Giving Compass' Take:

• The authors discuss the push for business leaders to take a stand on social or political causes and the overall pressure for corporations to prioritize corporate social responsibility initiatives. 

• Why is it becoming more important for businesses to jump on social causes? 

• Here are three ways corporations can activate their CSR missions. 

We’ve seen a massive shift towards values-based leadership over the last several years, particularly within the ranks of established corporate leadership teams.

But what role do values and operationalizing the creation of shared value play for the emerging entrepreneur, for whom it can be a matter of business life-or-death if funds aren’t quickly raised and partners don’t come alongside to support their urgent growth? Is there a role for social impact as an entrepreneur or ICO leader?

At the Women in Media LA 2018 event, hosted by World Forum Disrupt on July 26, 2018, leaders from across the spectrum of publishing, media, and communications helped consider the shifting business landscape. They shared stories of experience and influence, and talked about what it means to strategically operate in a world being continuously re-shaped and re-formed by high-profile movements including #MeToo and #blacklivesmatter.

“We’ve seen increasing demand for social impact advice over the last 3 to 5 years, in particular, from both established brands and emerging companies. They’re seeing it’s no longer a separation.

Still, while much has been written about the expectations Millennial and Gen Z consumers place on the brands they do business with, some leaders and companies remain reluctant to embrace social causes. And such reluctance can come at a real cost to a brand’s ability to grow and engage.

“The fear that advertisers and brands have of embracing irreverent, political content is holding them back from younger audiences who actually expect the content creators that they trust to have opinions and stances on political and or social issues,” said Ana Kasparian, Host of The Young Turks.

Read the full article about brands joining social causes from ICO Impact Group at TriplePundit