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Social Return on Investment

Published on by Helen MartinLeave a comment

It’s not often I’ve had anything truly positive to say about the government….until now.

The Dutch government is showing its commitment to solving local societal issues by ensuring that organisations that want to do business in the public sector are willing to invest time and money in corporate social responsibility and involvement (CSR&I).

Government tender documents specify that a percentage of the total project fee will be invested in social initiatives. Commercial organisations therefore, need to ensure that they can fill that social return before they consider tendering. They need to step up to the mark and put their money where their mouth is.

I regularly talk about the importance of CSR&I and how it no longer can be seen as a cost to an organisation but as a long term investment. This change to tender documents is just a little bit of proof. Businesses ‘leave money on the table’ when they turn their backs on their communities.

So, you can only imagine how thrilled I was to be called by a government official about a tender which had been won by Deloitte. A meeting was held to discuss how Deloitte would meet their commitment in the coming 3 years. I’m excited that the effort of so many Deloitte volunteers has not been for nothing. They can now prove the importance of CSR.

So, my complaints about the government being bureaucratic and anything but innovative have been blown out of the water. I’m obviously psyched about showing how CSR can benefit business. And, I’m happy that the government is enforcing the support of societal issues albeit through commercial businesses. If the public and profit sectors can help one another whilst simultaneously solving community issues our world is definitely becoming a better place.

Building a self-sustaining community

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A few weeks ago, I attended a wedding in South Africa, at which world leader and Nobel peace prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was presiding. He has recently celebrated his 80th birthday and although he is taking it ‘easier’, he still has the energy of many 60 year olds. He remains a person of great international influence, who uses his clout to defend human rights, to campaign for the oppressed and fight the war against HIV AIDS, etc.

While in South Africa, I took the time to visit a project supported by Cordaid Urban Matters, which is a Dutch NGO with satellite offices in San Salvador, Kisumu and Cape Town. Cordaid Urban Matters works with local government and chooses areas that need to be totally (re)developed. Think along the lines of water, electricity, cable, sewerage, housing, schools, shops, etc. Since I’m really pragmatic, I wanted to see for myself exactly what needs to be done.

Amor Strauss, the programme manager for Cordaid Urban Matters in Cape Town took me to Hazeldene, which is part of Philippi, a sprawling slum area around Cape Town. I visit Cape Town regularly and I drive passed this area all the time. But, nothing really prepares you for what you’re going to see, when you drive into the area. A wake-up call and a definite reality check as to how good many of us, myself included, have it.

The plan is to create a self-sustaining village, for a group of about 350 very low income families. These families were promised homes over 10 years ago by the South African government but to date nothing has been built. Cordaid Urban Matters plans to do more. Homes will be built, a water purification plant will be installed, greenhouses will be erected to grow goods for export and fruit and vegetables will be grown on site. A bakery will be built, not only to bake bread for the community that is cheaper than the local supermarkets, but it will also act as a source of training. The bakery will educate people in and around the community as bakers, who can then offer their services to other local bakeries or supermarkets. The homes will be rented by the families and the creation of jobs in the village will ensure that the families can pay for rent, utilities and any other additional goods and services.

I’m obviously excited about the project but, I’m also cautiously optimistic as the last thing anyone wants to create is a bubble. We’re far happier developing a self sustaining village which will also help people on the outskirts of the community.

Only time will tell if we’ll succeed; which influential people we may or may not need to call for help along the way; and how engaged the people from this self-sustaining community will be in the future. But let’s face it, ‘it is far better to have tried and failed than to have failed to try…”  Wish us luck.

Business Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility

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This week, I’d like to share my 5-minute elevator pitch on how Corporate Social Responsibility can be used as a successful marketing instrument for company branding, talent development and building better client relationships. The link takes you to You Tube.

I’m repeating some of the business benefits below, which I communicated in my blog a few weeks ago, The ‘profit’ in non-profit.

WIN 1 – Training & development: By working closely with HR and Training, you can create exciting training and development programs which answer the learning needs of your young talents and senior executives, while they are giving something back to the community. So, where Community Investment & Involvement (CI&I) is often seen as a cost, you can start turning it around as a long term learning benefit for your young talents and executives, since getting involved in the community develops soft skills, among others.

WIN 2 – Improving client relationships: Invite your clients to join you in your CI&I initiatives. Your staff members not only give something valuable back to the community i.e. knowledge and expertise but, they are also given the opportunity to forge relationships with their clients in an informal setting. This blows the idea out of the water that CI&I is a waste of time and money. Since when was client face-time a waste of time and money?

WIN 3 – Creating brand ambassadors: I’m often amused to hear how many of my colleagues tell me that they get involved in the community with the idea that they have a lot to teach, however, they come away having learned so much more. These staff members are positive, motivated and excited and brilliant brand ambassadors for any company.

WIN 4 – Improving the economy by helping NGOs: Your company may be able to help charitable third parties with the knowledge and expertise of your staff members. Offering advice which these NGOs may otherwise not have been able to afford. In the case of Fair Chance Foundation, we’ve developed financial literacy programs that we implement in schools by training-the-trainer (the teacher) or by giving interview skills training and lessons in entrepreneurship, etc. to students. We’ve chosen topics that are close to our core business and therefore, easier to teach. Our view is that the more we invest in education, the more of a virtuous circle that we create. The longer children stay in school and get a better education, the less likely they are to knock on the door of social welfare (where available) or be dependent on their families. Instead, it’s our hope that these children will be educated enough to be able to find work, or to become entrepreneurs. And when more people work, the economy becomes better, which is automatically better for business.

So Community Investment and Involvement (CI&I) is beneficial for business and is positive for the brand, talent and leadership development and for improving client relationships. Don’t get involved if you want to make a fast buck. But if you’re in it for the long run, the spin-offs are extremely ‘profitable’ for your business but even more so for the NGOs that you help.

Making every day count

Published on by Helen Martin1 Comment

This is my first week back at work, after a two week vacation, and it’s full steam ahead. My week has flown past but, I feel I’ve made every day count.

On Monday, I met with Amor Strauss from Cordaid Urban Matters. Amor focuses on projects in Cape Town, South Africa. Cordaid Urban Matters creates opportunities by bringing together existing initiatives and ideas of civil society, government and the private sector. By joining hands the impact of individual projects can be increased, bringing real change to the lives of the slum dwellers.

On Wednesday, I presented the Deloitte Fair Chance Foundation’s activities at Frismakers. Frismakers offers a platform for innovative managers to share best practice. Since we’ve shifted from corporate social responsibility to corporate social involvement, it’s no longer good enough for companies to just offer money, do some window dressing and buy a clear conscience, where community investment is concerned. It’s now all about investing time, knowledge and funding and reaping what you sow. As, it’s also my belief that there’s a lot to be gained by the corporate world in brand visibility, brand ambassadorship, people development and client relationship building through focused community investment.

I ended my week today, with an inspiring meeting with Cosmas Blaauw from SharePeople. Cosmas exchanged his career for his life’s work in 2004. SharePeople connects social entrepreneurs in developing countries with European corporate professionals. By sharing knowledge locally on specific business cases, the entrepreneur is empowered to strengthen the business and create jobs & livelihoods for the community. Through this experience both parties develop themselves personally and professionally, and inspire each other. SharePeople has supported businesses in Kenya, the Philippines and India, just to name a few countries. How can you or your organisation become involved and share your knowledge?

“In the words of Diane Ackerman, “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”

I hope your week was as inspiring as mine! Namasté.