The Engage For Good Podcast with Alli Murphy

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Beyond The Register: Macy’s & BBBS Craft A Legacy Through Impactful Mentorship Jan 23, 2024

Show notes

In 2022, Macy’s launched its new social purpose platform, Mission Every One, to create a brighter future with bold representation for all.

In support of youth empowerment, a guiding principle of this mission, Macy’s launched a multi-year partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) to serve young people through the power of mentorship, creating a path for future success and impact that lasts a lifetime.

In the first year of the partnership, Macy’s raised $4.8M for BBBS to create more than 97,000 mentor moments for Littles nationwide by developing an integrated, 360-degree cause campaign that engaged all stakeholders with their shared missions and clear CTA.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Sam Di Scipio, Senior Director, Social Impact, Macy’s, Inc., and Deb Barge, CDO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, to talk about their incredible partnership.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore:

The origins of this partnership and Macy's criteria for selecting a national cause marketing partner
How the partners created a foundation they could build on year over year
How the brand gracefully transitioned from one cause partner to another
Insights into building consumer-facing campaigns
How to build an authentic, year-round partnership with youth voice, choice, and ownership at the center
How the partners quickly embedded the partnership in both organizations, unlocking activation and integration opportunities

This episode is brought to you by Macy’s, Inc.

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(00:56) - Introducing Deborah Debarge and Sam DiScipio
(04:30) - Mission Everyone
(28:48) - Facilitating the Quick Integration of Complex Partnerships
(44:30) - Youth Voices

Leadership Insights: Thriving Amid Challenges In Social Impact Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

In today’s ever-evolving corporate social impact landscape, we're navigating a whirlwind of changes: organizational restructures, individual contributors becoming managers, the rise of cancel culture, and heightened demands for broader initiatives despite stagnant headcount and budgets. While these challenges have placed unique and intense pressures on social impact leaders, we've also witnessed a surge of innovation in partnerships and campaigns over the last year.

In today’s episode, EFG’s Alli Murphy is joined by Kelli Thompson, a leadership coach, speaker, and author of “Closing The Confidence Gap,” to discuss strategies for tackling these challenges head-on as we head into the New Year.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore:

How to level up your leadership and transform your role from doer to leader by using the L.E.S.S. framework
How to clearly communicate expectations to others and your team
Leadership strategies after restructuring, particularly in scenarios where leaders are unfamiliar with their new team's work or are stepping into management for the first time
Effective coaching methods and recommended questions to guide your team to successThe role of values in confident leadership, effective delegation, and building a thriving career
Strategies for navigating increased workload with constrained resources
Approaches for handling disagreements and fostering collaboration through “calling in” rather than “calling out”

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(01:21) - Introdocing Kelli Thompson
(04:52) - Facing the Uncertainty of the Leadership
(15:42) - Hero Mode versus Coach Mode
(23:32) - Values & Leadership
(27:44) - Increased Responsibility, Decreased Support
(35:16) - Calling In, Calling Out
(38:04) - Lightning Round
(41:55) - Learn More

Helping Homebound Heroes With The Home Depot Foundation & Meals on Wheels America Nov 28, 2023

Show notes

In April 2023, Meals on Wheels America made an exciting announcement – a commitment of over $2.5 million from The Home Depot Foundation to support the expansion of the Helping Homebound Heroes program. This remarkable initiative, which The Home Depot Foundation has been actively involved with since 2015, focuses on providing essential home repairs and modifications for aging veterans. With this boost in funding, Helping Homebound Heroes is set to double its impact, expanding from eight to 16 markets nationwide.

In today’s episode, EFG’s Alli Murphy is joined by Kelly Trimyer, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Meals on Wheels America, and Sean Vissar, Manager of National Programs and Strategic Partnerships for The Home Depot Foundation.

Now entering its ninth year, the Helping Homebound Heroes program has touched the lives of over 2,000 veterans and the Home Depot Foundation has contributed more than $11 million and countless volunteer hours. While the Meals on Wheels of America’s community and geographic reach is large, the nonprofit has a modest staff of 50 and is working with a large corporate partner. How do they make it work, what makes the Home Depot Foundation renew YOY, and what role do pilots play? We’ll cover all that and more.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore:

Insightful advice from Kelly and Sean on cultivating impactful partnerships
The unique strengths and assets each partner brings to the table
How they co-create and innovate various components of the program
The advantages of being a small nonprofit when it comes to fostering strong partnerships
An overview of the Helping Homebound Heroes Program & who it serves
How to build the capacity of a nonprofit and not push partners beyond their limits

