13 Conferences in 2012: Employee Engagement in Corporate Citizenship

Guest blog post by Alyson Genovese, Twitter: @alysongenovese

I've got to admit, I love going to conferences. They're kind of romantic (no, not that way!) - I get to hang out with others who care about employee engagement and sustainability as much as I do, learn from the best and the brightest about new trends and successes in our field, and leave feeling inspired and ready to tackle the challenges facing our (somewhat mundane) everyday.

Even those of you who are more pragmatic about conferences than I see the importance of attending a few of our industry’s key gathering opportunities to network, grow and “be seen.” So together, the team at Realized Worth and I, have culled through all the newsletters, blogs and press releases to offer you a quick list of 2012 conferences, listed below in chronological order.

Check out their individual web sites to see pricing, calls for presenters, lodging information and all the other pertinent details. See you there!


2012 Conference Listing (in chronological order)


‘Corporate Social Impact’
EF 2012 Corporate Citizenship Conference
March 9, 2012, eBay Town Hall Conference Center, San Jose, CA

This event is designed for companies interested in creating, enhancing, and strengthening their corporate community involvement and philanthropy programs. The Conference will showcase corporate citizenship programs and feature panels and workshops from a broad variety of large and small, public and private companies. Expect to learn about trends, metrics, best practices, and issues facing companies today.

2012 'International' Corporate Citizenship Conference
Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship
March 25-27, 2012 in Phoenix, AZ

Successful corporate citizenship is all about managing many interests in a way that contributes to the bottom line. How to make this work for your company is the focus of the 2012 conference. Note: Registration is open exclusively to corporate citizenship practitioners inside of companies.

Best Practices Summit on Engagement, Giving and Volunteerism
Charities@Work
April 3-4, 2012 in New York, NY

A peer-to-peer forum for employee engagement professionals to learn integrated approaches to grow and evolve their programs. This organizers of this conference are interested in new ideas and trends. The more intimate size allows for some great networking as well.

Ceres Conference 2012
April 25-26, 2012 in Boston, MA

The Ceres Conference provides a unique forum for networking and connecting with corporate and investor leaders, nonprofit groups, thought leaders and media to discuss current challenges, trends and opportunities within sustainability. 

Cause Marketing Forum 2012
May 30-31, 2012 in Chicago, IL

This is the 10th anniversary of the conference, which brings together national corporate and nonprofit leaders in cause marketing together in one room – a great spot for cause marketing newcomers and veterans alike.

Sustainable Brands Conference 2012
June 4 - 7, 2012, Paradise Point in San Diego, CA

Sustainable Brands is an international community of learning and action focused on understanding and leveraging the role of brand in shaping a flourishing future. Now in its 6th year, over 1000 attendees from diverse organizations - both large multi-national corporations and start-ups, investors and NGO's, design, strategy and communications agencies and more will be attending.

2012 Corporate Philanthropy Summit
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy
June 5-6, 2012 in New York, NY

CECP’s membership of senior corporate giving officers from the world’s most influential companies come together for two days of thought leadership, networking, best practice sharing, and dialogue.

National Conference on Volunteering & Service
Points of Light Institute
June 18-20, 2012 in Chicago, IL

NCVS is the world's largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, corporate and government sectors. If you or your organization deals with volunteers in any capacity, this is the event to attend.

Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability Conference
Conference Board
June 20-21, 2012 in Washington D.C.

Details not yet announced

BSR Conference
Businesses for Social Responsibility
October 23-26, 2012 in New York, NY

Now in its 20th year, the BSR Conference attracts more than 1,000 senior business executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders from the public sector and civil society, providing opportunities to help such individuals “build the business of a better world.”

Commit!Forum
Corporate Responsibility Magazine & NYSE Euronext
October 2-3, 2012 in New York, NY

Commit!Forum is said to be the single largest gathering of leaders improving business and society. All sectors – from media to investors to nonprofits – are included in this mix.

