Business Nonprofit CONNECTIONS just offset its carbon use for last year through TerraPass.  I learned about them through the Net Impact website.  (I am a member of Net Impact.) I used Terra Pass’ calculator to figure out how much CO2 we generated through our office, computer use, vehicles, air travel, and work lodging and paid a fee to offset the total.  When I was done, it generated a pdf report and it was easy to make payment, as well.  You should check this out and calculate yours, too.

From the TerraPass website, “Purchasing TerraPass offsets sends a strong message about your values to your employees, customers and stakeholders. People prefer to work with organizations they believe in. As one component of your environmental strategy, a TerraPass carbon offset program will provide your company with the unique ability to empower your customers and employees to take action on climate change.

Additionally, committing to purchasing carbon offsets for your business creates the right internal incentives to reduce your footprint over time. Each year, the conservation and efficiency measures that you implement will lower your carbon footprint, requiring you to purchase fewer offsets.”

Join me?

I was thrilled and very grateful that Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute, provided me an endorsement for my book, Strategy for Good, this week.  I have long appreciated her commitment and vision for the power of service and volunteerism!  Points of Light Institute has been a critical national force supporting corporate volunteer programs, providing businesses with training, tools and strategies for designing effective corporate volunteer programs.

“Strategy for Good provides a step by step guide for how corporations can align their unique assets to positively affect communities and impact the lives of individuals. This is an important roadmap for anyone who wants to ensure that the tremendous human capital, resources, and know-how of the private sector is harnessed to maximize social good.“

–Michelle Nunn, CEO, Points of Light Institute

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Everyday I wake up excited and have new energy – life is GREAT!  The book on business giving I have been working along on for 4-5 years now is fast becoming a reality and will be released in February 2011!  So hard to believe after all the hours of self-doubt about whether I knew enough to be writing a book in the first place and of guilt and frustration that it was moving so slowly and not “done” yet.  Also, I increasingly was embarrassed because I felt like I had somehow not fulfilled my commitment to the great thought leaders I interviewed from 40+ companies for this book after they had so generously shared their time and company perspectives on community involvement with me.  That spiral goes nowhere but down…and becomes quicksand!

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Do you want your company to be more involved in the community but are having difficulty making the case for business giving in this economy?  Check out the following benefits of strategic philanthropy that your company can also tap into.  You can “Do Good AND Do Well.”

STRATEGY – Instead of just throwing money here and there, we now have a deliberate strategy that directs our efforts for maximum impact.

VALUES – Our company’s philanthropy is a way for us to demonstrate our values are heartfelt and go beyond just making a profit.

INTEGRATION – Our giving is now integrated across our departments and locations to leverage more impact in the community and strengthen our internal cohesion.

VISIBILITY – Our strategic giving program sets our company apart from our competition.  We have gone from being “just like everyone else” to doing something remarkable that makes a difference.

SALES – Consumers like to know the products and companies like ours that they invest in are doing good with their money.  Our customers do business with us because they see that we care about the community.

MEDIA – Our community involvement and giving have helped us get invaluable attention from the media – we couldn’t have afforded the great positive buzz this generated for our company.

IMPACT – We were able to create a sound business case for this program.  It’s not just feel good fluff, but work that creates a win/win – for our company’s bottom line and the community.

PRODUCTIVITY – Our employees feel good about being part of something larger than themselves.  Because they feel pride in our company and themselves, they are more productive in their jobs. “We work for a company that cares.”

MAXIMIZE – We are now clear where and how to focus our scarce resources to do the most good in the community.

RESULTS – We actually know how we are going to measure the results of our giving programs.

What can your business do to give back?  How can your give back program be in alignment with your core products or services and company values?  If you can use assistance in being more strategic with your giving program, contact me at shyatt@BNConnections or 303-512-0808…I can definitely help!

Business philanthropy (also called community involvement) is becoming more widely recognized as an essential component of business strategy for companies of all sizes – not just the Fortune 500.  Americans’ expectations of companies are at an all-time high. Supporting causes is no longer a “nice to do,” it is a “have to do.” There has been a major shift in the value equation: good business used to be primarily about providing quality products/services at a fair value. However, this is no longer sufficient for you to be truly competitive in today’s marketplace.  Your company must develop deep and meaningful emotional connections with your stakeholders by taking a stand on issues that are relevant to both your business and target audiences.  Sharing your resources including time, expertise, products/services, dollars, and networks is one way to be a “good business citizen” and show your commitment to being part of the solution to issues of our time.

In addition to the heartfelt, intrinsic rewards you feel from giving back and making a difference, there are also many business benefits available to any philanthropic company that engages with communities in authentic, meaningful, and strategic ways.  Especially during difficult economic times such as these, the need for doing “double duty” with your scarce resources has never been greater.  You need to be able to “do good” AND “do well.”

My free report offers selected research findings to show you the business case for strategic philanthropy and to provide food for thought to help you strengthen your company’s community involvement efforts moving forward.

To download your FREE copy, please provide your contact information below.

I have been a big Priya Haji and World of Good fan since I heard her speak about five years ago at a (then) Co-op America Green Business Conference in San Francisco.  I loved her company’s concept and was totally in awe of how smart, committed…and young(!!) she was!  I interviewed her in 2007 for my book.

Click here to download a copy of the transcript from that interview from my “Giving Perspective” Series.  If you’d like to listen to the unedited interview, Click here to download…

Today I saw the press release on the World of Good, Inc. website announcing the sale of the brand.

