How Web Summit helped unlock $280 million in charitable pledges

At Web Summit, we’re in the business of bringing people together. Sometimes, those meetings spark more than business deals – they lead to real, lasting impact.

Take Founders Pledge, one of our long-standing Impact partners. Over the past few years, they’ve connected with hundreds of mission-driven entrepreneurs at Web Summit events across the globe. As a result, more than $280 million in new charitable pledges have been made by founders to Founders Pledge, thanks to relationships formed at our events. 

A global community of entrepreneurs giving back

Founders Pledge helps entrepreneurs commit a portion of their personal exit proceeds to high-impact causes and commits billions pledged by founders to charities around the world. Since launching, the Founders Pledge community has grown to more than 2,000 members in 47 countries, united by a shared belief in using success as a force for good.

To date, members of the community have pledged over $11 billion to charity. From that amount, $1.7 billion has already been donated to organisations tackling the world’s biggest challenges – from climate change to global health and poverty.

It’s a simple but powerful idea: make giving part of the journey from the beginning. At Web Summit, we’ve seen just how transformative that can be when the right people come together.

$280 million in pledges, sparked at Web Summit

By attending Web Summit events over the years – from Lisbon to Toronto to Rio – Founders Pledge has met hundreds of founders who are ready to commit to doing good. Many of those meetings have led directly to new pledges, totaling more than $280 million in charitable commitments from entrepreneurs inspired to act.

Our events offer more than a stage – they create moments of reflection and connection, where people are encouraged to think beyond business. As Emily Hoble, Global Head of Growth at Founders Pledge, put it in a recent conversation: “Web Summit has been instrumental in helping us reach new communities of founders, people who are not just building companies – but looking to build a better world too.”

Our mission at Web Summit isn’t just to talk about the future – it’s to help build it. And partnerships like this one show what’s possible when we do that with purpose.