Encouraging engagement among employees is an age old problem that is not getting any easier. More and more companies are implementing employee engagement programs, but the majority difficulty with low participation rates. So what makes the difference between an engaging, exciting program and the lackluster ones that we see all too often?
'One for Many' Cause Marketing
There are a number of innovative Canadian brands that are transforming the way consumers see business. In this issue, we are highlighting an up and coming Canadian company, Cole & Parker. These guys have put a new spin on the traditional One-for-One model and are transforming the way we think about giving back! This new model is called ‘One for Many’, and is a form of BOGO: Buy One Give One.
Profits & Purpose: The State of Shared Value
This past week, the annual Shared Value Conference was held in New York City. Shared value has been around for a few years now. A recent report, The State of Shared Value in Australia by the Shared Value Project has us reflecting on the state of shared value worldwide.The report details the state of shared value, the challenges, the benefits, and critical next steps. It also has a few case studies to illustrate successful shared value in practice – which is always helpful in understanding the potential.
How Non-Profits Are Similar to Their For-Profit Counterparts
A recent report from Imagine Canada, Charities in Canada as an Economic Sector details the importance of Canada’s charitable sector in providing services to Canada’s most vulnerable. As the demand to address social and environmental challenges continues to rise, non-profits will become an even more important element of Canada’s society and economy.
The Future of Work in the Non-Profit Sector
This past week I attended another excellent CCVO Connections Conference. The conference featured a number of keynote speakers looking at future trends. Today we’re pleased to share with you a new trend – the changing definition of work and its implications for the non-profit sector.Technological advances, innovative new business models and dramatic changes in demographics have had an immense effect on where, when and how we work.
Building Trust in Business - An Overview of Edelman Trust Barometer 2016
Edelman recently released their annual Trust Barometer report. This year was the sixteenth annual report and something we watch every year. It provides critical to insights about the state of business trust in Canada and around the world. This years report was especially interesting, and focused on the inequality of trust around the world.The report begins by introducing three segments of the world’s population:
Cracking the Social Innovation Code, Part Two
Social innovations are new solutions that more effectively meet a critical social need. They lead to new or improved capabilities and relationships and better use of assets and resources. Many people misunderstand social innovation to be an end goal in itself. The fact is social innovation is a means NOT an end. Social innovation is about HOW.An organization’s mission, vision and values should rarely change.
2016: The Year of Social Innovation Action
Just before Christmas I had the pleasure of meeting with a student studying social innovation. Social innovation is a hot topic and our discussion was wide-ranging as we shared insights and ideas. We agreed that social innovation was relevant to all sectors – from nonprofit to business to government. But one issue puzzled us both. While there were lots of social innovation activities – labs, meet-ups, hackathons, networking, conferences, social innovation spaces, research and dialogue – what seemed to be missing was widespread action.
Social Finance: Growing Impact Investing in Canada
This past November I had the privilege of attending the 8th annual Social Finance Conference in Toronto. Social finance is an approach to managing and investing money in organizations (for profit and non-profit) that delivers a social dividend and an economic return. Like Shared Value it uses market forces to drive social AND economic value. As a Canadian I was proud to see so many tangible examples from our country and to learn how this form of community investing is growing and maturing.
Trends in Corporate Giving
One of our favourite resources for the latest research and statistics about corporate giving is the Committee for Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy’s (CECP) website. It is a wealth of information that while focused on the United States, holds great statistics that we can apply to Canada as well.Every year we await the release of their annual Giving in Numbers report. They recently released the full version of their 2015 report.