Donor Data Shows Companies Can (and Should!) Do More to Prioritize Women's Causes

Many companies brought gender equality issues to the forefront this International Women’s Day. But what’s even more interesting is that charitable giving also increased—though not in the way that you might imagine. According to Benevity data from millions of Fortune 1000 employees, there was a notable spike in donation activity on March 8, 2018, with triple the total amount donated last year. Continue reading to find out which surprising set of causes were supported.

Four Trends Indicating a Pivot to Shared Value

When Michael Porter and Mark Kramer published Creating Shared Value in 2011 in the Harvard Business Review, the concept struck an immediate and resonant chord with business leaders globally. Why? Recall that particular moment in time – trust in the private sector was at an all-time low on the heels of the 2008 global financial meltdown and an ever-expanding list of social and environmental issues seemed beyond the reach of governments driven by partisan divides. Ten years later, the narrative sounds familiar with issues like growing inequality, climate change, and access to medicine for underserved populations proving to be challenges that are too big for any one entity to solve alone.

Relationships Are Power for Impact

In our daily lives, it isn’t easy to remove ourselves from individual routines to truly understand what life is like elsewhere – in neighboring cities or in distant villages on the other side of the globe, like Kanari. The nonprofit buildOn’s Trek program was created to give students, donors, and volunteers a first-hand cultural experience in underserved communities abroad, and an opportunity to ‘walk in the shoes’ of a stranger.

Employees Enjoy a Unique Black History Month Celebration

Employees in Legg Mason’s Baltimore headquarters recently enjoyed a unique educational and cultural celebration of Black History Month featuring a performance by local artists.

Transparency as a Tool to End Modern Slavery

For companies, identifying and preventing modern slavery is important not only for reputational risks, but also to prevent supply chain disruptions and legal consequences. GRI believes that corporate transparency can help businesses improve their methods to detect human rights abuses in their value chains, and take steps to remedy them. Read more about GRI's Corporate Leadership Group on Modern Slavery, and help us contribute to the solution.

Weleda is Powering Her Potential through Whole Planet Foundation

Whole Planet Foundation is proud to welcome Weleda, a new $50,000 donor to our cause of global poverty alleviation. Weleda's generosity this year will fund approximately 275 microloans and 1,500 opportunities for microentrepreneurs and their family members to live a better life through microcredit.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE: Business’s Greatest Untapped Resource: Women

Women occupy just 15 percent of board seats worldwide. In the US, women account for just five percent of all CEOs among S&P 500 companies. In the UK the situation is worse: in 2016 there were more male CEOs named David (eight) than women CEOs (six) in the FTSE 100.

These figures make for uncomfortable reading for men and women alike, but we have two choices in the face of this harsh reality – we can either feel discouraged by the lack of progress and downbeat about the prospects for women in the workplace. Or, we can allow this data to fuel women’s rise to the top and help drive the change that is needed at the higher echelons of business.

Shire Commits to Long-term Responsibility Goals in 2017 Annual Responsibility Review

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) today announced the release of the Company’s 2017 Annual Responsibility Review. The Review, available at shire.com/responsibility, outlines Shire’s new Responsibility strategy that includes ambitious long-term goals to be achieved by 2025, aimed at further enhancing the Company’s commitment to Responsibility and positively impacting patients, our employees, and our communities.

VIDEO | Papyrus-Recycled Greetings is Powering Her Potential Through Whole Planet Foundation

Whole Planet Foundation is proud to share that Papyrus-Recycled Greetings, the founding member of the $100,000 Fund, has donated a total of $500,000 to fund 5,800 microloans and create 29,000 opportunities for microentrepreneurs and their family members to pull themselves out of poverty.

Sands Cares | Veterans Village Container Housing Groundbreaking Ceremony

On February 26, Veterans Village broke ground at the site of their newest housing development for homeless veterans. Through Sands Cares, Las Vegas Sands’ corporate giving program, Veterans Village was given a “seed grant” to support the early stages and infrastructure of the shipping container neighborhood. With Las Vegas ranking as one of the top ten cities with the highest homeless populations in the country, Las Vegas Sands is committed to providing relief and finding solutions to end homelessness in Las Vegas.

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