Originally published at Australian Baiju.
Our team at Good Spirits Co. was so proud to participate in ‘Variety Rocks 4 All Concert,’ a family concert held by Variety – the Children’s Charity in conjunction with the City of Sydney.
For 45 years Variety – the Children’s Charity has been helping to give kids (aged 0-18) who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs a fair go in life. Their work allows kids to gain mobility, to get out and about in the community, to communicate, achieve independence and increase their self-esteem.
The Variety concert was held at Tumbalong Park (Sydney) on Saturday 1st of May 2021. Families were entertained by some of Australia’s best entertainers, cultural music acts and some award winning country music artists. This event was made possible thanks to the incredible generosity of City of Sydney, who granted $50,000 to run this event through their COVID-19 Recovery CBD Activation Grant.
Good Spirits Co. team gave a helping hand with event ad hoc duties and entertainment. One of our Co-founders, Varvara Kuraeva, had an “unforgettable and fun experience” wearing an Olaf costume entertaining kids and dancing to the country tunes.
But the work doesn’t stop there. We look forward to supporting Variety and families in every way we can. To find out more about Variety – the Children’s Charity or to join, please visit https://www.variety.org.au.
About Pledge 1%
Good Spirits Co. has been a proud member of the Pledge 1% movement since 1st of February 2021. We have pledged to donate 1% of time and 1% of profit to different Australian charities.
Pledge 1% is a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 12,000 members in 100+ countries have used Pledge 1%’s flexible framework to ignite half a billion dollars in new philanthropy. To learn more about Pledge 1% and to take the pledge, visit www.pledge1percent.org.
‘Variety Rocks 4 All Concert’ at Tumbalong Park. On the photo: Good Spirits Co. team rocking the red volunteer t-shirts and Olaf costume. Go Team!
‘Variety Rocks 4 All Concert’ at Tumbalong Park. On the photo: Good Spirits Co. team rocking the red volunteer t-shirts and Olaf costume. Go Team! Originally posted: May 6th, 2021
To celebrate the launch of our Climate Action & Green Recovery Playbook, Pledge 1% members joined DocuSign, Salesforce and Silicon Valley Bank to discuss their experience building and maintaining successful sustainability programs. In case you missed it, below is an overview of the discussion.
You can download our Climate Action & Green Recovery Playbook here.
In addition to the immeasurable effects of COVID-19, this past year we experienced record breaking wildfires, hurricanes, freezes, and flooding — and a toll on human life and resources that will only continue to climb. We now have the scientific data to understand the devastation that climate change can cause; and for most of us, this devastation will occur during our lifetime or the lifetimes of our children.
At Pledge 1%, we are committed to protecting the planet. We organized a special members event to explore the top questions and challenges we are facing, and to discuss ways companies can be a part of the solution. We were delighted to share ideas from our members and learn from environmental champions and guest speakers Amy Skeeters-Behrens from DocuSign, Emma Grande from Salesforce, and Danielle Conkling from Silicon Valley Bank.
Here are our 3 top takeaways from the event:
- Engage with the communities where your employees live and work. Research how you can get involved with local stakeholders that are working to protect the environment.
- Start with your employees! Many members share that their employees have expressed interest in getting involved with sustainability efforts. Send a company-wide poll to brainstorm ways for your company to get involved in protecting the planet.
- Take stock of what your company is uniquely positioned to offer, and build a program around that. Leverage your existing talent and assets to help you grow your sustainability program.
Missed the event? That’s OK – you can watch the recording here:
Originally published on michaelmanagement.com. Written by Thomas Michael.
MMC Cares is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) program of the Michael Management Corporation, an online SAP education leader and live SAP access services. We started this program in 2020 in response to the many social injustices we have seen in the news. In fact, I had the idea for a CSR program a while back – I felt the urge to use our limited, although powerful resources to make the world just a little bit better.
