We released the Social Good Report 2021: Profit & Purpose earlier this month and the feedback thus far has been super strong.

As we hope you have had a chance to read, we highlight the many different ways nonprofits can be “vendors of social good” for companies to support brand development, cause marketing, employee engagement, wellness, DEI efforts, workforce pipeline development, and so much more. The feedback we have gotten with it has been really positive, with the Charlotte Business Journal, WCNC, WBTV and WBT Radio covering it and many people reaching out to learn more about who we are and why we wrote it.

The sheer number of people spiking our LinkedIn profiles is pretty neat to experience, especially for how varied their backgrounds are. We have seen a fair number of human resources executives, particularly during our recent focus on employee engagement. We have had a number of marketing professionals touch base as well. Perhaps most heartening has been the number of C-Suite and business owners who have somehow seen our content and were intrigued enough to try to find the source.

We sense in their our outreach a lingering question – why? What would cause us to write such an in-depth report on the intersectionality between the private sector and nonprofits?

The motivation behind Profit & Purpose is this – we believe there is this immense, misunderstood and partially hidden opportunity to make significant inroads on the social issues facing our community. Charlotte is growing by leaps and bounds and it is the engine of that growth – companies and jobs – that also presents the greatest opportunity for us to get at sustainable solutions for overcoming challenges of economic opportunity, social mobility, environmental impact and ultimately prosperity for all. It is our dream at Next Stage – a truly sustainable community where everybody wins – and we believe deep down that it is achievable if we work together.

Inspiring, yes? So what role do you have in making it happen?

Yes, This Means You As a small business owner in the Queen City, I can empathize with the challenges company leaders here have. Just keeping up with the world right now is a full-time job. Gaps in the workforce are making it difficult to meet goals. This has led to an overall slowdown in the supply chain for countless companies and industries. Employees are in a fragile state after more than a year of living through a crisis. Consumers are more aware than ever of their values and how they align with the brands they engage. Fair or not, companies of all shapes and sizes are learning in real-time that their enterprise is not in a vacuum. Perhaps more than ever, we are all aware of how negative influences impacting society are also influencing the success of our companies. We can’t pretend this away. And increasingly, these aren’t issues reserved for the largest corporations in town to tackle. Community health is impacting your employee teams. Economic mobility is disrupting your supply chain. This stuff matters. And it should matter well beyond the challenges to your bottom line, because we hope you also live here and feel empathy for those who have less access than you have. We hope you care about the environment because you want to leave a more sustainable planet to your children. We hope that underneath the sales figures and quality control assessments, you also feel a moral obligation to support the community that makes it possible for your company to thrive here. We hope. But in case that isn’t tugging on your heartstrings, we also have solid evidence that “caring for community” creates positive business outcomes that should get the attention of even the most self-interested among us. At the heart of Profit & Purpose is a win-win-win architecture that allows companies, nonprofits and our community to benefit together.

We can do this. We look forward to continuing the conversation with you.

Now What? Next Stage knows you have questions and we’re here to help. Through our Social Impact for Business service line, we are working with companies to design compelling social good strategies that lead to impact in employee recruitment, retention and satisfaction. Got a specific challenge you’re wrestling with? Or a compelling workplace asset you want more people to know about? “Yes, we have a nonprofit for that.” Reach out to us to learn more: info@nextstage-consulting.com