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(02:19) - Introducing Kelly Trimyer and Sean Vissar
(04:22) - Helping Homebound Heroes
(09:46) - Small But Mighty
(12:32) - Co-Creation
(16:29) - Storytelling
(20:37) - Partnership Continuity
(29:15) - Advice
(36:58) - Learn More

Breaking Barriers With Barbie: Behind The Scenes Of The Blockbuster Campaign Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

As the Barbie movie hit theaters, waves of people in pink flooded out to watch one of the biggest cultural moments of the year. It was more than just a movie, though; Mattel and Warner Bros. Discovery partnered with one philanthropic partner - Save the Children - to ensure every girl has the confidence to dream.

Mattel is a long-time supporter of Save the Children’s work and was aligned to collaborate on this unique global cause marketing campaign in the belief that all children need to be equally heard and valued – and that no girl is held back based on her gender. The Barbie movie provided a unique opportunity to galvanize consumers around a movie that speaks to this vision.

Unfortunately, many girls develop self-limiting beliefs and stop believing they can be anything as early as six years old. “Barbie” aimed to disrupt gender stereotypes in a way that was empowering, inclusive and inspiring.

In today’s episode, EFG’s Alli Murphy is joined by Dan Peirce, Senior Managing Director of Corporate Partnerships at Save the Children, and Nancy Molenda, Executive Director of the Mattel Children’s Foundation & Global Philanthropy at Mattel.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore:

Key opportunities for organizations that are partnering on content marketing in global markets – and the unique challenges those types of collaborations require to reach new and more diverse audiences
Key strategies & tactics for rolling out global cause marketing campaigns
How to differentiate philanthropic opportunities from other promotional partnerships
How to work together to ensure campaign messaging supports the creative vision of the content it supports
What made Save the Children the right philanthropic partner
How Dan & Nancy prioritize their wellbeing

This episode is brought to you by Save the Children.

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(02:14) - Introducing Nancy and Dan
(05:38) - The One Partner
(09:06) - Advancing Business Goals
(14:02) - Measuring Value Against Goals
(19:34) - Worldwide Trust
(29:31) - Lightning Round
(37:03) - Learn More

Empowering Children’s Health Innovators With The Morgan Stanley Foundation Oct 31, 2023

Show notes

While many major corporations in the financial sector focus their social impact initiatives on education, financial literacy, and STEM programs, Morgan Stanley has charted a different course by dedicating its efforts to children's health.

For over half a century, the Morgan Stanley Foundation has focused on children's health, and in 2021, the Foundation launched the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children's Mental Health. This initiative combines the considerable resources and extensive reach of Morgan Stanley with the expertise of nonprofit partners to confront the pressing challenges of stress, anxiety, and depression. In today's episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by Joan Steinberg, Global Head of Philanthropy & President of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and CEO of the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children's Mental Health.

The Alliance has several multi-year partnerships with organizations like The JED Foundation, Child Mind Institute, Place2Be, and the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, among others. Additionally, it hosts an Innovation Awards program, providing grantees with seed funding, networking opportunities, and capacity-building support. As part of the Alliance's capacity-building efforts, the first five winners of the Innovation Awards program collectively raised an additional $6 million in outside funding for their programs.

In today's episode, we'll explore:

The motivations behind The Morgan Stanley Foundation's focus on children's health
How the Innovation Award program empowers small organizations in their initial steps toward scaling their impact
How the Alliance positively impacts the company's employee engagement
The connection between the brand's social impact work and its reputation as an employer of choice
Insights into the program's expansion plans for future cohorts
Advice to grant hopefuls & corporations leading their own grant-making platforms
How Joan prioritizes her well-being so she can continue moving this important work forward

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(01:37) - Introducing Joan Steinberg
(02:32) - We are More than Work
(03:12) - Why Children's Health?
(04:36) - Morgan Stanley Foundation
(10:55) - Sustainability of the Program
(13:20) - Unlocking Opportunity
(15:42) - Lessons Learned
(18:56) - Employee Engagement
(21:48) - How do you measure success?
(23:34) - Advice for Grantees
(27:26) - Leadership Lightning Round!
(32:43) - Learn More

From Idea to Impact: JetBlue's Journey In Social Responsibility Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

All businesses start as an idea, a concept. However, only a select few evolve into full-fledged corporations, and even fewer have employees who've been there since day one.

