Michelle Pusateri knows how important it is to give back to her community. As the founder and master granola maker for Nana Joes Granola, a women-owned business based in San Francisco, she hires directly from the surrounding neighborhood and has partnered with local nonprofits and youth organizations over the years. Her brand even created a granola blend with the local Boys and Girls Club that was sold at nearby Whole Foods stores, with a percentage of the proceeds going back to the club. That deep connection to her community made her a natural fit to participate in PayPal’s second-annual Impact Day this past June.
“For us, impact isn’t about big gestures,” Pusateri said. “It’s about consistently showing up for the people around us and investing in long-term relationships that strengthen our community.”
PayPal’s day of global activation
That same spirit of long-term community investment guided PayPal’s Impact Day, which brought together more than 11,000 employees at 37 sites around the world. In addition to engaging 100 nonprofit partners, the company supported 350 small businesses by sourcing their products for employee-assembled kits, which were then delivered to local nonprofits such as We Hope, Operation Care and Comfort, and Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center.
PayPal also welcomed small businesses on-site at its offices worldwide, offering local entrepreneurs visibility, networking, and mentorship opportunities.
“It reminded us that we’re not in this alone — and that there are people out there who truly care about the success of small, mission-driven businesses,” Pusateri said.
A deeper kind of support
For Nana Joes, and the hundreds of other small businesses included in this year’s programming, the opportunity wasn’t just about a purchase order — it was about visibility, validation, and real investment in their stories, missions, and long-term growth.
PayPal first approached Pusateri to include Nana Joes Granola as an item for the Impact Day kits and purchased 3,000 bags of granola. The PayPal team also sent a camera crew to produce a short film about her business that she is able to use — an invaluable asset for a small business without a full marketing team — and later invited Pusateri to attend the Impact Day festivities at the company’s San Jose headquarters. There, the Nana Joes video was shown to event attendees before Pusateri joined Alex Chriss, PayPal CEO, onstage for a conversation about her company and its mission.
PayPal
“The exposure and support we received from Impact Day gave us a boost — not just in production but in morale and visibility too,” she said. The experience of being featured — on stage, on screen, and in front of employees genuinely curious about her story — left a lasting impression. For Pusateri, it wasn’t just a standout moment, but a signal that partnerships like this can help move mission-driven businesses forward long after the event ends.
One of those moments came at lunch, when a PayPal employee told her they’d been buying her granola for years and felt inspired by her story. That conversation turned into what Pusateri described as a “beautiful exchange about purpose and community.”
Leadership support from the top
The importance of the day was recognized not only by employees and participating businesses and nonprofits, but also reinforced by PayPal’s leadership. “Impact Day is something that our employees look forward to, and it shows who we are as a company, our values, and our commitment to the communities around us,” said Alex Chriss, CEO of PayPal. “It’s a wonderful time to take a step back and consider the changes we can help make to benefit small businesses and nonprofits.”
“Small businesses are the heartbeat of our communities,” Chriss said. “That’s why our commitment to supporting them is so important.”
Pusateri was especially impressed with that commitment, as Chriss told the audience that it is PayPal’s privilege to be able to serve this community. “From the mouth of the CEO… it hits differently for sure,” she said. “His passion behind wanting to really help small businesses was pretty incredible.”
Impact Day and beyond
PayPal
While Impact Day represents an important moment in time for the company, PayPal’s commitment to positive acts of service extends beyond this single day. Through year-round initiatives, the company partners with small businesses and nonprofits to strengthen communities, create pathways for growth, and empower the next generation of entrepreneurs.
PayPal’s Community Impact Time Off program provides employees up to eight hours of paid volunteer time each year. To further amplify their team members’ impact, PayPal donates $10 to the nonprofit of their choice for every hour volunteered (up to $500 annually). Their Community Impact Grants Program builds on this by providing financial support, volunteer engagement, and capacity-building tools to local nonprofits to help them grow — all aimed at expanding economic opportunity in their communities.
Beyond volunteerism, PayPal leverages its platform and partnerships to support underrepresented small business owners — providing not just funding or exposure, but mentorship and skill-building resources to help them start, scale, and sustain their growth.
These efforts represent just a sampling of the ways PayPal drives meaningful change at a local level. But there’s no denying that Impact Day holds a special place in the hearts of all those who participate, including Pusateri, who said she would definitely recommend it to other small business owners.
“Impact Day is an amazing opportunity to connect with people who want to support your mission,” she said. “I think what PayPal is doing is incredible, and the way that they are including the community. I don’t think I’ve seen in the 15 years that I’ve been in business.”
Her story reflects how purpose-led programs like PayPal’s can spark lasting credibility, momentum, and connection.
Read more about this year’s Impact Day here.
This post was created by Insider Studios with PayPal.
