June 10, 2009 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Imagine asking a company for a one thousand dollar charitable donation and instead receiving $50,000! Not many local charities have an anecdote like that one to tell... but it happened recently to The Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA when the organization approached Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons.
"Go Daddy is absolutely committed to making a difference in the community," said Parsons. "For instance, The Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA asked us to donate some money to help underprivileged Valley children. Once we learned what they could do if they only had enough money, we wrote an even bigger check right there on the spot. I like that Go Daddy can do things like that."
Much of the reason Go Daddy can be so generous is the Internet giant's global reach and industry dominance. Go Daddy is a world leader in domain registration, Web hosting and eCommerce -- with more than 6.6MM customers and 35MM domains under management. The company -- recently named "Best of the Best" technology company by Ranking Arizona -- is proving to be recession resilient, expanding and hiring 345 people so far this year...with more than 125 additional positions currently available.
What's good for Go Daddy has been great for local charities. In fact, Go Daddy's participation in charitable endeavors so far this year has put the company on track to break its own record of 1.7MM in donations set last year.
Go Daddy's work with local charities is well-established in the Valley. GoDaddy.com has supported HomeBase Youth Services for six consecutive years and was Presenting Sponsor of its annual "Doorway of Hope" Dinner in February. Then in April, Go Daddy was also the Title Sponsor of the Chrysalis Honors...the Family event as well as for The Wish Ball which benefited the Arizona Make-A-Wish Foundation. Later this summer, Go Daddy will be the Title Sponsor of the 11th Annual Arizona Humane Society Pet Telethon. And this fall, Go Daddy will be the Title Sponsor of the "Walk for the Cure" to benefit the Desert Southwest Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International in Arizona.
"This will be Go Daddy's third year as Title Sponsor for the JDRF Walk and we couldn't be more pleased," said Becky Jackson, Executive Director/CEO of the Desert Southwest Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. "Each of the last two years, we've had more than 25,000 participants and raised more than $2MM with Go Daddy's help. Last year alone, CEO Bob Parsons and Go Daddy donated $138,000 and had more than 750 walkers in the event."
Go Daddy may be best known for its edgy commercials, but there is so much more to the Web industry leader. Go Daddy works tirelessly on Capitol Hill to make the Internet a safe and secure place. Just last week, The Go Daddy Group was invited to testify before a Congressional subcommittee regarding the future of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). In 2008, the company was instrumental in passing two federal laws -- one protecting children from online sexual predators and a second providing Web companies with much-needed tools to take illegitimate Internet pharmacies offline. Substantial contributions like these, along with a variety of charitable work, provide Go Daddy important opportunities to give back.
"It's not important that we get credit for all the money we donate," said Parsons. "What's important is that we make a difference. The year is far from over, in terms of Go Daddy's charity work."
