Causenation
A blog by Cause Consulting

Collage of images of people volunteering and working together

Boosting “Fulfillment, People-Centricity, and Leadership”: Tips for Social Impact Professionals

Inspired by HP’s Work-Relationship Index, these strategies offer a blueprint for creating a thriving, purpose-driven work environment. Discover actionable recommendations for designing impactful programs and leadership opportunities.

Newsletter: Essential Tips for Your Social Impact Playbook

As business strategists, program architects, and storytellers, we embrace best practices, draw insights from those closest to the issues, and engage...
Nikki speaking at event

A Pep Talk: Calling on Social Impact Professionals to Be Bold

Leadership, or lack of leadership, is a hot topic right now on many fronts, including within the business world. With so many urgent challenges across the globe, deeply troubling local tragedies, and ongoing community concerns, it’s a critical moment for professionals at all levels to step up, get engaged, and lead. Check out three tips for social impact leaders to navigate increased scrutiny, trust themselves, and lead with courage.

5 Ways to Advance Your Corporate Community Investment Efforts

Today more than ever, corporate community investment work demands flexible and adaptive approaches. Social impact professionals need to regularly assess strategies, aligning them with the shifting community needs and expectations of stakeholders, as well as emerging trends. Explore these 5 ways to advance your corporate community investment efforts.

Samuel Adams Enlists Drinker Support

It is exciting to reprint this press release announcing another extension of the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program, now in its six year… BOSTON, May 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- [inlinetweet prefix="" tweeter="" suffix="null"]Samuel Adams today announced the...

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Aligning CSR Strategy with Brand

CSR/Sustainability and Marketing professionals have not always been the best of friends. In fact, recently, Thomas Kolster, Creative Director and Author of Goodvertising, and Founder of Where Good Grows, posted a cartoon showing them at opposite ends of a couple’s...

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CSR Hot Trends in the Cold South

I was honored to be included as a panelist at Duke’s Sustainable Business & Social Impact Conference (SBSI) where over 500 students, professionals, academics, and others gathered at the Fuqua School of Business to discuss innovative business models, partnerships,...

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Taking Innovation to the Streets

Joining the powerhouse team of McKesson’s Carrie Varoquiers, Google Giving’s Jacquelline Fuller, and IBM’s Gwyneth Borden, I recently led and participated in a discussion at the Northern California Grantmakers Philanthropy Institute – Visionary Practice:...

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NYTimes Business Section Features Sam Adams

Boston Beer Company and its founder, Jim Koch, are featured in the business section of the New York Times as well as its blog, You're the Boss, in two separate posts (Post 1 and Post 2).The feature explores Boston Beer’s support of small businesses in the food,...

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Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Award Winners

The Adobe Foundation announced the winners of the Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards, a new opportunity for youth worldwide to submit compelling digital work portraying social issues to an international, online media competition.  More than 800 submissions were received...

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One Company’s $60,000 Commitment to Jobs

Editor’s Note: Cross-posted from BCLC blog, “One Company’s $60,000 Commitment to Jobs,” June 18, 2012. In our recent job creation blog series, BCLC has taken a look at the “ecosystem” of creating and sustaining jobs. Our jobs ecosystem theory is that we need to view...

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Re-Engineering the Engineer

Editor’s Note: Cross-posted from AMD blog, “Re-engineering the Engineer,” June 14, 2012 by Allyson Peerman.https://causeconsulting.com/2012/06/re-engineering-engineer/ As a global technology company, AMD relies heavily on engineers who are leaders and innovators to...

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Jim Koch Speaks On Panel at CGI America

Boston Beer Company’s founder, Jim Koch, spoke on a panel focused on Sustainable and Innovative Financing at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) America meeting on June 8, 2012. Other panelists included: Donna Gambrell, Director, Community Development Financial...

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AMD Changing the Game Recognized

AMD Changing the Game, the company’s global signature education program, was honored as a Computerworld Honor Laureate under the training & education category. The training and education category recognizes innovative use of IT to create and improve learning...

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Sam Adams Founder Jim Koch in Fast Company

Fast Company's "Expert Blog" features a candid interview with Sam Adams Founder Jim Koch where he describes his passion for beer, innovation, and his inspiration for launching Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, the company’s core philanthropy program. The...

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Cause Consulting’s New Website

This week we’ll formally launch our new causeconsulting.com website.  Now that our version 3.0 is up, we’ve forced ourselves to pause, reflect and take the time to read our own stuff.   Wow, we’ve covered a lot of ground.  We are truly grateful for the gift of being able to work with and learn from so many amazing clients, colleagues and friends.  Each week as the corporate responsibility field evolves, we find ourselves engaged in even more new and exciting work.  We are lucky!

As I step back to reflect, it is clear that what we do continues to be more relevant and important.  Our progression from strategic signature programs, to corporate responsibility, to social innovation mirrors the maturation and expansion of our field.  We are fortunate to work inside of some of the world’s most respected companies and brands and help them harness their resources toward creating both business and social value.  It has been amazing to see how social impact-related ideas rally diverse groups of employees and consumers to action, and impact.  This is how change happens.

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Youth Design Helps Urban Teens Find Path

“Opened my eyes to possibilities.”  “Embraced and treated me like a professional.”  “Best summer of my life.”  These are some of the many testimonials that the audience heard from teens at the 2011 Youth Design graduation.  For many, this was the first time they had...

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WOW, Adobe Youth Voices Live!

I recently attended my first Adobe Youth Voices Live! event at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). I was blown away by the films and other media produced by the Boston AYV youth. Please take time to check them out

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9 Years of Storytelling at Cause Marketing Forum

I often say that one of my life’s purposes is to bear witness to the stories of human suffering and joy, to improve on and honor these circumstances, and to tell those stories.

And that theme could not have echoed more loudly than over the past twos days I spent at the 11thAnnual Cause Marketing Forum in Chicago. For the past nine years companies, nonprofits, and those of us who work with them to create meaningful, high impact programs, have gathered to share tales of success, missteps and growth in our field.

The tales we tell are those of partnerships, programs, societal issues and needs, and, most importantly, narratives of the people and places whose state in our world is better as a consequence of our collective work.

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Heard it at the Home Depot

So my husband went to Home Depot this weekend and like any good Samuel Adams drinker, he was wearing his “Just Brew It” t-shirt.

The woman who helped him complimented him on his shirt and asked whether he works at Sam Adams. He said, “no, but my wife works closely with them on their philanthropy program.”

She said: “Oh, Brewing the American Dream?”

He said: “Yeah, do you know it?”

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Brewing the American Dream Gains National Attention

Today is Patriot’s Day in New England, a perfect day to celebrate news that another revolution is storming the country. We are thrilled to share that the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Magazine, among others have been spreading the word about the expansion of the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Program. This philanthropic initiative provides small food, beverage, and hospitality businesses with micro-loans, access to business coaching, and opportunities to showcase their products.

This month the program formally expanded its Loan Fund from five New England states to small brewers nation-wide, and to food and beverage and hospitality entrepreneurs in Ohio, Greater Lehigh Valley PA, and the five boroughs of New York City.

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