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In this episode of the Champions for Social Good podcast, Rachel Hutchisson, vice president of Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy at Blackbaud, speaks with Grant Garrison, managing director at GOOD Corps, about how brands can purposefully align themselves with causes and movements to advance social good. Grant explains how he views the role that brands play in movements, and how his team is helping companies, foundations and nonprofits develop breakthrough programs that engage many more people around their brands in authentic ways. He talks about the three steps that brands should be taking to measure the results of their campaigns, and what companies should be aware of as more and more look to engage in social good movements. Rachel and Grant also discuss a few examples of how organizations have successfully advanced causes, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Levi Strauss, and a Jewish giving circle in NYC.

In this episode of the Champions for Social Good podcast, Rachel Hutchisson, vice president of Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy at Blackbaud, speaks with Susan McPherson, founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, about how organizations can effectively leverage social media activism to advance a cause. Susan explains the best uses for hashtag campaigns and why social media activism sometimes doesn’t work, and details the steps to creating successful and sustainable social campaigns. Susan also talks about why hashtag activism has been a powerful tool for empowering women and girls. Finally, Susan and Rachel discuss some successful hashtag campaigns led by nonprofits and companies and what made them work so well, and what strategies will be successful in engaging Gen Z. Learn more about social media activism on Blackbaud's award-winning thought leadership blog, npENGAGE: https://npengage.com/social-media/.

In this episode of the Champions for Social Good podcast, Rachel Hutchisson, vice president of corporate citizenship and philanthropy, speaks with her colleague Catherine LaCour, chief marketing officer at Blackbaud, about how organizations can strengthen the social economy to build a better world. The conversation kicks off with an explanation of what the social economy is, and how greater participation and greater effectiveness are the hallmarks of a strong social economy. Rachel and Catherine talk about how social good organizations can leverage the power of data, individual impact and radical collaboration to strengthen the social economy, and gives examples of how each of these three steps are being done well. Catherine also details the role that the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) play in the social economy and how they are providing an outcomes-based roadmap to all organizations.

In this episode of the Champions for Social Good podcast, Rachel Hutchisson, vice president of Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy at Blackbaud, speaks with Darrin Goss, president and CEO of the Coastal Community Foundation, about social media activism, community engagement and more. Rachel and Darrin start off by discussing the biggest threat to doing social good right now, and the need for social media activism to be supported by on-the-ground support of local organizations changing policies. Darrin explains the difference between weak tie and strong tie activism – “weak tie activism” being defined by social media channels providing information and engaging people around causes they might not be directly impacted by, and “strong tie activism” including deep local involvement on the ground working to impact lasting change – and how both come together to create movements. Darrin gives an example of how weak tie and strong tie activism both played important parts in the sit-ins during the civil rights movement, and talks about how both are fundamentally needed to advance change today. Darrin and Rachel also talk about how organizations can leverage philanthropic capital to impact their communities, and how social, moral, intellectual and reputational capital are all key parts of a philanthropic organization’s ability to make a difference and influence others beyond just their financial capital. Darrin and Rachel also discuss the challenges faced by the Coastal Community Foundation, how it has embraced a bold new direction marked by a culture of courage, and how the organization has “turned outward” to directly engage the communities it serves in problem solving.

In this episode of the Champions for Social Good podcast, Rachel Hutchisson, vice president of Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy at Blackbaud, speaks with Daryl Brewster, CEO, and Carmen Perez, Director of Data Insights at CECP, about the continued evolution of companies being a force for good in solving societal problems. Daryl talks about CECP’s core belief that a company’s social strategy determines company success, and how its flagship research report, Giving in Numbers, helps inform CSR strategies for companies across the US and around the world (including at Blackbaud, as noted by Rachel!). Daryl and Carmen dive into key insights from CECP’s most recent Giving in Numbers report, the largest in-depth research and analysis of corporate societal engagement with data from over 250 of the world's largest companies, including: a substantial increase in corporate investment in culture and arts over the last few years; deeper integration of business and employee programs; and a rise in the number of companies offering employee choice for matching donations and volunteering. Carmen also highlights how the Giving in Numbers report can uncover some very interesting industry-specific insights, such as how subsections of the healthcare industry are on opposite ends of aggregate changes in corporate giving. Rachel, Daryl and Carmen also discuss some global trends in CSR, and how companies around the world can learn from each other to make a greater impact.

In this episode of the Champions for Social Good podcast, Rachel Hutchisson, vice president of Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy at Blackbaud, speaks with Justin Bakule executive director of the Shared Value Initiative (SVI), about the concept of shared value and how SVI is helping advance the practice of shared value through best practice sharing, capacity building, research, and its annual Shared Value Leadership Summit. Justin explains what shared value is at its core, and how it can help companies gain greater insights into their customers that lead to long-term value creation. Concrete examples of companies practicing shared value are highlighted throughout the episode to help listeners understand the various ways shared value can be incorporated into a company’s core business model. Rachel and Justin also talk about how shared value and corporate social responsibility (CSR) can complement each other both directly and indirectly. Finally, Justin shares how the Shared Value Initiative is building an enterprise diagnostic tool that will allow companies to track their progress in incorporating shared value into their business practices and help them compare their progress against their plans.