In conversations with corporate leaders around the U.S., we often ask if and how they are adapting their CSR strategies in response to the shifting political and cultural landscape. We have been surprised that most companies remain in a wait-and-see mode. While their CEOs may be making public proclamations or resigning from White House advisory councils, their corporate societal engagement strategies remain largely unchanged.

One notable exception to this trend is Microsoft, which recently launched the Rural Airband Initiative to connect rural U.S. communities with affordable broadband.

Jane Broom, Senior Director of Microsoft Philanthropies, a participant in the recent “Rethinking CSR Strategies” session FSG led at the 2017 Philanthropy Northwest conference, described that the initiative was developed because Microsoft was hearing concerns from rural communities across that United States that the new economy was leaving them behind. The team looked at where Microsoft Philanthropies was investing and realized that it skewed heavily to the East and West Coasts with “not a lot in between.” And while Microsoft had been investing significantly in the future of work, STEM education, and computer science programs, those efforts largely failed to reach the large swath of rural America that was feeling acute economic hardship due in part to closing factories and job-killing automation.

Read the source article at FSG