What do the captain of the gold medal US Olympic women’s gymnastics team Aly Raisman and polar explorer Robert Swan have in common? On an afternoon in Palo Alto this week, their shared mission was to inspire. Not nascent gymnasts nor endorphin junkies, but venture capitalists, social entrepreneurs, corporate executives and foundation heads gathered for […]
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The Mark of a Radical Industrialist: Celebrating Ray Anderson
Ray Anderson, the CEO of InterfaceFLOR, died this week. He called himself a radical industrialist, and stood as an icon for many on account of his brazen–and successful–efforts to transform InterfaceFLOR, an industrial carpet manufacturer, into a responsible business. Perhaps most importantly, he demonstrated that intolerance for environmental exploitation can be highly profitable. In illuminating the […]
For Gap Adventures, Sustainability Is The Source of Profit
How did a travel company grow its revenue by 42 percent during the recent economic stall? It attracted more customers (around $150 million worth) because it aligned its business model with sustainability. “Sustainability is at the forefront of our business model because of customer demand,” says Gap Adventures CEO, Bruce Poon Tip. A demand that Bruce […]
Panera’s Nonprofit Model is Working. Here’s Why
Panera Bread’s pay-what-you-want model is working. One year ago this week the Panera Bread Foundation openend its first Panera Cares Cafe, a store that looks in almost all regards like the company’s 1,453 others. The prime distinction is that this St. Louis adjacent cafe lists suggested donation amounts instead of mandatory prices and accepts whatever […]
The Most Generous Thing A Company Can Do
Walmart’s $4 prescription drug plan, which makes nearly all prescription drugs available for $4, has generated more than $2 billion in savings for its customers, with a specific benefit to Medicare recipients and the uninsured. But it wasn’t launched as a social responsibility initiative. It was launched as business strategy. And it’s proven extremely successful, […]
How Do You Measure Something As Elusive As Impact?–Interview with Andy Mercy
If you measure progress, you can improve it. But how exactly do you measure the growth of something as elusive as impact? That’s what AngelPoints, Andy Mercy’s company, does well, which is why I invited him to do a Cause Capitalism interview. Andy founded AngelPoints after stumbling into a volunteer experience at work and being underwhelmed […]
Corporate Social…Inauthenticity
The opening remarks at the recent Global Conference for Social Change, joint venture of the Foundation for Social Change and the United Nations Office for Partnerships, went something like this: “Let’s take a look at this phrase corporate social responsibility. Let’s take away social. Now let’s take away corporate. What we’re left with responsibility, which is defined […]
To Tap Cause Marketing’s Huge Potential, Do Less Of It
This piece was originally written for and published on Reach Students. If 94% of Millennials condone cause marketing why do only 53% report buying a product that benefits a cause in the past year? The first finding is compelling, the second certainly is not, particularly given that in many stores you’d have to struggle not to buy […]
Retail Philanthropy Is In High Demand: 4 Steps To Doing It Right
Neither nationwide purse-tightening nor cries of Slactivism! Greenwashing! and Fad! have shaken cause marketing. Eighty-three percent of consumers “want more of the products, services and retailers they use to benefit causes,” according to Cone Inc.’s 2010 Cause Evaluation Study. But how do you do cause-related marketing (or cause branding) right? Pick a cause you care about. […]
I'm Olivia Khalili. I created Cause Capitalism to show you how to grow your business by incorporating a social mission. I've worked extensively with both nonprofits and for-profits. I found that when you combine the two, you grow your profits, impassion all your stakeholders and do good in the world. Read more.
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