Meet Icema Gibbs, JetBlue's Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She joined the aviation company before they had a single plane. Now, more than two decades later, she's still with JetBlue, having witnessed significant transformations during her tenure.

In this episode, EFG's Alli Murphy and Icema take you on a journey through JetBlue for Good and the JetBlue Foundation, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Along the way, they explore JetBlue's signature Fly Like A Girl initiative, the company's 13th annual golf classic, and much more.

JetBlue For Good serves as the company's platform for corporate social impact. It zeroes in on the areas that matter most to the airline's customers and crewmembers: youth/education, the environment, and the community. The JetBlue Foundation is the aviation industry's first airline foundation dedicated to supporting aviation-related education and STEM initiatives.

In today's episode, we'll explore:

JetBlue's journey from community affairs to cause marketing to CSR
How they augment small budgets with employee and consumer engagement
Three things that make Icema an influential leader
How JetBlue's social impact work often precedes its business ventures in new geographic locations
How the Foundation reworked its grant application process after candid feedback from grantees

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(00:21) - Introducing Icema Gibbs
(02:08) - We are More than Work
(04:54) - JetBlue for Good
(10:39) - 10 Years!
(13:18) - Fly Like a Girl
(16:31) - Swing for Good
(18:08) - Grants
(28:11) - Leadership lightning round!
(31:14) - Learn More

Sustainable Social Impact: A Conversation With Verizon's Chief CSR Officer Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

For corporate social impact work to be truly sustainable and stand the test of time, aligning a business's cause efforts with its corporate strategy and goals is crucial.

Citizen Verizon is an excellent example of integrating CSR throughout a corporation. It's a forward-thinking, responsible business plan that focuses on innovation and societal impact. Leveraging technology, Citizen Verizon propels digital inclusion, enhances human prosperity and champions climate protection. Over the past five years, Verizon has invested $3 billion in this initiative.

In this episode, EFG's Alli Murphy chats with Verizon's Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, Rose Stuckey Kirk. Rose's role involves steering Verizon's corporate social impact commitments and seamlessly integrating its strategy across all facets of the company. Her extensive experience as a seasoned leader in diverse P&L and marketing functions equips her well to drive Verizon's social innovation work.

We highlight the legacy ed-tech program she developed - Verizon Innovative Learning - which fosters digital equity and has impacted more than 3.5 million students nationwide. The initiative provides tech tools, training, connectivity, and curricula to Title 1 schools to prepare often overlooked, low-income students for the digital workforce. These students are our future tech workforce leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore:

How Rose's P&L background informs her data-driven approach to CSR
Verizon's principle of "build with, not for" when it comes to program development
How to "walk the halls" and get buy-in for your initiatives
The importance of learning where a corporation "has a right to play" in the social impact world
Rose's thoughts on the challenges & opportunities of ESG

Join us for an inspiring conversation that delves into the heart of CSR and its transformative potential when aligned with business goals.

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(00:44) - Introducing Rose Stuckey Kirk
(03:46) - A Tour of Citizen Verizon
(10:12) - Early Lessons
(12:44) - Uniting CSR and Priofit Alignment
(15:24) - The Value of Walking the Halls
(21:12) - Measuring Success
(24:28) - ESG
(28:53) - A Decade of Lessons for Meaningful Impact
(33:24) - Learn More

Redefining Hiring With Greyston & The Body Shop Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

Forty-one years ago, Greyston did something radical. They pioneered open and inclusive hiring practices, becoming trailblazers in the U.S. by eliminating resumes, interviews and background checks. Fast forward to today, and variations of Greyston's once radical concept of "open hiring" are rapidly gaining traction. Greyston now boasts over 30 open hiring "replication partners" - ranging from major corporations to small businesses - all of whom have embraced these transformative practices.

The Body Shop is one of Greyston's replication partners. The company began its open hiring journey in 2019 when Greyson came in to present on the topic. Four years later, the beauty brand has hired over 5,000 people through open hiring practices at distribution centers and retail stores across the globe.

These initiatives aren't just about social impact; they deliver tangible business benefits. These practices have enhanced productivity, retention rates, diversity, conversion into new roles, employee engagement and talent acquisition - all while substantially reducing hiring costs.

In this episode, EFG's Alli Murphy is joined by The Body Shop's Global Director of Inclusion, Belonging & Wellbeing, Nykeba King, and Greyston's President & CEO, Joseph Kenner. Together, they delve into the pressing issue of more job openings than people available to fill them in the U.S. and how their open hiring practices aim to break down barriers to employment. These barriers often include individuals who are experiencing houselessness, were formerly incarcerated, are in recovery from addiction or have employment gaps on their resumes.

