Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company—and Revolutionized an Industry

6.7. Play #70: Create a Self-Sustaining Model

In summer 2004, we witnessed the true financial power of our integrated model. Salesforce.com went public and became listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The initial public offering raised more than $12 million for the foundation in one day.

This event proved the capability of pre-IPO companies to make a positive difference through an early financial commitment of equity. The infusion of capital bolstered our foundation's ability to be self-sustaining and provided the opportunity to make bigger financial contributions to our communities. Prior to the IPO, the foundation was largely funded by private investments in the early days, but we needed cash to scale and grow. The IPO generated those funds ...