“World of Good Inc. Sells Brand and Related Assets to eBay; Wholesale Division Acquired by GreaterGood/Charity USA

World of Good Brand Continues to Represent Sustainable Shopping and Market Access for Global Artisans Through E-Commerce

EMERYVILLE, Calif. – February 25, 2010 – World of Good Inc., a five-year-old social venture that connects artisans from developing communities with mainstream retail markets, announced today that eBay has fully acquired its brand and related assets. World of Good Inc. also announced that GreaterGood/Charity USA has acquired its wholesale division and line of designer, Fair Trade products which will be re-branded, while existing relationships with retailers and artisan partners will be maintained. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

eBay’s acquisition of the brand results from a two-year long collaboration between the two companies that led to the development of WorldofGood.com by eBay, the world’s largest multi-seller marketplace for socially and environmentally responsible shopping. The transaction reflects eBay’s growing commitment to engaging consumers to affect social change through sustainable commerce. It also represents World of Good’s commitment to creating the greatest market opportunity for small, Fair Trade and environmentally responsible producers around the world. The online marketplace hosts hundreds of sellers, with tens of thousands of sustainable products from 85 countries.”

It will be interesting to track the next chapter of Priya’s brain child.

Designing Strategic Partnerships with Businesses
This is Your Personal VIP Invitation
Thursday, March 11, 2010
3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern

If you are like most nonprofit leaders, you probably are very concerned these days about the impact of a tough economy on your ability to get needed resources for your organization or program. You see the need mushrooming in your community every day…and you see the companies around you starting to tighten their philanthropic belt. So what to do?

No matter how good your program or organization may be, if you can’t clearly make the case for why a business should support YOUR nonprofit organization over all the others also seeking their support, you are bound to fail. You need to know the right formula for approaching businesses to create win-win partnerships to secure the resources you so desperately need.

In this call, Susan Hyatt reveals how to move past the old school “beg for donations” and checkbook philanthropy mentality to present your organization, NOT as needy, but as a valuable partner – offering to share your assets (such as networks, publications, special events, etc.) with companies that choose to partner and share their resources with you. If you want to strengthen your “ask” and improve your success rate, you definitely need to attend this FREE teleseminar to:

• Learn about 4 current trends in the business world that affect giving practices;
• Discover the 4 critical needs of businesses that you can help address through a partnership;
• Learn the 10 biggest mistakes nonprofits make when seeking business support – so you don’t make them!
• And much more!

Get ready for an hour of information and insights that will change the tone and success of your business partnerships forever.

More Information about Susan Hyatt:

Susan Hyatt is the author of The Nonprofit Toolkit: Designing Strategic Partnerships with Businesses. She is a nationally-known consultant, trainer, and speaker and the founder of Business Nonprofit CONNECTIONS, Inc., which is dedicated to helping nonprofits and businesses partner more effectively for real impact on pressing social issues. Working with nonprofit organizations domestically and internationally for more than 20 years, Susan continually pushes the envelope to find NEW ways to address issues of nonprofit sustainability through strategic business partnerships.

Susan has conducted training in 49 states for over 10,000 nonprofit leaders and their board members on such topics as strategic business partnerships, performance measurement and evaluation, and using data effectively to gain stakeholder support. Susan has conducted interviews with more than 50 business leaders as part of the research for her forthcoming book, Strategic Business Philanthropy: How Smart Companies Do Good AND Do Well.” She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, The Akron Times Beacon, and the Denver Business Journal. Her insights and articles regularly appear in her email newsletter, CONNECTIONS, which reaches business and nonprofit leaders worldwide.

REGISTER HERE FOR THIS FREE TELESEMINAR!

You will receive all the call information sent to the email you submitted. Please check your spam box if you do not receive the email within a few minutes.

Back by popular demand! RECESSION PROOF RESOURCES: How SMART Nonprofits Partner with Businesses – a nonprofit teleseminar program.

If you are concerned about the impact of a tight economy on your ability to get needed resources for your nonprofit, join me for my four-part nonprofit teleseminar series, RECESSION PROOF RESOURCES: How SMART Nonprofits Partner with Businesses, on Tuesdays in March (9, 16, 23, and 30) from 12:00-1:30 pm ET. Get ready for six hours of information and insights that will change the tone and success of your business partnerships forever!

For more information and to sign up, go to: http://tinyurl.com/yg9u6z9

Please pass the word to nonprofit leaders you know who could benefit from this important information!!

As a thank you for reading my blog, I would like to offer you a $50 discount on the RECESSION PROOF teleseminar program – enter RPR-5 when registering to receive the discount! Hope you will be able to join me!!

If you are like most business leaders, you probably are very concerned these days about the impact of a tough economy on your ability to give needed resources to your favorite causes or nonprofit organizations. You see the need mushrooming in your community every day…and you see the companies around you starting to tighten their philanthropic belt. Add to that the recent earthquake and its destruction in Haiti and the strong desire we all have to provide whatever financial support we can immediately but which may deplete our donation line item.  What to do to continue your support for local and other causes you care about when cash is tight?

Join me, Sue Hyatt, for this free teleclass in which I will walk you through five easy to follow strategies for your 2010 business giving so you can authentically support your favorite causes in heartfelt ways and grow your business, as well.

To register and get the call in number, click here.

Hope to “see” you there at 3-4 pm MT/5-6 pm ET on January 21st! If you can’t make this time “live,” no worries! The call will be recorded –so register anyway and you will be sent the email link to listen later when you have time.