From what we gather, CSR is the acronym "Big Giving" sent down from on high to encompass anything a company does to give back. "Big Giving" forced this acronym on us all and, now that giving back is becoming increasingly important to today's talent, companies keep asking us what CSR means! So, to preempt that question moving forward, CSR goes like this...

Percent Pledge, the premier workplace giving & volunteering solution for growing businesses recently recognized by Built In Chicago as one of "2019's Top 50 Startups to Watch," today announced several new enhancements. In addition to Percent Pledge's original giving portfolios, such as Youth & Education, they now offer customizable Company Cause Portfolios, local Cause Portfolios, and even a BYOP (Build Your Own Portfolio) feature.

Today's talent is mostly millennial--1 in 3 now, and 3 in 4 by 2030, according to Pew--and millennials are more socially-conscious than any previous generation. As employees, they expect opportunities to make the world a better place at work, and for many growing companies, this expectation initially leads to employee-led "Cares Teams."

We know this because we specialize in helping growing companies engage their teams in giving and, for many clients, this means enhancing the efforts of existing Cares Teams--or Volunteer/Culture/Fun Committees. For example, our work with SpotHero and Yello has centered around partnering with their Happy Heroes and Yello Cares teams, respectively.

Business is changing, and smart leaders are waking up to this change. Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, devoted his entire 2019 Letter to CEO's talking about this change. Amply titled 'Purpose & Profit,' Fink talks about how consumers have changed the business landscape, demanding that companies deliver higher levels of transparency and commitment to social good. Also, more important to our message, he talks about how today's talent is changing Business.

When it comes to implementing workplace giving, it’s easy to opt for a simple giving approach. A straightforward plan that provides an increase in basic metrics, like the amount donated or the rate of employee participation. This is often what we see before partnering with companies, and we get it -- growing companies often have overstretched 1-3 person People teams. BUT, in order to fully realize the positive power of giving (e.g. hiring better talent for less, more engage employees, and better employee retention) you must be able to track -- and display -- your total impact.

If you are a business leader looking to grow your business (so really, if you are a business leader!) then you obsess over talent. You know that growth won't be possible without attracting top talent. You also probably know that today's top talent is -- and will continue to be -- millennial. And you should now know that millennials care.