As originally published on Webkul.com

What is CSR?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that suggests that it is the responsibility of the corporations operating within society to contribute towards economic, social and environmental development that creates a positive impact on society at large.

In short, Corporate Social Responsibility reflects a company’s sense of responsibility towards the community and environment (both ecological and social) in which it operates.

In the era of growing partnerships and stiff competition rising among corporates, building a successful business based on profits is not enough.

Corporates need to realize the importance of giving back to society and incorporate corporate social responsibility into their core business ethics.

Webkul’s Contribution towards CSR –

Webkul believes in having strong business ethics, work culture, and work-life balance. As well as Webkul completely understands the roles and responsibilities of an organization towards society and non-profit organizations. And hence, making some contribution towards society as well as for non- profit organizations.

Webkul’s contribution to Non-profit organization-

Webkul is providing a discount on eShopSync for non-profit organizations. So that non-profit organizations that are using Shopify for their online store can easily purchase this connector at an affordable price. And hence, making it easy and reliable to integrate their Shopify platform with Salesforce.

This connector provides real-time synchronization, interactive design with a brilliant user interface to manage data efficiently, Multi-store oriented integration to enhance management of e-Commerce data, effective utilization of multiple Shopify stores in single Salesforce CRM and with the use of this connector they can process bulk data from their Shopify Store to Salesforce. It allows to sync categories, products, customers & orders from Shopify to Salesforce.

The idea behind the concept of this connector is to increase data integrity, maintain proper inventory of stock, provide brilliant customer care services and much more.

The non-profit organizations which are using this connector developed by Webkul are –

Vermont Association of Snow Travelers – VAST is responsible for the organization of the sport, maintaining and grooming trails, VAST is one of the oldest snowmobiling organizations in the U.S. and a non-profit, private group that includes 131 clubs statewide with over 24,000 members combined. VAST is using eShopSync for Shopify for managing its online store.

Native Hope, Inc – Native Hope is a non-profit organization that exists to dismantle barriers and inspire hope for voices unheard. Their 100% of donations go to fund vital programs. They believe in the power of storytelling to dismantle barriers, bring healing and inspire hope for Native people. Native Hope is using the connector developed by Webkul for the integration of their Shopify’s online store with Salesforce.

Ascension – Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. And one of the leading non-profit and Catholic health systems in the U.S.Ascension is using Shopify platform and also using eShopsync for Shopify for the synchronization purpose.

The Kabbalah Centre – The Kabbalah Centre International is a non-profit organization located in Los Angeles, California that provides courses on the Zohar and Kabbalistic teachings online as well as through its regional and city-based centers and study groups worldwide. The Kabbalah Centre is also using this connector eShopsync for Shopify developed by Webkul.

So, the above mentioned are the non-profit organizations that are using eShopsync for Shopify as well as there are many other non-profit organizations are there which are using this connector developed by Webkul.

Webkul’s contribution to Social Welfare –

Webkul is supporting Goonj, as Goonj is a non-governmental organization headquartered in Delhi, India which undertakes disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and community development in parts of 23 states across India.

Goonj focuses on clothing as a basic but unaddressed need. As well as Goonj uses the under-utilized and excess urban household material as a tool for rural development across 23 states in India. It thus aims to bring an equitable relationship of strength, sustenance, and dignity between the cities and villages.

So, Webkul helped Goonj by distributing ready to eat packets of food, Clothes, and Study materials for orphan children.

Webkul at Goonj –

We believe it’s not our responsibility rather it’s our social duty. A simple step from our side to make a millions of smile face.

As originally published on Pulse2.com

Identity management company Okta is a major advocate of the Pledge 1%. Here are some of the ways that Okta is driving social good.

Okta, a company that has built a solution that helps organizations both big and small accomplish important missions, had taken an oath to Pledge 1% for social good a few years ago. Through the program, Okta started offering its products free to nonprofits with 25 employees or fewer. And the company will be offering deep discounts to larger organizations.