In today's episode, we'll explore:

The remarkable story of how Greyston pioneered open hiring
The Body Shop's incredible open hiring journey from 2019 to the present
The business benefits both organizations have seen as a result of open & inclusive hiring
The challenges and intricacies of these practices and how Joseph and Nykeba have overcome them
Practical steps and insights on how to initiate open and inclusive hiring at your organization

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(02:37) - Introducing Joseph Kenner and Nykeba King
(07:14) - What is Open Hiring?
(12:47) - People Practices at The Body Shop
(18:26) - Open Doors with Open Practices
(24:16) - Challenging Bias
(26:22) - Common Criticism
(30:11) - Getting Started
(32:56) - What's Coming at The Body Shop
(36:12) - Taking Care of Self

Uniting Corporate Social Impact & Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

At many nonprofits, corporate partnerships and peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising programs live on separate teams with different goals and often competing priorities. But there's a clear connection between the two.

Not only can a peer-to-peer fundraising program serve as an entry point for a new corporate partner, but it can also be a great way to deepen relationships with existing corporate partners through employee engagement. Similarly, adding a cause marketing campaign or other social impact initiative can amplify a P2P sponsor’s impact.

At their core, corporate social impact campaigns and P2P programs empower champions to ask for donations, volunteer and build awareness on behalf of the nonprofit. Plus, when you leverage the two initiatives in tandem, a true win-win-win partnership can be created for all involved.

In this episode, EFG’s Alli Murphy and the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum’s Marcie Maxwell are joined by Robyn Raphael, Director of Corporate Partnerships for St. Baldrick’s Foundation and Amanda Palm, Director of Communications & Partnerships at Sport Clips. The trio discusses how St. Baldrick’s signature P2P head-shaving events led to a natural partnership between the childhood cancer charity and the sports-themed hair care franchise and its stylists.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore:

How peer-to-peer fundraising can serve as a platform for employee engagement
What it takes to create & sustain a mutually beneficial partnership
The importance of listening and trust in a nonprofit-corporate partnership
How Robyn and Amanda built a strong relationship and how they work together to grow their organizations

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:04) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(00:58) - Worlds Collide! Corporate Social Impact + P2P
(02:26) - Introdicing Amanda Palm and Robynand Kent
(07:32) - Shaving for Purpose
(11:14) - The Right Fit Partner
(15:46) - Sustaining through the Pandemic
(20:22) - The Partnership Grows
(22:55) - Questions of Labor and Retention
(31:36) - Trust & Tips
(38:42) - Learn More

Navigating ESG, CSR, Advocacy & Your Key Audiences Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

Are you grappling with the constantly changing ESG and CSR landscape? Seeking ways to engage both employees and consumers? Working on advocacy matters alongside your partners?

In this episode, EFG’s Alli Murphy is joined by CARE.org's Chris Noble, who imparts invaluable wisdom on navigating these challenges effectively. The duo talks about how nonprofits can harness corporate collaboration to amplify their mission and forge stronger partnerships through CSR, Advocacy, ESG, and key audiences (consumers & employees).

Think of it this way: Advocacy is about setting policies, ESG is about adhering to those policies, CSR is about the communities in question and the narrative unfurls through engagement with employees and consumers.

CARE partners with trailblazing companies to find victories over poverty and empower women and girls worldwide. With global partnerships that touch 50 million lives annually, CARE collaborates with industry leaders like Anheuser-Busch InBev, Boeing, Cargill, Gap, Hershey, lululemon, Mars, PepsiCo and more to catalyze positive change.

Tune in to explore:

The connections and distinctions between ESG, CSR and Advocacy
Best practices for crafting impactful corporate social impact campaigns
The importance of aligning business structure with effective partnership strategies
Key trends Chris sees on the horizon
How millennials are diving ethical storytelling
Strategies for leading a team in the face of life-and-death challenges
How Chris prioritizes personal well-being amid demanding responsibilities

This episode is brought to you by CARE.

Links & Notes

Elevate Your Social Impact

(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(00:31) - About Chris Noble
(10:54) - The Four Components of Building Corporate Partnerships
(13:03) - Feed the Future
(15:22) - Advocacy ... and CSR?
(20:16) - ESG: Skating to where the puck is
(35:38) - Learn More

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