‘Halftime’ for the Global Goals
It was great to be part of the United Nations General Assembly, Climate Week, and SDG events in NYC engaging with social impact and sustainability leaders.
Discussions spanned from cross-sector collaboration, the potential and risks of AI, early childhood development in conflict areas, women’s empowerment in supply chains, to community enablement via solar initiatives. At the Concordia Summit, Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, former U.K. Prime Minister emphasized the vital need for increased dialogue between change-makers and policy-makers.
Celebrating 15 Years of Brewing the American Dream
Cheers to Samuel Adams and The Boston Beer Company, who have remained unwavering in their dedication to fueling the American Dream for 15 remarkable years.
In 2008, we embarked with them on a journey to make a meaningful difference in the lives of entrepreneurs across the United States. Fast forward to 2023, and their signature social impact program has not only stood the test of time but has also achieved a remarkable milestone – surpassing $100 million in funding for underserved small business owners.
Working hand in hand with Accion Opportunity Fund, Brewing the American Dream champions entrepreneurs pursuing their passion in the food and beverage, hospitality, and craft brewing industries by providing access to capital, business coaching, and mentoring. The program has supported over 4,200 small businesses, creating more than 11,000 local jobs across the country.
Ageless Innovation Launches ‘Reach Out and Play’ Initiative
Our friends at Ageless Innovation, in partnership with AARP, have launched ‘Reach Out and Play,’ a new initiative that champions the importance of social connection for all generations through game nights and other events. It supports the belief that play is a basic human need.
Reach Out and Play gained traction across the country, with more than 100 free board game events for all generations nationwide in honor of Grandparents Day. We even had the opportunity to try out some of the reimagined classic board games!
We’re honored to be a part of Ageless Innovation’s journey to reimagine how we can positively live and age together by unleashing the power of play.
Try New Data for Social Good Lesson with Students in Your Life
NetApp and World’s Largest Lesson continue their commitment to empowering young people worldwide with data skills while sharing ideas for action around the Sustainable Development Goals through the Fact-ivist lesson.
We’re proud to be a part of this critical movement with NetApp to address the data skills gap.
Explore some inspiring, data-driven ideas from the next generation in the Fact-ivist gallery.
Challenged to navigate emerging social issues and crises?
We’re excited to teach at this year’s Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP) Annual Conference later this month in Denver. Join Mark and Nikki for an interactive workshop on tools and strategies that social impact practitioners can use to navigate emerging social issues and crises, including:
- Systems to identify, triage, and prioritize breaking issues
- Criteria for when and how to respond and act
- Tools to engage internal and external stakeholders
If you’re planning to attend the conference, we’d love to hear from you and find time to connect. Drop us a line!
ESG Workshop at B:CIVIC Summit
At the B:CIVIC Summit in November, Mark Feldman will lead a dynamic workshop on how practitioners can champion their company’s authentic point of view on ESG, CSR, and societal issues. The session will delve into strategies for taking a stand, engaging executives, advocating effectively, and maximizing communication channels.
6 Tips to Evaluate + Strengthen Your Signature Social Impact Program
Developing and refining your signature program is a continuous journey of improvement. In this blog, Nikki Korn shares tips for social impact professionals who are looking to strengthen current initiatives or create frameworks for new programs that are bigger, bolder, and move beyond traditional practices. Developing and refining your signature program is a continuous journey
3 Ways ERGs Can Amplify Your Company’s Social Impact
Cause Consulting’s Aaron Johnson shares insights on how social impact leaders can leverage their organization’s ERG community to create a network of internal advocates, foster connections with local communities, and accomplish shared goals related to corporate responsibility and DE&I.
Boston Business Journal’s 100 Most Charitable Companies
Check out the Boston Business Journal’s annual list of the most charitable companies in Massachusetts, featuring 100 employers who collectively donated $425 million in cash contributions to nonprofit organizations in the past year.
We were proud to cheer on our friends at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals as they received the 2023 Community Collaborator Award for their partnership work with CASPAR (Cambridge And Somerville Programs for Addiction Recovery). Alnylam’s partnership efforts with CASPAR are part of their commitment to address health equity in communities across the globe.
Pictured above (from left to right) are Cause Consulting’s Virginia Fresne; Alnylam’s Senior Director of Corporate Responsibility and ESG, Arun Skaria; CASPAR’s Director of Development, Julie Londergan; and Cause Consulting’s Nikki Korn.
Introducing Veerless: Setting the Course Toward Sustainability
Veerless is working hand in hand with leading companies to make sustainability their North Star. We’re thrilled to collaborate with Marcy, Charlie, Kris, Ann, Alexandria, and Min. Together, we are driving ESG strategy, materiality, and reporting initiatives for our clients.
Of Interest
Building a Corporate Responsibility Program from Scratch — Corporate responsibility is a journey with many twists, turns, roadblocks, and mountains to climb, and social impact practitioners often don’t have time to stop and appreciate progress, outcomes, and impact. In this blog, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ Senior Director of Corporate Responsibility and ESG, Arun Skaria, shares valuable insights from Alnylam’s journey of building a corporate responsibility program from the ground up.
Empowering Inclusive Entrepreneurship — Empower by GoDaddy, GoDaddy’s signature community and philanthropic program, has been recognized by Entrepreneur Media in their inaugural Champions of Small Business List! The list recognizes impactful accelerator programs helping entrepreneurs realize their dreams. For Empower by GoDaddy, that means equipping thousands of entrepreneurs in underserved communities each year with the training, tools, and resources that they need to be successful and strengthen their digital presence.
SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda — One of the key takeaways from Global Goals Week is the importance of digital technologies in delivering progress on the SDGs. We’ve been diving into the SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda, which highlights 34 innovative, scalable, inclusive, and globally relevant digital solutions that are already accelerating SDG progress.
Knowledge Workers Expect More From Work — Check out HP’s Work Relationship Index highlighting the importance of “fulfillment, leadership with empathy and people-centricity” as three of six key factors to creating healthier workplaces.