Corporate Social Responsibility Employs Many Models to Strategically Align Business and Philanthropy
By Patty Janes and Olivia Rau While there are a variety of terms in use to describe an organization’s social giving (corporate citizenship, triple bottom line, etc.), corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often used as an overarching term. CSR can be defined as actions outside an organization’s normal scope of business that seek to address the needs of the community beyond pure economics (Carroll, 1999). These activities seek to align social good and ethical obligations with business objectives. CSR is a function to meet — and hopefully exceed — stakeholder expectations. Throughout this last decade, CSR in various shapes has taken deeper root. A 2015 KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility…
The Mitten Brewing Company
By Olivia RauThe Mitten Brewing Company is a vintage baseball themed microbrewery located in a historic firehouse, Engine House #9, in Grand Rapids’ West Side. Since its opening in 2012, the Mitten has built a unique reputation for pairing high-quality craft beers and gourmet pizzas with community involvement. Giving back to the local community is a core value of the Mitten—they have given more than $300,000 in charitable gifts to local nonprofits since 2012. While the brewery’s commitment to their community through volunteerism and charitable giving has been evident from the beginning, the organization further bolstered their philanthropic capacity by forming their own nonprofit foundation in 2017, Mitten Foundation. The mission of the…
10 Fun Things To Do When Homebound Frustration Sets In (aka Avoiding COVID-19)
By Patty Janes, Ph.D. In 55 years of life, the only experience that remotely prepares me for what is happening with the Coronavirus pandemic was two months of bed rest during a difficult pregnancy. I was unable to support those I was used to caring for and scared something bad would happen to my beautiful baby. Doctor’s orders were to stay put, lay on my left side, and do everything I could to keep us both safe. Day one was survivable, day two was not. Communities around the world are facing this test, magnified on an incomprehensible scale. While COVID-19 is affecting the world in more complex ways than I experienced those…
