A letter from FreshBooks CEO Don Epperson
Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine. Each and every day, we have teammates struggling to protect family, friends, and those they care about from the dangers and utter destruction war brings to communities. It hurts me to know the pain this war has caused.
I want to start by saying that we send our unwavering support to all those impacted. While we continue to ensure direct aid is flowing to our teams and partners, we also need to provide emotional support and encouragement to those affected. Let me be clear: The entire FreshBooks team stands with our Ukrainian friends, and we are doing everything we can to support them.
FreshBooks has and will continue to support all those impacted in our communities – regardless of their location – in hard times like these. FreshBooks is 700 people who are here:
- to help
- to share the pain
- to hear the stories
- to donate time, and
- to make sure our teammates know they belong and are not alone
At the outbreak of the invasion, FreshBooks took action to help our people and their loved ones leave the country, find homes, and work with various governments to achieve refugee status. We maintain daily contact with our impacted team members, checking in and getting resources to them and their families to help them financially, logistically, and legally.
For years FreshBooks has worked with technical partners in Ukraine, who have been key to our success in many ways. They are our teammates who we continue to support and pay, regardless of their ability to work right now. We have also made direct donations to the Canadian Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
The FreshBooks team is rallying around the displaced people of Ukraine. We have people on the ground in Europe who have opened their homes to host families. One of our FreshBookers organized a free IT school for Ukrainian refugees. Another is using her volunteer days to help a pregnant mother from Ukraine who is about to deliver her second child. Many are working as translators, driving to bordering countries to help those who have made their way to find safety and shelter. I am blown away by our team’s humility, swiftness, and heart, and I couldn’t be more proud.
FreshBooks stands beside all small business owners – this is central to our mission and values. Given the complete disruption of the lives and livelihood of our Ukrainian customers, we have credited their FreshBooks subscriptions indefinitely. It is the least we can do.
We understand our Russian customers can no longer pay for their accounts due to government sanctions; however, we will not deactivate those accounts. Having said this, we will no longer accept any new customers originating in Russia or any of its territories, nor will we be making any investments in the region at this time. While we do not have offices or employees in Russia, we have a small number of individual contractors who we will work with as they complete their projects.
FreshBooks will also continue to listen, learn, and take action where we can. FreshBooks is a proud global company. FreshBooks stands with Ukraine.
Written by Don Epperson, CEO, FreshBooks
Posted on March 18, 2022