Back in 2016, Okta CEO and co-founder Todd McKinnon pointed out that “technology can truly be the catalyst for positive change, which is why we recently debuted our Okta for Good program and took the 1% pledge — committing our time, product, and equity to give back to the community.”

And Okta co-founder and COO Frederic Kerrest also explained in an Inc. article that there are 4 ways that startups can launch a social impact program. The four ways include making a commitment, connecting your product to impact, activating your team, and not going at it alone.

In order to activate a team, company leaders need to engage the broader organization in social good efforts. And leaders need to make sure that everyone has the ability to contribute time and effort to local volunteering or fundraising events. One of the best ways to do this is by giving employees time off each year to participate in social good efforts. Okta gives each employee 3 days of volunteer time off per year.

Plus it is important to team up with other organizations in order to build relationships with business partners, customers, prospects, and industry peers. By driving social good as a team, it will further business and community objectives.

“Creating a successful social impact program does not stem from just one person at a company; it’s a team effort, ideally supported by leaders dedicated to giving back, motivated employees and community partners who view corporate giving in a similar light. We all have a responsibility to give back, and our success is linked to our communities: businesses can’t thrive unless our communities are thriving as well. The earlier you embed the ‘giving mindset’ into your organization, the easier it will be for your company to scale alongside the mission and build on it as you grow,” wrote Kerrest via Inc.

As originally published on Finance.Yahoo.com

MILL VALLEY, Calif., Aug. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — In 2003, Rick Bakas left a lucrative job at Nike’s California headquarters and headed to Boulder, Colorado to care for his mom, who has Multiple Sclerosis. Cannabis proved to be a lifesaver for his mother, helping with her pain, sleep and seizures and allowing her to stop taking several medications that came with harsh side effects.

Today, Bakas’ appreciation for the benefits of cannabis and his amassed product expertise has morphed into a major fully licensed, premium cannabis delivery service in Northern California called Flowsent. Its team is comprised of business owners and marketers, with a combined 50+ years of experience in and outside of the cannabis industry – several of whom have won awards for their cannabis recipes and resulting products.

This month, Flowsent stretched its wings even further with the launch of its weed club, akin to wine or beer of the month clubs. Club members can choose from four packages:

• Keep Tahoe Green (monthly selection of flower products)


• 710 Racing (monthly selection of cannabis oil)


• Goddess (monthly selection of health and beauty products with a focus on CBD)


• Flow Box (monthly selection of any type of product including edibles and gear)

Club members also enjoy a host of added perks, including discounts on purchases, priority delivery and invitations to grower dinners and other exclusive events. The organization’s founders say the weed club is the “first-of-its-kind” in the legal cannabis space.

“We are a bit spoiled here in California. We have the best of everything right at our fingertips and just expect access to the finer things across the board. Flowsent caters to that expectation by offering an award-winning selection of the highest quality cannabis products delivered right to our customers’ doors,” explained Aaron Grimes, one of the co-founders, whose relationships with California growers have been a key to giving the company a competitive advantage.

“When looking for cannabis products for our menu, we intentionally look for those that come from plants with minimal or, preferably, zero exposure to chemicals. We believe cannabis, like the foods we eat, should come from farmers who grow their crops sustainably,” said co-founder Stig Westling, who brings degrees in chemistry and business to the table.

“Since my mom started using cannabis products 16 years ago for her MS, the products available and the industry have completely evolved. Yet, one thing remains the same: cannabis is changing and saving lives, and its wide range of uses continues to expand,” Bakas added.

Bakas said the company always keeps its roots top of mind. As such, it advocates for improved access to cannabis and CBD products for medicinal purposes for people like his mother, cancer patients, veterans suffering from PTSD and others who can benefit from them. The company has, in fact, taken the 1% Pledge and donates both products and employee time as a result. Pledge 1% challenges companies to pledge one percent of their equity, profit, products and/or employee time for their communities.

Expansion plans for Flowsent are in full swing as the business prepares for the launch in 2020 of its full line of CBD products to be sold nationwide. For more information about Flowsent, its products and weed club, go to flowsent.com/hello.