2012 Global Corporate Citizenship Conference
Business Civic Leadership Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
October 10-12, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Conference registrants will connect on how to advance corporate citizenship to “confront today’s challenges and to provide solutions for tomorrow’s opportunities.”

Net Impact Conference
October 25-27, 2012 in Baltimore, MD

Net Impact brings together 2,600 professionals and students dedicated to “using their careers to change the world.”

Who did we miss? If it includes employee engagement in CSR, Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship - we'll add it to the list.



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GUEST BLOG POST: Alyson Genovese is a freelance consultant on issues related to sustainability, corporate social responsibility, public affairs, and employee engagement. She has over 16 years of experience in the private, nonprofit and academic sectors. Alyson may be reached at alyson.genovese@gmail.com. alyson@causesolutions.com www.causesolutions.com Twitter: @alysongenovese

13 Conferences in 2012: Employee Engagement in Corporate Citizenship

Online Tools Improve Workplace Giving: 7 Reasons Why

It's time for companies to change the way they invest their philanthropic dollars. It's no longer good enough to simply give money away. The entire process must create impact: for the community, the company, and the employees.

Community investments done poorly

I recently read a post on the 3BL Media site regarding Eli Lilly’s employee giving program. The post explained that in 2011 the employees of Lilly helped donate more than $850,000. Since a big part of our work has to do with employee giving programs I was interested to learn more.

By the fourth paragraph I was rolling my eyes.

Turns out that 14,000 Lilly employees helped give out corporate funds ($775,00), but only contributed something like $75,000 out of their own pockets. That’s an average of $5 per employee.

Not much to brag about, I figured.

Lilly’s corporate citizenship program often provides me with great examples of big companies doing community investment poorly. Each year, as one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, they hold their Global Day of Service and plant shrubbery along one of the highways in Indianapolis. Not exactly high impact volunteering. (To be fair, there are other company activities - but these seem to be small and similarly unfocused)

So I immediately read this post the same way - lots of PR and Marketing - very little substance.

I might be wrong.

Upon further reflection (and because some of my friends are Lilly employees), I'm convinced there is no way the company’s employees only give an average of $5 per year through their workplace giving program. So I’m giving the company the benefit of the doubt and assuming that this article is referring to only one particular program or project. There must be more dollars coming in through other avenues. The important thing - and the fact I want to focus this article on - is that Eli Lilly is making smart choices to encourage and involve their employees in workplace giving.

First, they moved to an online giving platform.

Online tools like online giving are growing in popularity. They are a great alternative to the more traditional United Way program and provide features that stimulate higher levels of interest and participation in workplace giving campaigns. Here are some of the reasons why online tools are so effective:

Convenience: Most of these tools offer incredible ease of use with multiple options for giving such as payroll deductions, matching corporate dollars, ‘dollar for doers’ (matching corporate dollars to employee volunteer time), as well as straight up giving via paypal or a credit card.

Choice: Unlike traditional funding campaigns used by the United Way, this new technology enables employees to give to corporate campaigns as well as any other registered charity. This ‘both and’ approach will become the standard within the next three years.

Socialbility: Most of the tools allow employees to see what their colleagues and company are doing to contribute. Being part of something bigger is incredible incentive to achieve bigger goals.

Real Time: The best online tools will enable employees to give to charities almost immediately. Many giving campaign organizations hold on to donations and use the interest to cover their massive overhead. This can be a real turn off in a world that’s been Googleized - we expect immediate results.

No Minimum: Providing employees the option to give $5 as well as $500 is a great way to increase participation. The ability to fluctuate in my giving enables me to keep my commitments without causing undo stress when things get tight financially.

Alignment: The idea of integrating our personal and professional lives is gaining momentum - especially among millenials. When my workplace allows me to bring combine my personal philanthropic passions with my employment it creates a more meaningful experience.

Partnership: Most people value being included in the decision-making process. When companies offer employees a voice as to which causes and issues should be focused on, they create strong collaborative relationships which bring rewards to both the corporation and the individual.

