Community Engagement
One of the many things that makes Align a great place to work is the concern our employees have for the world around us and our commitment to helping others. As a company and as individual employees, we have dedicated our time, talents, and resources to organizations and programs that make positive differences in the lives of others. Our overall philanthropic philosophy is to support organizations whose visions tie closely to our own - transforming smiles, supporting and educating youth/teens, and advancing technology through research and other partnerships with learning institutions and/or foundations. We also focus on the needs of our communities, employees, customers and their patients, and healthcare workers in general. Globally, we provide opportunities for and actively encourage employees to support local charities through volunteerism, team building, and donation programs. We are extremely proud of our corporate commitment to philanthropic work and are equally proud of the generosity and dedication of our employees.
Launched in 2020, the Align Foundation provides a structured means by which significant donations are directed from a donor-advised fund overseen by Fidelity Charitable, with the flexibility to provide smaller monetary donations, processes to donate our products, as well as an organized way to involve our employees in giving activities. Since the donor advised fund inception in 2020, we have granted almost $3 million to non-profits and NGOs around the world.
Globally, we provide opportunities for and actively encourage employees to support local charities through volunteerism, team building, and donation programs and are extremely proud of our corporate commitment to philanthropic work and are equally proud of the generosity and dedication of our employees.
Our partnership with Benevity, a corporate purpose platform, continues to transform our workplace, culture, and the communities where we live and work. It is a platform, internally called impact@align, where employees can find ways to make a difference through volunteer activities, donation opportunities, charitable education, ad hoc matching programs, and volunteer rewards.
We held our 7th annual Month of Smiles in October 2024, where each of our more than 20,000 employees are encouraged to participate and make a positive difference through volunteerism, charitable donations, fundraising activities, and intentional acts of goodness. Although the Month of Smiles happens in October, the giving continues through the rest of the year, and we are continuously amazed with the participation by and impact of our employees.
In addition to our employee month of service, there are several organizations and programs we support:
Operation Smile
Since 2013 we have been a proud supporter of Operation Smile, a global medical nonprofit that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for people born with cleft lip and/or cleft palate in low and middle-income countries. Over the years, we have held countless fundraisers, activated global engagement and donation campaigns, and employees have participated in several surgical and dental champion programs.
For the fourth year, we sponsored Operation Smile’s International Student Leadership Conference, a powerful opportunity for youth in high schools and colleges around the world to develop leadership skills and impact their communities. As part of our 2024 sponsorship, we provided full scholarships for 74 participants including students born with a cleft condition. In addition, we covered a portion of the conference fee for all students to make this opportunity more accessible for all attendees.
As of December 31, 2024, we had donated approximately $3.0 million to Operation Smile which included a donation of $1 million to Operation Smile in honor of our 10 million Invisalign smiles milestone. In recognition of our support, Align received Operation Smile's Corporate Humanitarian Award.
“We are so appreciative of the dedication and support from Align Technology over the years and are excited for what we can do to bring families renewed hope and help children around the world smile even more as a result of this latest donation,” said Kristie Magee Porcaro, chief strategy officer, Operation Smile. “Together, we’re improving the health of many children and ensuring that they have the opportunity for a better future.”
Experience Align’s impact on students attending the 2024 International Student Leadership Conference here: International Youth Day.mp4 | Powered by Box
America’s ToothFairy
For 17 years we have supported America’s ToothFairy, an organization with a mission to ensure underserved children in the United States have access to dental care and learn about oral health by supporting nonprofit clinics and community partners. As of December 31, 2024, we have provided almost $2 million for the foundation’s operational expenses and children’s oral health programs. As Title Sponsor of the HERO Program since 2019, we have helped the program reach an estimated 2.7 million children, caregivers, and parents. During America’s ToothFairy’s 2024 fiscal year, which ended June 30th, the HERO Program positively impacted more than 900,000 children and caregivers, including:
- More than 600,000 children—33,500 of whom speak a language other than English—who were reached with downloadable resources accessed from AmericasToothFairy.org,
- 43,250 children taught with ToothFairy 101 Community Education Kits distributed to educators, public health workers, and oral health professionals, and
- Nearly 268,000 people who were reached through two sponsored awareness campaigns that included educational materials and social media kits
“We are proud to support an organization that is helping families in underserved communities learn about oral health and the best ways to maintain a healthy smile,” said Align’s Vice President of Philanthropy, Inclusion, and Wellness and America’s ToothFairy Board Secretary, Julie Paulsen. “We are delighted to sponsor the HERO Program and support the efforts of America’s ToothFairy, whose vision is closely tied to Align’s purpose – to transform smiles and change lives.” You can find more about America’s ToothFairy here .
Cristo Rey San José High School
Align has partnered with Cristo Rey San José High School since 2017 through their corporate work study program and mentoring programs. This provides a diverse workforce of students who receive valuable work skills, confidence, and professional role models.