Our Mission
We fully recognize that not everybody has access or opportunity to use our world-class SAP training. Therefore, we launched MMC Cares with the goal to do social good and address social issues. We will provide at least $100,000 per year in full and partial scholarships to deserving individuals and students from around the world.
Additionally, we wanted to take advantage of our large community of expert SAP instructors to provide free training sessions to the public throughout each year. And finally, we believe charity starts at home – thus, we offer our employees paid time off to do their own charity work. Each employee gets 1 hour per week (or half a day each month) to work on the causes that matter to them most – all while getting paid.
United Nations & Partnerships
We aligned our goals along with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Quality Education and Decent Work & Economic Growth.
Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.
How we support this:
Helping individuals unlock their potential by providing them with quality education and closing the skills divide.
Why we do this:
- There are many barriers to educational opportunities in low-income communities.
- There is a large racial disparity in our educational system, further impeding opportunities for building critical employment skills.
- Education is a passport to greater personal financial health.
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
How we support this:
Providing a pathway to prosperity by helping individuals acquire the knowledge needed for employment and financial empowerment.
Why we do this:
- Help narrow the gap of financial security among the lower-income community.
- COVID-19 has magnified the issue of financial security, creating the need for individuals to learn new skills
- SAP skills are in high demand; 87% of fortune 2000 companies use SAP software to run their business.
We will continue to donate our products, money, and time to support these goals and make a positive impact as a good corporate citizen. In addition, we seek to partner with national organizations and support nonprofits to further their missions of empowering individuals to improve or restart their careers.
After the initial launch of MMC Cares, I wanted to find a way to multiply the impact of our CSR initiatives. That’s when we hired Amelia Avery-Bradley as our new Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. Amelia is a mission-driven leader committed to social justice and inclusion and over a decade of experience with CSR programs. Amelia will lead MMC Cares to fulfill our mission to make the world a better place.
The 1% Pledge
Our first order of business was to join the 1% Pledge – a global movement of 12,000+ companies of all sizes to encourage them to donate 1% of their profits, product, and staff time to charities of their choosing. The collective charitable impact of these companies exceeds half a billion dollars each year.
Companies like Salesforce, Docusign, TechCrunch, and 1000s of others have already pledged their support, and we are proud to be part of this group now.
Our Impact
We are happy with our initial success and the social impact we have made in 2020. We were able to achieve the following milestones in our mission already:
- We awarded $102,900 in scholarships to individuals.
- We provided 5,000 meals to the Food Bank of New York City.
- We made cash donations to the ACLU, Alliance for Justice, and Food Bank of New York City.
We are excited about the new year and the goals we have set for ourselves. The Michael Management team, together with our 100s of expert SAP instructors, will impact the lives of 1000s of SAP learners around the globe.
With gratitude,
Thomas Michael
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Management Corporation
Originally posted on dayofshecurity.com
Our fifth conference will include more participants than ever before, all of whom are aspiring to develop their careers in cybersecurity. With 50+ women educators and speakers, all subject matter experts in their fields, and over 700+ women in attendance, this event will have a huge and immediate impact on the cybersecurity skills shortage. See our new and improved Speaker Tracks for submission ideas and info on what to expect from the Day of Shecurity Conference 2021.
The HopIn platform will be used to produce this year’s event and we hope you love their format as much as we do. The sponsors who make this event possible will have Virtual Booths, where they can share more about their open jobs, highlight their programs and offerings, and get to know our attendees. If you have attended any prior Day of Shecurity events, you may recognize some of our popular training and educational sessions, as well as talks from the cybersecurity industries’ leading women, career development content, and more. Attendees will come away from this event with knowledge about the career possibilities in cybersecurity, hands-on experience with the tools, techniques, and platforms used in the industry, knowledge, and access to hundreds of open security jobs, and they will get to meet companies that are committed to cybersecurity hiring and increasing inclusion.
Our Call for Sponsors is now open, and our Call for Proposals and registration both open on February 2, 2021. We hope you will spread the news and get involved!