SouthStart has released early bird tickets for its 2-day, multi-track technology conference,  taking place at the Adelaide Convention Centre on 20-21 November in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurs Week.

This comes with the announcement that the conference, in partnership with the Atlassian Foundation, will be a Pledge 1% event and will stand within a week-long, multi-venue festival program.

The week-long festivities will kick off with a TechStars StartupWeekend, in collaboration with UniSA’s Innovation and Collaboration Centre, followed by a 2-day workshop series in partnership with Flinders’ New Venture Institute. In addition, there will be industry dinners along Peel and Leigh streets, activations at SA’s flagship innovation precinct – Lot Fourteen, networking parties, winery experiences and more.

“SouthStart is not just a conference,” says Event Director Craig Swann. “It is a convergence of humans, impact and technology. We’ll be exploring exponential technologies developed here in Australa and the people and ideas that drive them.

“The entrepreneurial path is a hard, and often lonely road. SouthStart provides a unique experience for people to come together offline, connect as humans and acquire the networks, skills and knowledge to tackle the problems that will affect billions of people.”

More than 100 founders, investors and ecosystem leaders from across the country, and the globe, are set to contribute to the program through keynotes, workshops, masterclasses, panels and summits across a diverse range of industries including AI, Space, Creative Industries, AgTech and Blockchain.

SouthStart will also seek to attract stronger interstate and overseas investment interest into South Australian companies, partnering with Innovation Bay to deliver a national Investor showcase attached to the main event.

Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said SouthStart was a key part of South Australia’s plan to become a global leader in entrepreneurship, by creating the right culture for startups to flourish and supporting access to investment capital.

“SouthStart brings fresh ideas and adds great value to the local innovation ecosystem and we are committed to supporting the development of forward-looking and global-minded ideas in South Australia,” Minister Pisoni said.

“That’s why we are supporting SouthStart with $350,000 through the Research, Commercialisation and Startup Fund, and why it is a key action in our Future Industries Exchange for Entrepreneurs (FIXE) strategy.

“SouthStart is a fantastic opportunity for local entrepreneurs and start-ups to learn from world-leading business and innovation leaders about their journeys and the global trends that will be vital for businesses to thrive in the digital age.”

Early bird tickets for SouthStart are now available for $249 until September 24 through event ticketing partner Humanitix,  a not-for-profit backed by Atlassian Foundation and Google.org. 100% of the profits from booking fees will be donated to literacy programs for disadvantaged young girls, indigenous scholarships and meals for disadvantaged Aussie kids.

Details and speakers surrounding these activations will be announced in the coming weeks. Further information is available at www.southstart.co.

Originally published by Silafrica.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — This global campaign is dedicated to creating a new normal, whereby giving back is integrated into the DNA of companies, regardless of their size. Comprised of more than 8,500 companies in over 100 countries, it encourages and challenges these companies to pledge one percent of equity, profit, product and/or employee time to their communities.

In making the announcement, Akshay Shah, Group Managing Director of Silafrica, stated, “We applaud the positive spirit upon which Pledge 1% was founded. Their goals and their mission of community service and support parallel those of Silafrica, whose similar vision and principles were set forth at our company’s founding more than forty years ago.”

In recent years, Silafrica has enacted a formal set of guiding principles, which outlines the company’s vision for creating sustainable success and service. Entitled “The Silafrica Way,” it provides a roadmap for serving corporate customers and trade partners as well as community channels in Africa through the application of innovation, professionalism and entrepreneurial energy. This corporate platform is comprised of seven core values: trust, respect, integrity, passion, humility, excellence and teamwork. Shah added, “What also inspired us to join Pledge 1% was that in doing so, we could set an example for our industry peers in the region to follow.”

Peer-to-peer networking among CEOs and entrepreneurs has been a large part of the spreading of movement. However, while the Pledge 1% presence is very strong in the US, Australia, India, and Europe, it is just beginning to make inroads in Africa. Silafrica’s recent pledge is intended to accelerate that. “We’ve already been speaking with our industry’s supply chain partners and colleagues in the region, and encouraging them to become part of the movement,” Shah said.

