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Aug
22
2017

Q&A with Sue Stephenson: Engaging Employees Worldwide in Advancing the SDGs

By Alice Korngold and Sue Stephenson744737852315_20141206030801_100.png

Established by the United Nations in September 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a strategic plan to address the world’s most critical issues, including poverty, inequality, and climate change. In that corporations and their employees are uniquely positioned to help solve global problems, the UN established IMPACT 2030 to help galvanize business volunteers worldwide. IMPACT 2030 is a private sector-led nonprofit. In this Q&A, Sue Stephenson, vice chair of the board and interim CEO of IMPACT 2030, describes the role of IMPACT 2030 in convening leaders from corporations, the UN, civil society, academia, and philanthropic organizations, to organize and mobilize millions of corporate employees.

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Aug
15
2017

Q&A with Gabi Zedlmayer: Educating the World, Tuition Free

By Gabi Zedlmayer and Alice KorngoldUniversity_of_the_People_(UoPeople)_student_at_a_computer_center_in_Haiti

University of the People (UoPeople) bills itself as “the world’s first nonprofit, tuition-free, accredited, online, American university.” It was founded by entrepreneur Shai Reshef in 2009. Reshef told a TED conference in Vancouver in March, 2014, that he founded UoPeople “to create an alternative to those who have no other, an alternative that will be affordable and scalable, an alternative that will disrupt the current education system, open the gates to higher education for every qualified student regardless of what they earn, where they live, or what society says about them.” In this Q&A, Gabi Zedlmayer, who serves on UoPeople’s Computer Science Advisory Board, responds to questions about the organization.

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Aug
08
2017

Q&A with Grady Crosby and Annemarie Scobey: Johnson Controls in the Neighborhood—A Place-Based Approach to Philanthropy

By Alice Korngold, Grady Crosby and Annemarie ScobeySummerfest volunteers 2017

In June 2016, Johnson Controls launched its Milwaukee Neighborhood Initiative, a place-based approach to philanthropy and engagement. Its goal is to transform three challenged Milwaukee neighborhoods. The company is dedicating resources to support programs in the areas of job readiness, affordable housing, quality education, health, and the arts, with the goal of making a significant impact on the trajectory of lives in its focus neighborhoods.

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Aug
01
2017

Case Study: Creating an Outstanding Company Culture at Optimizely

By Ryan Scottstart-up-team

Employees want to work for companies that care. According to the 2016 Cone Communications Employee Engagement Study, 58 percent of employees consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work. Leading companies know that creating a great company culture should include a top-notch employee giving and volunteering program. For an example, let’s look at Optimizely, which has a strong culture of caring about its community and employees. This is one reason that the company has been recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the best places to work in the Bay Area from 2014 through 2016.

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Jul
25
2017

The SDGs: A Framework for Business and Nonprofit Collaboration

By Alice KorngoldSDGs

Companies and nonprofits are beginning to line up along the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs, established by the United Nations in the fall of 2015, build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The SDG framework is both aspirational and practical for each company and nonprofit to apply their superpowers in finding innovative solutions to the world’s most daunting challenges—social, economic, and environmental. Even better, companies and nonprofits can lay claim to the SDGs they will address, so that organizations can explore collaboration accordingly.

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Jul
14
2017

Increased Corporate Contributions to the Arts Are No Certainty

By Alex ParkinsonImage

These are interesting times. It seems no matter what industry or field you’re in, there’s uncertainty on the horizon. The arts are in the heart of it, as President Trump’s 2018 Budget proposes eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts, an important independent federal agency supporting the arts. But the same uncertainty clouds several fields and disciplines as changes in policy and funding priorities of the new Administration become clearer.

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Jul
11
2017

Q&A with Richard Buery: Why Pre-K Education Matters to Children, Communities, and Businesses

By Alice Korngold and Richard BueryPre-K 2

As New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives, Richard Buery is the architect of Pre-K for All, which for the first time provides free, full-day Pre-K for every four-year old in NYC. Based on his extensive experience in building and running nonprofits to help children achieve their full potential, Buery has a rich perspective on what works. In this Q&A, Buery shares how Pre-K education is an opportunity for communities to prepare children for a better future, while also benefiting companies.

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Jul
06
2017

Fact of the Week: Businesses Are Looking to Engage Their Employees through the Arts, Helping Fuel Attraction and Retention

By Alex ParkinsonImage

According to a survey by The Conference Board and American for the Arts, companies consider the arts to be important in building quality of life, stimulating creative thinking and problem solving, and offering networking opportunities. Download Business Contributions to the Arts: 2017 Edition.

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Jul
05
2017

Book Review—”Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save The Planet”

By Jeff Hoffman51TRymjqN3L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_

Michael Bloomberg and Carl Pope have written an informative and compelling book about climate change and our opportunity to slow and halt its progression. Throughout it, the authors note the importance of philanthropy moving both public policy, and public opinion—as evidenced by the actions of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which has offered up to $15 million to support the operations of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretariat, including its work to help countries implement their commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

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Jun
27
2017

Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement: Can Business Volunteering and Nonprofit Partnerships Make a Difference?

By Alice KorngoldParis Climate Agreement

US companies decry the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. They recognize that climate change is destructive for humanity and detrimental to peace and prosperity. There is positive action from hundreds of companies, along with governors and mayors. Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the UN Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, pledged $15 million toward fulfilling the US portion of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

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