For more info check out Benevity’s blog ‘The 7 Secrets of Successful Workplace Giving Programs - Part 1 & Part 2

Second, they provided real incentives.

Instead of just announcing that employees could give online, Lilly incentivized the launch by giving each employee $50 to direct to a charity online. According to the article, they also promised to match whatever donation the employees made on top of that $50. So an employee could give $30 out of their own pocket, have that matched by the company and add the extra $50 incentive and the nonprofit would receive $110. Not a bad investment of time!

Third, they bragged about their employees instead of their foundation.

The article deliberately spotlighted what Lilly employees were doing. The Foundation and company were painted as facilitators to the impressive and noble efforts of the employees. I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of this type of advocation. If companies ever hope to see their employees play the role of community ambassadors and advocates - they’ve got to do it first.

Plus, it’s just classy to tell the world how great your employees are!

Fourth, they focused not just what was given - but how.

Companies need to change the way they invest their philanthropic dollars. The days of writing a check and asking for some reports to make sure the dollars were used wisely are over. The entire process of giving needs to create impact for the community, the company, and the employees. That means that companies should invest where there is alignment with their brand and offer some type of  return for shareholders and stakeholders.

Companies should also include employees in the process of giving. Why? Because employees are looking for the alignment and partnership we noted above. Work becomes more rewarding and more purpose driven when it offers an avenue for engagement.

Next time we’ll cover the options available for online giving tools and what to look for.

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Realized Worth works with companies to engage employees in volunteering and sustainability programs. Give us a call or send an email to discuss the possibilities for your company. | 317.371.4435 | angela@realizedworth.com | chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com 

Online Tools Improve Workplace Giving: 7 Reasons Why

How to Pitch Sustainability (Part 2 of "Sustainability and Your Employees")

So, you want to get active but you're not sure your company will go for it?  In part 2 of this interview, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt of The Natural Step tells us what you can do.


Employee Engagement in Sustainability - An interviw with Karl-Henrik Robèrt Part 2 from chris jarvis on Vimeo.

Dr. Robèrt assures that it only takes one person—a “change agent”—to get the ball rolling toward sustainability.  No matter what strata of the company you find yourself, there are some basic steps that can help you initiate change.

1. Find your change agent.  It all begins with someone someone who has a passion for sustainability.  Is that you?  
2. Find Your Allies – Build momentum around you by finding people who share your interest.  
3. Create a Sustainability Team – As you find your allies, seek to find out which higher-up managers might be receptive to your cause and then build a team.  
4. Make Your Pitch – As you find managers above you to be on your team, ask them to help you get in front of top level executives to make your pitch.

So Far, So Good . . . How Do We Pitch?

The Natural Step is an open source that has many informative, free-of-charge resources on their website to help you make the pitch.  In brief, as Dr. Robèrt hints in the interview, the outline might progress as follows:

1. Tell the story of how the robust framework for decision making toward sustainability came about through 20 years of refinement and testing, and explain the framework.
2. Assure them that the framework is not about penance or merely about doing good; it also helps us to avoid costs, be more innovative in future markets, and ultimately be more profitable as a company. 
3. Tell some inspiring stories about how this framework is being applied by a growing number of businesses around the world. 
4. And, then, humbly ask them, “after hearing this, what advice do you have for us?  What would it take in order for us to move in this direction?”

Robèrt reveals his sales prowess by giving us a tip about technique:  in this view, asking for their advice in a spirit of humility is better than asking for them to accept a proposal.  He insists that asking top level executives to accept a proposal is not effective because it gives them the opportunity to say no.  Instead, if you ask, “what are the conditions required in order for you to say yes?” people will typically give you their thoughts.  If you have a contrarian who she sees you following the advice she gave you, you are more likely to win her over.  

For more information about the sustainability framework and how to be a catalyst for change within your company, check out their website and Part 1 in this series.

Realized Worth works with companies to engage employees in CSR initiatives. Contact us to discuss what we can do for you! 317.371.4435 or chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

How to Pitch Sustainability (Part 2 of "Sustainability and Your Employees")