Driving social and environmental progress in our communities using our local expertise and volunteer commitment
When CGI began in 1976, our founders were guided by the belief that business and community should grow together. From the beginning, we’ve been a company focused on building what’s next for our clients, CGI Partners and shareholders, and advancing the communities in which we live and work.
This commitment is reflected clearly in how CGI Partners show up for their communities. In just the past five years, they contributed 392,228 volunteering/pro bono hours—a powerful reflection of a culture of service that has shaped our company for five decades and continues to guide how we support those around us. Over this period, almost 95,000 CGI Partners participated in community activities, including 27,151 who supported education-focused initiatives.
Across our global operations, this commitment takes many forms—from grassroots engagement to programs focused on learning, skills development, digital inclusion, humanitarian response and environmental stewardship. The initiatives vary by region, but the intent remains the same: to use our expertise and proximity to advance the broader good of the places we call home.
The quiet power of thousands of hours
Walk into any CGI office, and you’ll meet CGI Partners who speak about volunteering as naturally as they talk about project delivery. For many, it’s woven into the rhythm of their work lives—not an obligation, but an expression of who they are.
Over the decades, this spirit has fueled efforts as varied as building websites for small charities, helping students write their first lines of code, offering digital skills clinics for underserved groups, responding to humanitarian needs, and rolling up sleeves for local cleanup efforts.
While the needs of each community differ, the impact of this shared commitment consistently emerges across four core areas.
Building the future digital workforce
Some of the most meaningful moments of impact happen in places where young people learn—school gyms buzzing with curiosity, community centers filled with first-time coders, libraries where students gather for hands-on experiments. From these early moments came the spark that set a larger movement in motion.
What began years ago with a small STEM camp in Lafayette, Louisiana, has grown into STEM@CGI, our global program that inspires and mentors people to pursue STEM careers. Today it spans regions—from the U.S. and Canada to Europe, India and the Philippines.
Across all our education-focused initiatives over the last five years, CGI Partners delivered 20,512 programs that reached 1,373,436 beneficiaries worldwide.
Behind these numbers are the everyday actions of CGI Partners: leading coding workshops, hosting mentoring circles, visiting classrooms, and guiding hands-on tech sessions that help young learners build the skills they need to thrive in a digital-first world.
In many communities, this support becomes a turning point. For instance,
- Targeted outreach programs that encourage girls and young women to pursue STEM
- Digital training that helps young learners in Europe continue their education despite disrupted circumstances
- Culturally grounded STEM experiences for Indigenous students
- Gamification activities that help children understand cybersecurity in an engaging, accessible way.
Every hour invested in these programs contributes to a more skilled, confident and digitally prepared generation—one better equipped to shape what comes next.
Empowering nonprofits through skills-based support
Many CGI Partners apply their professional expertise to support local organizations that serve citizens every day. Through pro bono technical and advisory support, our consultants and professionals help organizations enhance their effectiveness and deepen their reach.
CGI for Good, our digital volunteering tool, makes this easy and accessible. The platform connects CGI Partners with pro bono opportunities across regions, helping nonprofits strengthen their capabilities, whether by improving cybersecurity, modernizing systems, streamlining processes or building digital services that would otherwise be expensive to develop.
For community organizations trying to solve big problems on small budgets, this skills-based volunteering can be transformative. In Finland, for example, CGI Partners supported the development of the Helping Hand app, a digital platform that connects mental-health volunteers with individuals seeking support. In the UK, CGI consultants delivered a pro bono Salesforce solution for PTSD resolution, helping veterans and their families access trauma support more quickly.
A few hours of a CGI Partner’s time might help a charity launch an online donation platform, improve data protection for vulnerable populations, or redesign an information system that supports thousands of beneficiaries. These contributions build stronger, more resilient community organizations, enabling them to deliver greater impact to the people who depend on them.
Strengthening community resilience through local engagement
CGI’s proximity-based model means that we stay closely connected to the communities where we live and work. This connection gives CGI Partners a clear view of local challenges and opportunities, so they can step in where support can make the greatest difference.
Across the world, this support takes many forms. For instance, CGI Partners work with organizations to tackle food insecurity, volunteering their time, preparing and distributing meals, and helping community groups expand their ability to support individuals and families facing hunger. In moments of crisis, CGI Partners also step up to help communities recover from environmental disasters, providing relief, delivering essential supplies, and working side by side with those affected.
For many families and individuals, these contributions provide more than immediate assistance. They create safer public spaces, reinforce community networks, and offer reassurance during times of uncertainty. Most importantly, they demonstrate the power of presence; CGI Partners showing up where it matters most, standing with communities and helping them move forward with strength and dignity.
Protecting the planet and supporting healthier ecosystems
Environmental stewardship is a defining part of CGI’s community engagement. With a focus on caring for shared natural environments, CGI Partners volunteer their time to efforts that regenerate local ecosystems, including planting trees, revitalizing green spaces, and cleaning up beaches, rivers, and other natural areas.
Across our global operations, this commitment comes to life in many ways. In Canada, CGI Partners teamed up with Coop FA to build Carbone Scol’ERE, an interactive website that teaches primary school students about environmental sustainability through engaging games, backed by more than 3,000 pro bono hours. CGI Partners also support innovative environmental solutions, from helping improve ecosystem integrity in the Czech Republic by using satellite data to assess landscape health and guide conservation efforts, to restoring vulnerable mangroves in Madagascar through a long-standing collaboration with Planète Urgence. Over the last five years, our joint projects with Planète Urgence have contributed to the planting of 88,500 trees.
Together, these efforts protect biodiversity, renew public spaces, and deepen environmental awareness across generations, creating healthier ecosystems that communities can enjoy today and into the future.
A legacy of action, a future of purpose
The almost 400,000 hours volunteered in the last five years reflect only a portion of CGI’s 50-year history of supporting communities. Yet they offer a powerful snapshot of our commitment today, driven by CGI Partners whose skills and dedication are building stronger communities for generations to come.
As we look toward the next 50 years, our commitment remains the same: to help build stronger communities through expertise, partnership and a shared belief that meaningful change begins when people choose to show up for one another.
Explore our Communities initiatives