Natural disasters—like this month’s deadly wildfire in Maui, Hawai’i and Hurricane Idalia, which is ongoing in the southeast United States—can make many of us feel individually powerless. But as leaders in our workplace communities, our colleagues, partners, and customers are looking to us for a sense of purpose and direction—for help remembering that we are not as powerless as times of crises make us feel.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is changing, both in theory and in practice. The new theory: Companies should leverage their resources to give back to our communities in times of need, both during emergencies and over the long term. And the new practice: Engaging our entire communities in the process every step of the way, so that every hour spent volunteering and dollar donated contributes to a massive collective effort.
Join Deed’s public campaign for Maui to reach beyond yesterday’s expectations for what companies are capable of doing—and make a tangible social impact.
By the way, you can now browse the full Vantage archive on our website. Read it here.
Some experts suggest that giving nonprofits and government time to “figure out what rebuilding priorities have been funded and which haven’t,” means waiting before donating to disaster relief efforts. But while waiting it out may seem like the prudent way to make sure all nonprofits' needs get met, social impact tech offers the ability to track support in real-time so that you know your individual and corporate donations are making a maximum impact. Read why you should always consider the wide range of nonprofits doing life-saving work.
Just in: People magazine’s “100 Companies That Care”
Congratulations to all of the honorees, including many Deed partners like enterprise blockchain leader Ripple. Deed is thrilled and humbled to help some of the world’s most inspiring companies rally employees to share their time, money, and talent with causes they care about. Check out the full list.
Sharing social impact data with all audiences
“Tailoring your report to specific audiences can lead to stronger engagement and deeper connections with your company's mission,” writes Christine Tringale in the latest installment of our new blog series. For best practices on reaching employees, executives, customers, and investors, read “Data for Good: Crafting Impact Reports for Diverse Audiences”
New subpoenas signal SEC crackdown on ESG funds
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set its sights on investment funds that may be talking the talk without walking the walk with certain environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) portfolios. Not only does this kind of greenwashing distract the public from genuine ESG progress, it also makes it more difficult for complex multinational organizations to interpret ordinary financial information from one side of the Atlantic to the other, since the U.S. and the European Union have different disclosure standards. Head to the Financial Times to learn why authentic ESG makes doing business easier.
The secret to a smooth social impact tech RFP
How did Airbnb, lululemon, and United Talent Agency start using workplace giving and volunteering tech to make such an incredible social impact? They knew what questions to ask tech providers from the outset. To find out how to replicate their success in your own way, read “Finding the Purpose Fit: Social Impact Tech RFP Timeline & Best Practices”
Product spotlight
Local time zones
Anyone who helps organize volunteer events can attest that using volunteers’ local time zones boosts registration, participation, and the effectiveness of our efforts.
On Deed, social impact leaders can now make registration pages and send reminder email that will automatically adopt their employees’ local time zones. This will help global companies give your employees a more localized experience with volunteer events, fundraisers, Actions, and more.
The global gap in access to high-quality education—and the ability of underprivileged students to achieve the same level of success as their peers—has been drastically exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. But in the United States, federal pandemic aid for K–12 schools is set to expire in the fall of 2024; and that means parents and their colleagues are stepping up to help close the gap and help all our young learners thrive.
There is no one way to educate all our students. From town to town, state to state, and nation to nation, the reality of our methodology, funding, and service delivery can look quite different. In the struggle to improve access and outcomes, companies have a unique role to play especially by working alongside our nonprofit partners.
Our "Cause of the Month: Education" toolkit includes:
Volunteering and giving opportunities in the U.S. and around the world.
In-depth look at specific cause areas, including: health & wellness, human rights, and economic justice.
Employee and employee resource group (ERG) engagement ideas, as well as a walkthrough of how to craft a social impact campaign around education.
Recommendations of worthwhile books, podcasts, and films about education.
Click on the image below to preview the toolkit and learn how to get full access. 👇
Thank you for reading Vantage. We want this monthly newsletter to be of real value to everyone working to make a real social impact. If there’s a topic you’d like to learn more about, or if there’s someone pushing the conversation forward whose work deserves more attention, we’d love to hear about it. Drop us a note: vantage [@] joindeed [dot] com.
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ICYMI, you can now browse the full Vantage archive on our website.