Upon being notified of the Silafrica pledge, Amy Lesnick, Chief Executive and President of Pledge 1%, commented, “We’re delighted to have Silafrica as partners in the movement, as they represent a sizeable organization in a part of the world where we hope to have a significant impact. What’s most notable about Silafrica and their participation is how it reflects who they truly are as an organization.”

In aligning itself with Pledge 1%, Silafrica is designating one percent of its corporate profits, product and personnel time to a variety of regional charities, service projects, and community organizations. “We see this as an opportunity to raise awareness and are calling on companies large and small to do their part for their respective communities,” Shah concluded. “Silafrica looks forward to becoming a promotional voice across Africa, helping companies to recognize what we’ve known to be true for some time: that our workers are our friends and neighbors. They are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. When people and families flourish, our communities flourish and create stronger organizations within them.”

ABOUT PLEDGE 1%

Pledge 1% is a global movement that encourages and empowers companies of all sizes and stages of growth to give one percent of either their profit, equity, staff time or product to any charity of their choosing. Pledge 1%’s founding partners include Salesforce, Atlassian and Rally, three companies that know first-hand how pledging a small portion of future success today can have an enormous impact tomorrow. In 2014, they joined with the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado to accelerate a shared vision of every business around the globe, integrating philanthropy into its corporate DNA. In 2016, Pledge 1% became a special initiative of Tides, a leading global philanthropic partner, and non-profit accelerator.

To learn more or to take the pledge, please visit http://www.pledge1percent.org.

ABOUT SILAFRICA

Silafrica is an award-winning manufacturer and supplier of plastic and packaging solutions for corporations, CPGs and consumers alike. With headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya it has manufacturing hubs in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, and serves clients in these countries as well as Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and others throughout Africa. Its client roster includes leading global and African CPG brands who use packaging applications for primary and secondary consumer and industrial rigid packaging, and secondary flexible industrial packaging. Business sectors served, include the fastest-growing segments within the FMCG space such as food, beverage, personal care, home care, the construction space such as paints & chemicals, as well as the general logistics needs of the distribution and supply chains in the agricultural and consumer sectors.

As originally published on UCToday.com

Lorelea first explains to Patrick why AMC are so passionate about helping charities and non-profit organisations. Everyone at AMC has benefited at some point from the work of charities and the whole organisation is grateful and keen to providing assistance back in any way possible. As well as wanting to help, AMC are also uniquely placed to assist charities with CRM integration to improve contact centre efficiency, which often forms a critical part of their fundraising systems.

“We really understand the challenges that charitable organisations come up against.”

Lorelea explains to Patrick that although non-profit organisations don’t have identical requirements to conventional businesses often the demands in terms of contact centre provision are even more important to their overall efficacy. Ensuring donors have a smooth and simple experience is key to increasing potential donations which can in turn be reinvested in good causes.

The Helping Hands Initiative is AMC’s own internal scheme for charitable discount. It provides a quantity of its DaVinci software licences completely free of charge, for registered charities and non-profits, and then further licences at a significant 65% discount. As well as the discounted software AMC also makes its professional services expertise available at the same massively discounted rate.

“This enables them (Charities and non-profits) to put their budgeted dollars, from donations, phone calls etc into their more crucial projects that support the communities they serve.”

AMC has also been supporting, and participating, in the global Pledge 1% program. The program asks organisations around the globe to donate 1% of their equity, profit, product, and/or employee time back into their communities.

Patrick also asks Lorelea how else AMC have been helping charities and non-profits. Lorelea explains that AMC can use its expertise in the field of contact centres to help organisations improve their efficiency by streamlining CRM integration within platforms to enhance the process of receiving financial donations or support.

Finally Lorelea tells Patrick about some examples of how AMC have assisted charitable organisation with its unique set of specialisation and skills.

Listen on your daily commute, whilst walking the dog, or in the gym. UC Today – Out Loud provides bite size podcasts, bringing you all of the latest communication and collaboration news.

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Presenter Patrick Watson and special guest Lorelea Moore from AMC Technology.