SAN FRANCISCO, April 2, 2026 /3BL/ - Engage for Good today announced three recipients of its 2026 Halo Awards, recognizing leaders who are defining what purpose-driven business looks like, and where it's headed.
For more than two decades, The Halo Awards have recognized best in class partnerships between corporations and nonprofits. This year EFG is launching three awards recognizing leaders doing the work and this year’s honorees span generations of leadership: a pioneer who helped define corporate purpose, a leader advancing how partnerships operate today, and a rising voice reimagining what comes next. The 2026 Impact Honorees are:
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Carol Cone
- Impact Leader of the Year: Karen Little, PayPal
- Emerging Leader of the Year: Jorge Alvarez, Active Minds
“This year’s leadership honorees reflect the full arc of where our field has been and where it’s going,” said Muneer Panjwani, CEO of Engage for Good. “From those who helped build the foundation of purpose-driven business, to leaders who have strengthened and expanded it through community and strategic partnership, to a new generation bringing fresh energy, cultural fluency, and innovative approaches to the work—each is helping define what leadership in social impact looks like today. Together, they represent a field that is evolving, deepening, and rising to meet a more complex moment.”
Carol Cone: Building the Foundation of Corporate Purpose
“Carol Cone is the architect of the modern corporate purpose movement,” said Panjwani. “Much of what companies now consider standard practice—from partnership strategy to brand integration—can be traced back to her work. She helped move this field from the margins of business to the center of how companies build trust and growth. She didn’t just contribute to this space, she defined and legitimized it.”
Carol Cone, the CEO of Carol Cone on Purpose, built cause marketing into a business strategy today called purpose, founding the nation’s first consultancy in 1983.
- Cone pioneered the process for creating purpose-related programs and codified insights for more than 35 years.
- She formalized the field through over 30 groundbreaking research reports, including the first U.S. consumer cause marketing study in 1993—The Cone/Roper Report—that established cause marketing and purpose-driven strategy as core business practice.
- Cone and her colleagues have created over 150 purpose initiatives, advising some of the world’s leading companies and nonprofits on how to build authentic and lasting campaigns for true business and societal impact.
- She’s channeled $5 billion to social causes by creating award winning, sustainable initiatives, like:
- American Heart Association Go Red for Women
- Avon Breast Cancer Crusade
- Microsoft YouthSpark
- PNC Grow Up Great
- Aflac’s My Special Aflac Duck
- Cone launched Purpose 360 in 2018, the podcast focusing on purpose leaders and their inspiring stories from around the globe.
- She’s mentored, along with her colleagues, more than 1,000 young social impact professionals.
“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from Engage for Good, a community that has inspired and shaped my life’s work,” said Carol Cone. “I’ve watched our field grow from a handful of believers into a movement that proves doing good is not an add-on to business, but its very soul. Through every evolution–cause marketing, shared value, purpose–we’ve shown that compassion and impact are powerful forces for change. Even in challenging times, I believe this truth will only grow stronger: when organizations lead with purpose, they don’t just succeed, they deeply matter to their employees, customers and communities.”
Karen Little: Advancing How Impact Happens in Practice
“Karen’s leadership stands out because of the way she brings people together,” said Panjwani. “She leads with generosity and a genuine commitment to collaboration, elevating those around her and creating space for others to do their best work. That mindset is essential if this field is going to continue to grow and evolve. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the inaugural Impact Leader of the Year award.”
Karen Little, who leads Rapid Response at PayPal, is being recognized not only for her collaborative and convening spirit, but also for her leadership in shaping the field, her sharp understanding of how to align business priorities with meaningful social outcomes, and designing and mobilizing partnerships that respond to real-world challenges with speed, coordination, and scale. Her balance between rigor and empathy, between strategy and humanity, is what sets her leadership apart. She has helped define what modern social impact can look like: thoughtful, responsive, and grounded in real needs.
- In 2025, she led PayPal’s response to the Los Angeles wildfires, demonstrating how corporate capabilities can be activated quickly to support communities, first responders, and nonprofit partners during times of crisis. She has also helped define and establish best practices in strategic disaster philanthropy and is a thought leader in the space.
- Several years ago, Little founded the Bay Area Social Impact Gathering to create space for meaningful connection and collaboration. What began as a small convening of a dozen peers has grown into a network of more than 250 professionals across the corporate social impact, sustainability, foundation, nonprofit, and consulting sectors.
- She recently served as Co-Chair of the Tech Sector Disaster Working Group, a collaborative corporate initiative that brings together tech leaders to respond to crises and support community recovery more effectively.
“I’m so honored to receive this recognition, thank you,” said Karen Little. “Having spent two decades immersed in this work, I’m continually inspired by the generosity, creativity, and collaboration that define the Engage for Good community. This field has always been a team effort, and I’ve been fortunate to learn from and work alongside people deeply committed to supporting communities in meaningful ways. This recognition reflects not just my journey, but the collective impact we’re building together to show up for people when it matters most."
Jorge Alvarez: Recognizing the Next Generation of Leadership
“Jorge represents exactly the kind of leadership this field needs more of,” said Panjwani. “He brings together strategy, partnership, and cultural relevance in a way that is both rare and deeply impactful. What makes him stand out is not just his work to advance mental health through corporate partnerships, but how he does it—with rigor, empathy, and a genuine commitment to the communities he serves. We are proud to recognize him as our Emerging Leader of the Year and excited to see how he will shape the corporate impact field in the future."
Jorge Alvarez, the Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships & Engagement at Active Minds, is being recognized as a rising leader who is helping to redefine how corporate–nonprofit partnerships are built and scaled. He built and stewarded a growing portfolio of corporate partnerships at Active Minds, driving funder-facing thought leadership strategy and helping position the organization within a rapidly evolving CSR landscape.
- Alvarez advocates for and builds the infrastructure for youth to co-create and lead, with the ultimate goal of ensuring mental health is seen and treated as a civic priority. Through their Youth Leadership Council, he advised MTV Entertainment Studios and Active Minds A.S.K. campaign and digital experience which reached 28M+ people. In 2022, Jorge spoke at The Biden-Harris White House at the Youth Mental Health Action Forum.
- Alvarez was also recognized as a 2023 Young Innovator in Behavioral Health (now the Young Futures Award) by Behavioral Health Tech.
- He serves on the board of directors of Youth MOVE National, extending his commitment to systems change beyond his day-to-day role and into broader movement-building.
“This recognition from Engage for Good is an honor—and I hope it serves as a call to action," said Jorge Alvarez, Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships & Engagement at Active Minds. Youth and young adults are eager to lead; they just need organizations, institutions, and allies to listen and respond by equipping them with the tools and resources to lead in the ways that work best for them. At Active Minds, we’re championing a new era of mental health by supporting programs that do exactly that. Being recognized not just for what I’ve accomplished in my role, but for what’s still possible, is a powerful reminder that progress is ongoing — and that meaningful change will continue to be driven by the next generation.”
About the Halo Awards
Now in its 24th year, The Halo Awards are the social impact sector’s longest-running recognition of excellence in corporate–nonprofit partnerships. Past awardees include Google, Procter & Gamble, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Macy’s, The Trevor Project, and more.
All honorees will be recognized at The Halo Awards Gala during the Engage for Good 2026 Conference, April 21–24 in Palm Springs, California. Adyen and Blackbaud are premier sponsors of the conference. It will bring together more than 700 corporate and nonprofit leaders to explore the strategies, partnerships, and innovations shaping the future of social impact.
Registration is open at https://events.engageforgood.com/conference.
