By: Avi Mayerhoff

Shared core values are the glue that binds nonprofit organizations to corporate partners to company employees to consumers. These values are lived on a daily basis and are an integral part of decision-making for everyone involved. They influence and ultimately determine everything from where someone decides to live and what jobs they apply for to what they buy and which nonprofit organizations they support.

These shared values have three critical points of connection.

Corporations Getting It Right: Harry’s in the Spotlight

Harry’s is a men’s personal care brand with the social mission of promoting better mental healthcare for men and preventing suicides. Each year, the company donates 1% of their sales to mission aligned nonprofit partners, which have included Crisis Text Line, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), Stop Soldier Suicide and The Trevor Project. They also offer employees a High Five Program ̶ five days off each year to volunteer to the nonprofit of their choice. Harry’s recently partnered with MindWise Innovations to provide private behavioral health screening for 100,000 men.

Aligning social impact with core values and communicating why a cause or partner was chosen sends employees, shareholders and customers the message that the company is authentic, which creates business value. Companies with strong cultures and core values tied to partnerships tend to perform better. According to IR Magazine’s 2020 Corporate Study, high-purpose brands double their market value four times faster and achieve higher shareholder returns.

Employee Perspectives

Tying core values to partnerships is a meaningful way for a company to authentically shape its culture. Employee engagement, volunteerism and team building all need to align with a company’s values to create a true connection to the partner’s mission and to the company.

• 75% of companies that offer giving and employee time for volunteering have twice the engagement than companies that only offer one or the other. The B2B Purpose Paradox 2020 (Carol Cone on Purpose, ANA and The Harris Poll) 

Consumer Perspectives

Today’s consumers have come to expect alignment between brand values and their own. Expectations now are that CSR involves an integrated, sustained commitment and actions that result in real impact on issues, not just talk or empty gestures untethered to outcomes.

• 72% say it’s more important than ever the companies they buy from reflect their values. Porter Novelli/Cone Purpose Biometrics Study 2019
• 73% say they are less likely to cancel a company if it’s purpose-driven. Porter Novelli’s 2021 Business of Cancel Culture Study

There is also a continued pervasive emphasis on equity impact across all mission spaces. Dialogues have become more open and honest, and empathy-driven flexibility is forging loyalty. Check back as we continue to follow the strongest trends and share the insights we learn from partnering with hundreds of purpose-driven brands. Contact us to start your own dialogue anytime.