Community Benefits Agreements, The Bridge Between Tech Companies and the Tenderloin

“The C.BA. Is essentially a contract between the tech companies, the residents, and the businesses in the Tenderloin families along with the city, that says yes we recognize that we get a tax break to be in this neighborhood, and with that this is how we will relate to the community where we work”, said Apczynski.

The C.B.A.'s earlier drafts were put in motion by Apczynski at the end of 2010. There are currently only 5 C.B.A companies in the Tenderloin, which include Zendesk, Spotify, Zoosk, Twitter, and Yammer. To receive the tax break each company must apply for the Midmarket Payroll tax incentive A.K.A the Twitter Tax Break. According to Apczynski If you’re a pre IPO company that has more than a million dollars in payroll then a company can apply for this tax break. Next what came along with the tax incentive was the Community Benefits Agreement, which Supervisor Jane Kim worked into the original legislation so that according to Apczynski, it didn’t feel like tech companies were receiving a payout, the companies had to get involved with the community. But the legislation is a bit contentious in that it doesn’t specify how much money or how much voluntary time each company should attribute to the community. According to Apczynski when Zendesk first drafted its C.B.A. the company agreed that 1/3 of the amount of savings they received every year would be what Zendesk reinvested in the company, this amount did not apply to other companies but rather what Zendesk has decided they wanted to do.

Each company has different ways as to how they donate their time or money to the Tenderloin. Twitter spent 2 million dollars on a location called Neighbor Nest, which is also just across the street from its Office. A tech getaway is a place that gives the homeless or low-income families access to computers and other avenues of technology. Also, just in 2015 Twitter’s annual cash grants according to sfgov.org, which its quarterly reports were last updated in October of 2015 added up to a total of $753,270 and the year before $384,825. They donated to non-profits like Hamilton Family Center, Larkin Street Youth Services, and Bay Area Women’s and Children Center. In 2014 Zendesk had an annual cash grant donation of $259,200. The company also supports the local neighborhood business’s by even tracking down to the dollar amount that its employees spend on meals. They exclusively support neighboring business’s like Zen Yai Thai, Showdogs and Chico’s pizza, and several other local eateries throughout the Tenderloin bringing Zendesk yearly annual local business support amount to $70,639; along with volunteering time to St. Anthonys free clothing program, Glide memorial church and Tech Bootcamp for Teens. In 2015 Yammer donated $1,344,603 in Software alone. These are just a few examples of what kind of impact these 5 tech companies are having on the Tenderloin.