See you online,
-The Day of Shecurity Team
dayofshecurity.com
Originally published on bcorporation.net
As the gap between haves and have nots grows and the climate crisis accelerates, business leaders can seize the opportunity to address economic disparity and take climate action by adopting a model for a new economy — stakeholder capitalism — and pursuing benefit corporation status to embed their company’s purpose and ensure a positive legacy.
Through the legal structure of benefit corporations, businesses can expand their focus beyond shareholder primacy, the tenet of traditional capitalism that demands profits for shareholders be the sole focus of a corporation, and instead consider the impact of corporate actions on a number of stakeholders: workers, customers, community, environment, and shareholders. Yes, the bottom line remains important, but the business also must deliver value to this broader group and take responsibility for the negative impacts it creates. By using business as a force for good, benefit corporations uplift the people who contribute to their success and protect the environment for future generations.
The community of Certified B Corporations — more than 3,500 businesses around the world, including Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Allbirds, and Beautycounter — are leading the way by tackling pressing global challenges and building a new economy led by stakeholder capitalism. To help other business leaders navigate the journey to adopt benefit corporation status as a requirement of B Corp Certification, B Lab is releasing a new downloadable resource, the Board Playbook, to lay out the process and demystify the risks. This article shares highlights and testimonials from the playbook.
“Only when stakeholder governance becomes normative and institutional will this be accessible for the companies with limited resources but unlimited passion to serve their communities and their workers,” says Andy Fyfe, Growth Catalyst, B Lab U.S. & Canada. “This playbook levels the playing field as the most practical guide to date for companies to adopt the highest form of stakeholder governance.”
In the playbook’s introductory letter, Allbirds Co-Founder Joey Zwillinger shares why the company pursued benefit corporation status and how that decision has shaped and will drive the business for the long term:
“Adopting this governance framework has legal tradeoffs. On one hand, it provides broader latitude to executives to act on behalf of public beneficiaries in addition to shareholders. On the other hand, it also creates liabilities for companies and its executives such that investors can hold the company accountable to achieving the public benefits it has chartered in its governance documents. This is flexibility and accountability. Great leaders should have both, but it takes courage and a sense of responsibility for what the executive’s role is in the world.”
A New Way of Doing Business
To help business leaders navigate the journey to adopt benefit corporation status as a requirement of B Corp Certification, B Lab U.S. & Canada is releasing a new downloadable resource, the Board Playbook, to lay out the process and demystify the risks.
Operating with Purpose and Transparency
By law, benefit corporations have the same protections and permissions as other for-profit corporations but have a higher level of transparency, accountability, and purpose. This means benefit corporations must account for the negative impacts of their operations on all stakeholders rather than maximizing wealth for shareholders and imposing costs on others.
In the last decade, benefit corporation statutes have been enacted in 39 states in the U.S. The movement is growing internationally as well: In 2020, the first Canadian benefit corporation law became effective in British Columbia, adding to prior adoption in the United States, Italy, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.
