Business situation Past & Current

Benioff has long evangelized software as a service as the model that would replace traditional
enterprise software.

He is the creator of the term "platform as a service" and has extended Salesforce's reach by
allowing customers to build their own applications on the company's architecture or in the
Salesforce cloud.

As CEO of Salesforce, he has addressed social causes such as equal pay for women, as well
as leading efforts by business leaders to publicly oppose legislation in Indiana and Georgia that
would allow discrimination against LGBT communities.
I realized that I didn't have to make a choice between doing business and doing good. I could
align these two values and strive to succeed at both simultaneously.

World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab's multi stakeholder approach to leadership,
which says that leaders should serve not only their shareholders but all stakeholders, including
customers, employees, partners, communities and the environment, to make the world a
better place.

In March 2015, Benioff announced Salesforce would cancel all employee programs and travel
in the state of Indiana after the passing of SB 101, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a
controversial bill which would allow companies and individuals to deny service to LGBT
individuals based on religious beliefs. As the largest tech employer in Indiana (following the
2013 acquisition of ExactTarget) Benioff led a global effort of business leaders fighting back
against the legislation, ultimately leading to the Indiana State Legislature's passing an
amendment to the bill containing protections for LGBT customers, tenants and employees

Benioff led a similar movement in February 2016 against Georgia's HB 757, the First
Amendment Defense Act. He announced that Salesforce would reduce investments in Georgia
and cancel an annual conference if the bill was passed as-is. A month later, the Governor
vetoed the bill.

In April 2015, Benioff announced that he would be reviewing all salaries at Salesforce to
ensure men and women were being paid equally for comparable work.

501(c)(3) 501(c)(4)

A nonprofit organization may be tax-exempt To be tax-exempt as a social welfare

if its primary activities are charitable,
religious, educational, scientific, literary,
testing for public safety, fostering amateur
sports competition, preventing cruelty to
children, or preventing cruelty to animals.
organization described in Internal Revenue
Code (IRC), an organization must not be
organized for profit and must be operated
exclusively to promote social welfare.