US Supreme Court and Affirmative Action: Impacts on Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace

In today's video, you'll learn about the evolution and future of corporate volunteering. We chat with with Sona Khosla, Chief Impact Officer at Benevity, to discuss how the definition of volunteering has changed, especially in the wake of the pandemic. We explore how companies can leverage these changes to create more inclusive and impactful programs. We look at insights from Benevity's research on the state of corporate volunteering, revealing surprising statistics and trends that can help social impact professionals enhance their CSR strategies.

Timestamp of our conversation:

0:56 - State of corporate volunteering today and changes the last few years
5:21 - How has the definition of volunteering changed since the pandemic?
8:49 - What makes a corporate volunteering program successful? 6:11 - What features do the best volunteering programs use? 21:07 Why should companies invest in volunteering programs 25:29 - Where’s corporate volunteering headed in the next 2-5 years?
31:59 - about Benevity Impact Labs?

Read the State of Corporate Volunteering https://benevity.com/state-of-volunteering-2024

Learn more about Benevity Impact Labs:
Benevity.com/impactlabs

Connect with Sona Khosla https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonakhosla/

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In today’s episode, you’ll learn about the incredible work and impact of the Z Zurich Foundation. We sit down with Emelie Jutblad, the Head of Finance, Impact and Operations, and Dirk Gawronska, Digital Transformation Lead at Z Zurich Foundation. They share their journey from a local charity to a globally recognised organisation, transforming the lives of nearly 11 million people. They delve into their key focus areas - adapting to climate change, improving mental well-being, enabling social equity, and responding to crisis. They also share inspiring stories of employees making a difference and offer valuable insights into their grant-making process and the importance of measuring impact.

Timestamp of our discussions:

00:55 - From local charity to global organization
02:04 - Partnerships for impact
04:44 - Leveraging expertise and volunteerism
06:58 - Empowering community changemakers
08:53 - Collaborative partnerships to drive grantmaking decisions
11:25 - Leveraging technology for equiteable and effective grantmaking
13:27 - Measuring impact
18:22 - Key expectations for CSR and sustainability
24:27 - Scaling community impact through collaboration
28:24 - The future of philanthropyConnect with Emelie

Jutblad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emeliejutblad/
Connect with Dirk Gawronska: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirk-gawronska/

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In today's episode, you'll learn about the pivotal role of the private sector in global disaster response and the importance of public-private collaboration. We explore how corporations provide immediate relief aid while also focusing on pre-disaster preparedness and long-term reconstruction. 

Andrew Jones, a Senior Researcher at The Conference Board, highlights that the number of natural disasters is rising globally. As climate change intensifies, over 90% of major firms expect disasters to become more frequent and extreme in the coming years. Corporations now supply around 40% of philanthropic funding for disaster response due to their financial resources and global footprint. Looking ahead, the greatest opportunity for progress lies in closer public-private collaboration. While most companies partner with NGOs, working strategically with government across all phases of disaster management is crucial yet uncommon currently.

 Timestamp of our discussions:

1:28 - Role of the private sector and corporate philanthropy in global disaster response 
3:08 - What determines whether a company's social impact program respond to disasters or not? 
5:39 - Preparing responses and activities for year-round disasters 7:03 - What about preparedness or reconstruction as disaster responses 
9:08 - Greatest opportunities for innovation in corporate disaster philanthropy
10:56 - Opportunities are there for public-private sector collaboration? 
12:52 - Improving CSR strategic planning and decision making for natural disasters 
14:36 - How important are employees in corporate disaster response efforts? 
17:14 - What about man-made disasters, such as armed conflict and war?

Connect with Andrew Jones: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjjones1985/

Learn more about The Conference Board: 
Conference-board.org 

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In today's video, you'll learn about the importance and intricacies of measuring and reporting corporate citizenship. We chat with Andrew Jones, a senior researcher at the Conference Board, to discuss the challenges of quantifying philanthropic efforts, the art of societal outcome measurement, and the power of storytelling in conveying your company's social impact. We delve into the current state of corporate reporting on philanthropy and CSR, and offer practical advice on how to effectively measure outcomes and enhance your storytelling.

Timestamp of our discussion:

1:03 - What does “measuring” or “reporting on” corporate citizenship mean?

7:44 - How does corporate citizenship reporting compare with other corporate reports such as financial or ESG?

9:45 - If there are no obligations to measure or report on their corporate citizenship investments, why do it at all?

11:08 - Main challenges in measuring and quantifying philanthropic efforts?

13:17 - How can companies measure societal outcomes of their programs efficiently and effectively?

17:11 - How could you measure effectiveness if there are no measurement standards?

18:23 - What’s included when companies report on their corporate citizenship efforts? 

20:43 - How do companies improve their storytelling and what do they need to consider?

25:31 - Future trends and opportunities in corporate citizenship measurement and reporting?

Connect with Andrew Jones: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjjones1985/

Learn more about The Conference Board: Conference-board.org

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In today’s episode, you’ll learn about the compelling role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in shaping the future of the workplace. We sit down with Catherine Longhi, a renowned DEI consultant, to discuss how companies can create an inclusive work environment and drive social impact. Catherine shares her insights on the importance of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), the power of DEI in attracting and retaining talent, and how technology can help foster inclusion in a remote work setting. Tune in to discover how you can leverage DEI strategies to make your workplace a better place for everyone.