https://blab-mktg-bcorporation-production.s3.amazonaws.com/BCorp_benefitcorp.png
The more than 10,000 benefit corporations are changing the purpose of business by leaving behind shareholder primacy. Here are a few ways these leaders are demonstrating that responsible business can be successful business:
- Lemonade, an innovative insurance broker backed by SoftBank, Sequoia and other venture capital funds, completed the most successful IPO of 2020, raising 139% on its first day of trading (after pricing above the underwriters’ range).“This isn’t just ‘do good’ stuff, it’s about aligning interests. So I don’t make money by denying your claims, and you’ll think twice before embellishing your claims, and hopefully we’ll turn what is today a two-player game, a conflicted relationship between two players, into a trilateral relationship by involving nonprofits as well. … It’s allowed us to climb the ranks to be the number one most trusted and loved brand in insurance, and we’ve only been in the market for three years.” — Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber
- Vital Farms, which markets pasture-raised eggs and butter, followed suit in 2020 with an IPO earning a market cap of $1.3 billion at close while receiving a valuation of $136 million just two years earlier.“I was always looking for the exit. Instead of looking to get rich, I realized I could build a company where I was focused on employees, customers, shareholders, and the environment. It’s so much more fun than focusing on profit.” — Vital Farms Founder Matt O’Hayer
- Veeva Systems, a provider of cloud-based software products with a $40 billion market cap, is the first publicly traded company to adopt benefit corporation status — receiving 99% approval from its shareholders in January 2021.“We met with our top 20 investors, other influencers, and proxy advisory firms. For a significant cross-section of investors — especially those that are more ESG-focused, that have been thinking about multi-stakeholderism or writing about the importance of purpose — I would describe the reaction as almost pent-up demand. There was almost a sense of relief — finally someone’s doing this. That was a pretty significant proportion of the shareholders that we spoke to.” — Veeva Systems Senior Vice President and General Counsel Josh Faddis
A Compelling Case for Benefit Corporations
Benefit corporations will have growing relevance for the future, as more people prefer jobs with purpose and stability. This legal status gives prospective and current employees confidence that the company is legally committed to its mission and long-term legacy.
As benefit corporations, public companies can attract investors with a longer-term perspective and build management credibility by making decisions with extended positive impact. They can avoid short-term pressures from shareholders because directors must make decisions based on building shared and durable value for all stakeholders, rather than just trying to increase the current share price.
As more large companies and investors realize that the pursuit of shareholder profits lies at the root of many systemic challenges — health, economic, and racial equity among them — businesses that are accountable to balancing interests across all stakeholders have greater flexibility to adapt and survive during difficult times.
The benefit corporation structure also gives directors additional options and protections under the law, when making decisions rather than defaulting to the option that creates the most value for shareholders.
The final sections of the playbook include information about the legal aspects of the certification process, produced in partnership with Freshfields, an international law firm; and a “tough questions” section, produced in partnership with Mayer Brown LLP, a global law firm advising the world’s leading companies and financial institutions, including public benefit companies on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) and other socially minded matters.
Pamela L. Marcogliese, a partner at Freshfields, says the playbook is a timely resource for businesses developing or deepening their stakeholder framework.
“Now, more than ever, companies are focused on a wide range of ESG issues, driven by concerns from their stakeholders, including their employees, their customers, members of their communities, and their stockholders,” she says. “B Corp Certification, and eventual conversion to a public benefit corporation, crystallizes a company’s commitment to these important constituencies.”
Stephanie Hurst, an associate with Mayer Brown, says clients pursuing ESG-related matters, including becoming a B Corp or benefit corporation, have many questions about how the market may view that change and whether it could increase their personal liability.
“In the fast-evolving ESG landscape, with many areas of first impression, these considerations can be multifaceted and, at times, feel overwhelming,” she says. “We think that the Board Playbook, the initiative spearheaded by B Lab, is an excellent resource for companies seeking B Corp Certification or benefit corporation status that provides practical insights and guidance to address the key considerations, and we are happy to have collaborated with B Lab on this important project.”
A New Way of Doing Business
To help business leaders navigate the journey to adopt benefit corporation status as a requirement of B Corp Certification, B Lab U.S. & Canada is releasing a new downloadable resource, the Board Playbook, to lay out the process and demystify the risks.
Originally published on giantmachines.com. Written by Stephen Tober
Giant Machines Joins the Pledge 1% Movement and Pledges to Donate 1% of Time/Product/Profit to the Community
Giant Machines announced today that it has joined Pledge 1%, a global movement to create a new normal for companies of all sizes and stages to have a positive social impact through their business. Giant Machines is joining over 12,000 companies around the world who have committed to Pledge 1% of either their product, profit, equity, and/or staff time to a charity of their choosing.
Our Values & Mission
Giant Machines is committed to a thriving society with a focus on racial justice, gender equality, social justice, and more sustainable communities.
