The events of 2020 made substantial, impactful corporate social responsibility (CSR) even more important.

Consumers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders are paying more attention, have higher standards, and are more willing to inflict consequences on businesses that don’t meet their expectations. To name a few of the dynamics at work:

  • The inequities exposed—and worsened—by the COVID-19 crisis
  • Heightened and ongoing demands for racial justice
  • Trends in boycotting and/or divesting from brands complicit with social evils (such as environmental irresponsibility or the spread of misinformation)

These themes have all contributed to society’s increasing demands for accountability.

The result? When it comes to CSR, lip service, a shallow initiative, or activities that can’t show results simply won’t cut it.

In this piece, we’ll explain how to improve your CSR program with eight, principle-based steps. Informed by major trends in philanthropy, this framework will help you evaluate and enhance your social responsibility, so you can make a bigger impact.

  1. Ask tough questions
  2. Increase transparency
  3. Focus on equity 
  4. Deepen community connections
  5. Reimagine risk tolerance 
  6. Evolve your idea of measurability 
  7. Encourage creativity
  8. Improve your responsiveness

Read the full article about improving CSR by Natalya DeRobertis-Theye at The Submittable Blog.