Central American Health Initiative- CAHI Jeffe Fellowship
As part of Align’s commitment to improving oral health, we partnered with the INCAE Business School as they relaunched the CAHI Jeffe Fellowship in Health and Innovation to improve health services in Latin America. The CAHI Jeffe Fellowship brought together 23 leaders from six Latin American countries and focused on enhancing the quality, accessibility, and affordability of health services through a variety of programs. Align provided scholarships to two leaders from the program who focused on oral health education and expansion of dental health for low-income populations.
Junior Achievement (JA)
As the world’s largest youth-serving NGO, JA Worldwide prepares young people for employment and entrepreneurship through hands on, experiential learning. They create pathways for employability, job creation, and financial success and each year, their network of over 500,000 volunteers and teachers serves more than 10 million students in over 100 countries.
At Align, we have held several volunteer opportunities with JA including sponsorship and volunteering at annual JA SHE LEADS STEM summits, the 2025 JA NorCal Finance Park Pop Up,hosted STEM summits in 2022 and in 2023 which was the first AI career summit for high school students. In honor of Align's 25th Anniversary in 2022, the company donated $250,000 to support the important work that JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide does to prepare young people for work and career readiness while developing critical life skills. Our support of JA globally and in sites such as San Jose culminated in a nomination for induction into Junior Achievement’s Business Hall of Fame in 2023.
United Way Chihuahua
Employees at our site in Juarez, Mexico which represents our largest aggregate employee population, have a longstanding partnership with United Way Chihuahua, an organization that advocates for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community. Through our site’s voluntary payroll deduction program, our Juarez employees generously contributed almost $90,000 USD to support United Way Chihuahua. Beyond monetary contributions, Juarez employees engaged in numerous volunteer events with United Way which served as avenues for employees to directly engage with the community, fostering meaningful connections and making tangible differences in the lives of those in need. This partnership and the passion and support from our employees earned Align recognition by United Way Chihuahua as one of their top 2024 donors
Product Donation Programs
We have also established programs to support our doctors that treat patients who may not be well-suited for wearing and managing fixed appliances due to health issues, allergies, disabilities or specific health disorders through discounted fees and other support. In Canada, the United States, EMEA and Australia, Invisalign® product donation programs bring smiles to young individuals. Through Align’s Acts of Random Kindness (ARK) program, Invisalign-trained doctors collaborate to provide a straight smile to young patients dealing with health conditions. Since 2019, Align has extended a helping hand to over 200 patients by waiving the lab fees for their treatments through the ARK program.
In 2023, Align established programs with non-profit organizations that offer an affordable option for families in the US and Canada who cannot bear the full cost of teeth straightening treatment for their children. As part of this program, with Smiles Change Lives and Smile for a Lifetime, Align waives lab fees and enables treatments through Invisalign-trained doctors who donate their time, skills, and practice resources.
Our Culture
We believe our culture and commitment to employees provide unique value that benefits Align, its stockholders and the communities and other stakeholders we serve. Every employee, and every job, is important to our success and helps us achieve our purpose of transforming smiles and changing lives. Align is committed to building a global workforce with varied cultural backgrounds and life experiences. Fostering a culture of dignity, integrity, open dialogue, open-mindedness, compassion, fairness, recognition, and shared goals allows us to attract and retain the best talent and provide a safe and supportive environment that allows our employees to excel.
We believe our success continues to be driven by our focus on integrating and welcoming employees across the globe and of all different backgrounds, orientations, beliefs, perspectives and capabilities into our workforce. Our employees bring a positive mix of ethnic and culturally diverse backgrounds to the 47 different countries in which we operate.
Our employees have also established and manage employee groups, including employee resource groups which are based on shared characteristics or life experiences. These are open to all employees, including those who do not directly identify with other members.
We believe it is imperative to provide a vibrant employee experience and we value our employees’ collective voices. Accordingly, we conduct employee surveys that utilizes a continuous employee listening strategy.to collect employee feedback critical to improving our culture. This listening strategy includes globally managed pulse surveys, employee lifecycle surveys, and a self-service feature to support listening efforts. We use what we learn from the surveys to improve the employee experience, including enhancements to our workplaces, focus on employee connections, increased career development opportunities, support for relocated employees, and growth in our recognition programs and experiences. Our global response rates are consistently high, reflecting strong engagement by our employees.
We employ a variety of career development, employee benefits, compensation and other policies and programs designed to attract, develop and retain employees. We focus on building a talent pipeline that nurtures those early in their careers, encourages continuous learning and growth, and incentivizes employees to stay and contribute to our success over the long term. Our programs include early recruitment at high schools and universities, initiatives such as internships, co-ops, apprenticeships, and training programs, quarterly performance management check-ins focused on individual goals and commitment to values and conducting regular employee surveys to build trust and strengthen relationships.
Our Values
Align’s core values of agility, customer, and accountability are more than words to work by, they are words we live by. The actions we take every day speak to who we are as a company and our focus on being truly impactful. We celebrate our differences, and the many ways we support one another— ultimately creating a more inclusive organization and world as we continue transforming smiles and changing lives.