We as an organization will continuously learn, practice, and contribute to our stated mission. We learn, so that we can have a deeper understanding of the issues at hand and the most effective way to promote change. We put into practice our learnings so we can create an organization that lives by this mission. We contribute to our communities by setting aside 1% of our profits and our time to causes and charitable organizations that share this social mission.
Despite our small size as a company, we have always valued the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of our team members. Across our team we have degrees ranging from computer science to engineering, fine arts, design, anthropology, music, and politics. Members hail from diverse cultural backgrounds, have lived abroad, collectively speak over a dozen languages, and include software boot camp grads, entrepreneurs, parents, athletes, cooks, artists, and world travelers. We take great pride in the multifarious nature of both our team and our company culture.
Giant Machines believes that diversity and inclusion are not only the right thing to do but the right thing for business. Innovation thrives when teams are diverse, and there are a variety of perspectives and approaches that the company takes to achieve this goal.
Giant Machines has comprehensive diversity initiatives for a company of our age and size. We are continually evaluating and evolving our strategies and believe this leads to a safer and happier work environment.
Giant Machines pledges to do its part to do more, to be part of the solution, to be anti-racist. We endeavor to take the resources at our disposal, including our financial resources, our people, our experience, and our humanity and marshal them toward the greater good. The recent — and not so recent — events of the nation call for more action, more impact, more activism.
Giant Machines is proud to join the Pledge 1% community and encourages other companies to take the pledge and leverage their business as a force for good.
About Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% is a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 12,000 members around the world have used Pledge 1%’s flexible framework to ignite half a billion dollars in new philanthropy. To learn more about Pledge 1% and to take the pledge visit www.pledge1percent.org.
Yesterday, Pledge 1% and the Tides Foundation cohosted the first Corporate Impact Leaders Forum of 2021. Our speakers discussed how they are using the many lessons of 2020 to expand their impact programs, and shared predictions for where they believe the future of social impact is headed. In case you missed it, below is quick roundup of this enlightening discussion.
While we continue to battle an unpredictable 2021, one thing is for certain–corporate social impact programs are on the rise! All of our speakers noted a dramatic increase in both interest and demand from their employees to offer philanthropic initiatives and opportunities. Companies today are no longer separating social interest issues and business matters; but rather incorporating both when structuring their business.
These are our 4 top takeaways from the event:
- When in doubt, just get started! There is always room to build and adjust your impact program as you go. However, the earlier you start, the better equipped you are to make a lasting impact.
- Hire experienced ESG leaders within your leadership team that can help you prioritize impact.
- Having a robust corporate social impact program is a serious cultural advantage that works to attract and retain top talent.
- Publish diversity stats to hold yourself accountable. This also allows you to take stock of what you are doing, and what you can do more of.
Here are some top tips from our speakers!
Originally published on fastly.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Jan. 19, 2021) – Fastly, Inc. (NYSE: FSLY) announced today that it has joined Pledge 1%, a corporate philanthropy movement dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Fastly’s commitment to corporate giving, Fastly is kicking off the new year with its inaugural Global Week of Service, running from Jan. 18 to Jan. 24, empowering its worldwide workforce to volunteer virtually and safely. This event will kick off a greater focus in 2021 on expanding corporate philanthropy and volunteerism efforts.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, corporate volunteer hours declined by 58% from the same time period in 2019. Fastly has set a goal of 2,000 employee volunteer hours during the Global Week of Service. The week will be an opportunity for the global Fastly workforce to come together and serve our employees’ respective communities during a once-a-century public health and economic crisis. To encourage employees to volunteer safely and abide by the health and safety guidelines in their area, the Fastly team has shared a variety of virtual volunteer opportunities with their team, including The Peace Crane Project, Amnesty Decoders, and Be My Eyes.
