai, we partnered with Hands on Shanghai, and Riskified volunteers spent the day with adults with special needs at the Shanghai Museum of Glass, touring and doing a hands-on art activity together.

In Australia, we partnered with the OzHarvest Kitchen, which takes good food that would otherwise be wasted and provides ready-made meals for families and people in need. The Melbourne team volunteered together and prepared 68 delicious and nourishing meals. 

We also organized a virtual opportunity with SuitUp for all of APAC. Riskified volunteers coached students on creating and presenting pitches by identifying the students’ strengths and bolstering their professional communications skills. The students then presented to our VP of Sales and GM-APAC and VP of Account Management in APAC for a cash prize. 

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Titans of Ecommerce Awards

Every year, Riskified’s merchant summit, Ascend, brings together ecommerce industry leaders and experts united in tackling emerging challenges in fraud, policy abuse, and payments. 

In 2023, Ascend shone a spotlight on the “Titans of Ecommerce” — the individuals who drive change in the fraud and risk ecosystem. Riskified recognized the top five Titans of 2023, who came from Macy’s, SnapCommerce, StockX, Booking.com, and C.H. Robinson. Riskified Cares made donations in their honor to the charity of their choice, which included Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Cradles to Crayons, and Trinity Place Shelter. 

Affinity groups

Affinity groups are a way to build internal support networks for employees within company walls to promote equity and inclusion in the workspace. At Riskified, our LGBTQ+ group RiskiPride plans all-are-welcome social and educational events for its members, allies, and colleagues. They also created an inspiring video for Pride 2023.

This year also saw the launch of our Women at Riskified affinity group, which hosted its first event in NYC: “Redefining Success: Insights from Women in Tech.”  

Riskified’s CSR response to the Israel-Hamas War

The Riskified Cares team prioritized support for Riskified employees based in Israel to ensure their physical and mental health needs were met with compassion and understanding.  At the same time, Riskified teams across the world stepped up to ensure uninterrupted service to our customers. 

Through Riskified Cares, we offered a number of war-relief volunteer opportunities to employees, such as:

  • Calling elderly individuals to help with any pressing needs they had and to combat feelings of isolation
  • Helping restore rundown public shelters in disadvantaged communities
  • Cooking and packaging warm meals for soldiers
  • Packing medical supplies for Israel through the Afya Foundation in New York
  • Building furniture for evacuees with Molet
  • Preparing and serving breakfast to evacuees from the Kfar Aza kibbutz

Riskified also donated to and matched donations to war relief organizations including Natal, an apolitical organization providing multidisciplinary treatment and support to direct and indirect victims of trauma due to war and terror in Israel. 

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The year ahead 

These stories provide just a snapshot of our impact last year. As we plan for 2024, we carry with us the lessons learned from navigating turbulent times. Riskified’s dedication to social impact in all the communities where our employees live and work remains steadfast, and we will continue to support causes that align with our values and championing inclusivity, sustainability, and community well-being.