Giving Compass' Take:

• Mark Horoszowski reports that data from 2017 reveal that consumers think that companies need to be doing more in the way of Corporate Social Responsibility. Some companies are strategically outsourcing social impact projects.

• Would it be beneficial for your organization to outsource and create partnerships to achieve social impact?

• Read about the three ways companies can activate their CSR missions.

The final corporate social responsibility(CSR) reports from 2017 have hit the printing presses and one thing is clear: despite notable efforts to create social good (and publicize it), consumers and employees think that companies should be doing more.

Research from McKinsey highlights that indeed, there is a growth in CSR Programs. The report also provides analysis showing that for CSR programs to be effective in creating an impact and bottom-line results, organizations must proactively create partnerships with external groups.

This shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Corporations are already increasingly outsourcing their core business processes, and now they are outsourcing critical aspects of their social impact projects, too.

Two weeks ago, 28 global brands – like Microsoft, PwC, and Timberland – took home Halo awards from the Engage for Good conference in Chicago. All were recognized for their leadership in developing and scaling social impact programs that created lasting change, while benefiting the business’ bottom line – but none of these companies did it alone.

While the award-winning programs were vastly different, they all shared something in common: all received awards alongside external partners that were critical to delivering their for-good programs.

For corporations looking to engage in social impact programs, they can use these outsourcing lessons from the award-winning corporations featured at the Engage for Good conference:

  • Identify the Business Objectives Your For-Good Program Is Seeking to Impact
  • Develop Clear Success Criteria with Clear Ownership
  • Integrate Processes, Workflows AND Data

As corporations continue to increase the breadth and depth of social impact programs, you can expect to see an increase in the number of partnerships with companies, and the number of partnerships that each company has.

Read the full article about corporate social responsibility by Mark Horoszowski at TriplePundit.