“In 2021, we’re working to make sure our corporate giving program is as impactful as possible,” said Doniel Sutton, Chief People Officer of Fastly. “We believe that volunteering is one of the best ways to deliver real impact to communities. There is a powerful multiplier effect that takes place when people are united in service to something greater than themselves, and that’s what this week will ignite. Plus, we know that volunteering will have a positive impact on our Fastly community as well. Although virtual, the social contact aspect of helping and working with others can have a profound effect on our team’s well-being, and relieve stress through meaningful connection with other people. Feeling intentionally engaged in social good is proven to have an appreciable positive impact on employees. This year will build the foundation for us to explore more sustainable employee volunteer programs and activities. Through the ongoing efforts of volunteers, remarkable change can occur.”
As part of the Pledge 1% movement, Fastly is joining an impressive network of entrepreneurs and companies across the globe that have committed to philanthropic efforts such as Salesforce, Atlassian, and Rally. Though this year marks Fastly’s first Global Week of Service, Fastly has long demonstrated a commitment to philanthropic leadership through its Open Source and Nonprofit Program. Through the program, Fastly supports a wide range of organizations: internationally-recognized nonprofits focusing on causes such as human rights and journalistic freedom, open-source foundations, and open-source projects at various maturity levels. As the COVID-19 pandemic surged globally and the world turned to the internet to stay connected, the Open Source and Nonprofit Program doubled its free services donations, increasing the value of free services from $25M to $50M. Fastly provides free services to organizations like Khan Academy, Doctors Without Borders, and Tech for Good.
“Fastly has an excellent nonprofit program,” said Srivishnu Piratla, CEO of Tech for Good, a nonprofit that provides technology solutions to underrepresented communities. “One of our main projects at Tech for Good is working to bring internet connectivity to rural areas all over the world, starting with India. Cost is a primary concern with this project, so we are building a network that will offload all daytime requests into nighttime hours when satellite internet is at its cheapest. We are using Fastly to do that, getting as close to the edge of the network and our users as possible. Through their Open Source and Nonprofit Program, those services are free.”
For more information about our 1% pledge, our Open Source & Nonprofit Program, or Fastly’s commitment to corporate philanthropy email community@fastly.com.
About Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% is an effort spearheaded by Atlassian, Rally, Salesforce and Tides to accelerate their shared vision around integrating philanthropy into businesses around the world. Pledge 1% encourages and challenges individuals and companies to pledge 1% of equity, profit, product and/or employee time for their communities, because pledging a small portion of future success can have a huge impact on tomorrow. Pledge 1% offers companies turnkey tools and best practices, making it accessible for any company to incorporate philanthropy into their business model. To learn more or to take the pledge, please visit www.pledge1percent.org.
About Fastly
Fastly helps people stay better connected with the things they love. Fastly’s edge cloud platform enables customers to create great digital experiences quickly, securely, and reliably by processing, serving, and securing our customers’ applications as close to their end-users as possible — at the edge of the internet. Fastly’s platform is designed to take advantage of the modern internet, to be programmable, and to support agile software development with unmatched visibility and minimal latency, empowering developers to innovate with both performance and security. Fastly’s customers include many of the world’s most prominent companies, including Vimeo, Pinterest, The New York Times, and GitHub.
Originally published on prnewswire.com
AutoAccident.com, a Sacramento based law firm, is offering an art-based, $1000 scholarship exclusively to Sacramento residents. Taking an artistic approach, applicants are required to create a work of art that captures “The Art of Healing.”
AutoAccident.com is inspired by the talented artists in Sacramento and wants to support young artists in the community.
Additionally, many in the Sacramento community view 2021 as an opportunity to heal and move forward. The objective of the submission is to focus on healing through creative expression.
Additional Scholarship Information available here.
Award: One student will be awarded $1,000; (nonrenewable) to be paid directly to their college or university admissions office.
Deadline: May 14, 2021.
Eligibility: Sacramento Senior (High School); 3.0 GPA or higher
AutoAccident.com is a personal injury law firm serving clients in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1982 by injury attorney, Edward A. Smith, our legal team is dedicated to helping those hurt or who have lost loved ones due to the negligence of others.