Community involvement is one of the five essential components of business social responsibility.  Community involvement (CI) refers to the myriad ways businesses can draw upon their unique expertise, resources, and connections to actively engage with community organizations to address local and global issues.  Most commonly, companies provide contributions of cash, in-kind, and people to support the work of nonprofit organizations.  However, more and more companies are now engaging with nonprofits through commerce. 

To be most effective, community involvement needs to be authentic, strategic and linked to a company’s specific business model, mission, and needs.  Community involvement initiatives, while providing benefit to a nonprofit, also need to be designed to help the company address such issues as reputation/visibility, customers, employees, and investors.  

There are more than one million nonprofits in the United States today – and all need business support.  Therefore, companies need to be very intentional about the causes and organizations with which they choose to get involved.   There may be some very worthy organizations that are best supported as part of your individual philanthropy but for a variety of reasons may not be an optimal choice from a business perspective.   I am not suggesting businesses should support causes they don’t really care about just to make a buck.  What I am suggesting is that “all win” choices are good.  If you would like your employees to be stronger as a team, choosing to support an organization that really needs volunteers for a project might be a wiser choice than one that only wants a silent auction gift certificate.  

Food for Thought

How have you selected which nonprofits are supported by your company?

What benefits did your support provide for the nonprofit?  For your company?

Front and center on Seventh Generation’s homepage is a quote from the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy: “In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” Its name comes from this quote, and the company does everything possible to ensure that its product, business, and community involvement embody this tenant. This idea, and name, holds the company together as it “reflects not only [its] philosophy but [its] dream of restoring and protecting the earth for our children and all who will follow in our path.”

Seventh Generation is now the leading US brand for non-toxic and environmentally friendly household products. Seventh Generation’s 50 plus products are offered online and in retail stores across the country, in both natural focused stores as well as national chains. By providing non-toxic, recycled, environmentally friendly products the company has already saved 327,800 trees, 233,000 pounds of greenhouse gases, 1.3 million gallons of petroleum, and 124 million gallons of water.

For this exact reason, the company recently received the ‘Pioneer of Precaution’ award from the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, the Environmental Research Foundation, and the Science and Environmental Health Network. It also gives grants to local community organizations, consistent with the mindset of focusing on the future. Grants are approved on a case-by-case basis, and the company has chosen to focus on environmentally and family oriented community organizations. These grants have also helped the company in its goal of being a community based business.

But it’s not stopping at that. Seventh Generation is trying to get even more involved, and taking time to think critically about how its involvement can best affect the next seven generations. As it evaluates opportunities for nonprofit and peer business relationships, it’s making sure to engage in internal dialogue, so as not to over-commit and to maximize its influence. By considering a wide variety of options and extensively internally collaborating, it is a rather slow process of change. Despite the fast-paced focus in business today, Seventh Generation believes that this approach will prove to be a long term advantage.

To this end, it’s bringing in a ‘regenerative strategic planner,’ looking at research from the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, and planning on hiring a consultant (as the company is only 42 employees strong) once it crafts a solid vision for the involvement. This thoughtful approach is linked to one piece of advice that Director of Corporate Consciousness, Gregor Barnum, gave: focus internally first. This means making sure that there is a strong internal dialogue, transparency, and real community between employees at the company. By understanding the purpose of the company all employees, and thus community programs, are more likely to be aligned and successful.

The company admits it has forgotten this at times in the past, and failed to follow up on grants given to nonprofits. Changes in the program will seek to prevent this lapse in the future, as Seventh Generation wants to support sustainable and long term relationships. Barnum describes the changing mindset as an epistemological change, trying to move away from traditional linear thinking to a more holistic approach.

Even in how the company has chosen to change its approach to community involvement, it is embodying the mission it laid out for itself. This is perhaps the most important lesson from the Seventh Generation case: not losing sight of your true values in times of change.

By Louise Doyle
Based on interview with Gregor Barnum, Director of Corporate Consciousness at Seventh Generation, conducted by Susan Hyatt.

More information on Seventh Generation, Inc. can be found at: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

In order to meet changing demands of employees involved in workplace giving, CreateHope, Inc. and Charities@Work have partnered to pioneer a new program. CreateHope is a business geared towards managing and advising business and government on community involvement. Charities@Work is a non-profit alliance. Together, they are offering a ‘workplace-giving management solution.’ The solution aims to utilize the technology of CreateHope to streamline the process and offer employees a wider variety of giving options through the Charities@Work network. Employees also have access to Create Hope’s evaluation of transparency and financial accounting within charities. Charities within the network will ideally benefit from increased donations and a decreased need for traditional and expensive marketing campaigns. The new program comes out next month. Charities@Work boasts that they can customize a workplace giving program, giving employees more room to decide how to contribute. CreateHope offers both products and services to customers needing help adjusting to the rapidly changing environment of corporate philanthropy and involvement.

For more information visit the CSR Wire Press Release at: http://www.csrwire.com/PressRelease.php?id=5809

Charities@Work: http://www.charitiesatwork.org/

CreateHope, Inc: http://www.createhope.com/