Timestamp of our discussion:

00:00 - Intro

01:32 - Defining DEI

06:49 - Measuring success in DEI

15:02 - Balancing the inner and outer work around DEI

18:00 - The ERGs as a catalyst of change

19:03 - The benefit of ERGs to leaders

21:48 - ERGs’ success stories

26:15 - Structure your ERGs

33:28 - The role of technology in connecting ERGs

36:55 - Scaling ERGs globally

Connect with Katherine Longhi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinelonghi/

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In today's episode, you'll learn about the unique challenges and opportunities for social impact in Rural America. We chat with Andrew Jones, a senior researcher at the Conference Board, and delve into the state of philanthropy in rural America, explore the socioeconomic issues corporations are addressing, and highlight the key partnerships needed to scale social impact efforts. 

Timestamp of our Discussion:
1:12 - Defining the term "Rural America"
3:27 - What are common societal challenges facing rural areas in the US?
5:47 - Migration from rural to urban centers?
7:14 - State of philanthropy and corporate citizenship in Rural America
9:41 - Challenges companies face impacting and scaling their corporate citizenship efforts in rural areas?
12:34- What are the key social, economic, socioeconomic issues companies are addressing in their rural corporate citizenship efforts?
15:51 - Impact of remote work on social impact efforts in Rural America? 
17:26 - What are the key partnerships that companies need to drive and scale social impact in rural America–including the public sector?

Connect with Andrew Jones: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjjones1985/

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In this episode of the Social Impact Show, we explore the transformative power of skills-based volunteering (SBV) with Clément Douault, Associate Director of People Giving & Volunteering at Novartis. We delve into how Novartis has integrated SBV into its social impact program, discussing strategies for aligning employee skills with nonprofit needs and the significant role of SBV in employee development and business growth.

We'll discuss how they encourage employee participation in SBV and the impact on talent recruitment and retention. Clément will share Novartis' approach to measuring the impact of SBV on both nonprofit partners and the company itself, providing valuable insights for businesses looking to leverage their workforce for social good.

Timestamp of our discussion:

00:00 - Intro

04:33 - Meet employees where they are

07:43 - Build a needs-based relationship with nonprofit partners

09:50 - Shifting from volunteering program’s needs to a community-driven approach

11:43 - Specific example: what can skills-based volunteering look like

15:05 - What ‘social impact’ means and how to measure it?

20:43 - How can skills-based volunteering meet HR challenges?

23:12 - Tips for companies and nonprofits to implement skills-based volunteering

Connect with Clément Douault: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cl%C3%A9ment-douault-89390010/

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In today's video, we rewind to a previous episode on how to build global employee activism programs, the challenges of avoiding volunteer burnout, and strategies to scale impact such as leveraging templates and data.

We chat with Jo Jeffreys, Principle Social Value Consultant with Jacobs and explore what global activism looks like today through examples of replicating campaigns across regions, how to gain executive buy-in, and why in-person events are critical for inspiration and motivation. Jo shares advice for getting started like communicating the "why", putting structures in place to support volunteers, and making involvement fun through competitions and rewards. 

Timestamp of our discussion: 

0:54 - Defining Global Activism 
2:20 - How to focus on global and local activism at the same time? 3:13 - What does modern global activism look like? Examples? 6:15 - What challenges were you solving for at Jacobs? 
9:19 - How did you get buy-in for social impact programs at Jacobs? 
12:12 - How should companies get started in global activism? 15:00 - How to scale your companies global activism efforts? 16:40 - How to show the ROI of social impact programs 
18:45 - Greatest challenge in global activism, and how to overcome it? 

Connect with Jo Jefferies:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-jeffreys-818b7b5b/

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In today's video, we rewind to a previous episode how corporate citizenship has evolved over the past year and how practitioners should adapt their programs going forward. We talk with Chris Jarvis,  discuss how world events have shifted corporate giving to focus more on social justice causes and long-term humanitarian crises.

We discuss tangible ways companies can better integrate environmental justice and equity into their corporate citizenship strategies. We also tackle the challenges in implementing these initiatives, like addressing unconscious bias in funding structures. Finally, you'll learn key strategies to create a truly inclusive partner ecosystem and educate employees to become agents of change.

Timestamp of our discussion:
0:00 - Intro
1:28 - How has corporate citizenship changed over the past year? 3:46 - Will the changes in the past year remain or revert back? 9:28 - How to create experiences for more impactful engagement 13:41 - What every social impact professional should be thinking right now?
17:53 - What are employees expecting from their social impact programs?
20:30 - Do corporate citizenship practitioners create programs in stages?
23:39 - What makes a modern social impact program difficult to implement?
27:09 - Advice for corporate citizenship practitioners just starting their programs

Connect with Chris Jarvis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjarviscan/

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In today's video, you'll learn how to build a corporate foundation and scale your social impact initiatives. We chat with Chess Jakobs, the Head of Culture Amp Foundation, to how to engage employees in meaningful ways, and the importance of centring beneficiaries in your mission. Chess also shares insightful lessons from his past experiences and how they've shaped his approach to corporate philanthropy.

Timestamp of our discussion: 

01:51 - Starting your new role at Culture Amp, what steps did you take to get to know the company, people, programs and nonprofits it supported?

4:33 - How did you integrate your insights and learnings to shaping the vision for Culture Amp's foundation?

7:45 - How has social movements evolved over the years

10:43 - How can businesses partner with non-profits beyond just employee engagement goals

 12:47 - How do you create your program pillars for foundation? How do you balance keeping your core business at the forefront while considering location of employees and communities?

 17:45 - With the mission of "building a better world of work", How does Culture Amp support social impact initiatives to contribute to this mission?

22:18 - What were some lessons learned from programs or experience that didn’t work?

22:56 - How do you ensure a balanced approach between immediate goals and long-term strategies

27:34 - How to pivot your strategy when major social impact events occur Learn more from other social impact professionals by watching this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Connect with Chess Jakobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chessjakobs/

Learn more about the Culture Amp foundation: https://cultureamp.com/foundation

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@iksonmusic