Leading Locally: Small Business and Social Change

Social impact experts recognize that, regardless of size, companies, along with their employees and stakeholders, can drive transformative social change when they work at the intersection of community needs, employee interests and company resources and priorities.

Explore key findings from our report “Leading Locally: Small Business and Social Change” with Derrick Feldmann, managing director of ISG Research Advisors and learn small business insights from Tasha Helm, director of corporate citizenship at Fiserv.

Civic Engagement & Civic Circle® Literature Review

To better understand civic engagement and how to motivate individuals and communities to become more engaged, Points of Light commissioned Data Shine, an independent evaluation consulting firm, to conduct a literature review.

We paired the Civic Circle® framework with an exploratory, inductive approach that allowed the research team to expand the search in real-time. This led us to scholarly journals, news sources, think tank and poll briefings organizational reports, white papers, book chapters, practitioner-focused guides and more. The search produced more than 260 artifacts; we referenced 198 in the synthesis. Our web library contains access to reviewed resources as possible.

Civic Life Today: A Millennial Perspective Research Report

Over the past two years, with nearly every sphere of society upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, navigating toward a new normal at work and in communities seems almost impossible. But signals from Gen Z and millennials point to a workforce powered by their voices, their involvement, and their desire to tackle society’s toughest problems.

America’s millennials and their activist Gen Z peers are poised to reshape society to a greater degree than any generation since the Greatest Generation. As two million baby boomers retire each year, millennials are projected to constitute the majority of the workforce by 2025 while the number of Gen Z employees in the U.S. workforce is set to triple over the next decade. These younger generations are savvy employees and consumers who are checking up on businesses and demanding more social value for their time and money than ever before.

Points of Light, in partnership with research and design firm INFLUENCE|SG, released their latest study on civic engagement among the millennial generation to gather some crucial data points to complement their 2020 study of American civic engagement amid a global pandemic, which studied the attitudes, motivations and barriers to civic engagement with a special section dedicated to Gen Z.

While it’s impossible to define any group of 72 million Americans, the data reinforce the need for business to evolve or get left behind.

One of the key insights we found was that millennials view social issues through a very personal lens. Whereas volunteering used to be seen primarily as helping other people, this generation sees themselves as among those affected. Businesses need to be social change leaders not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because their millennial workforce is counting on them for support.

And their own civic engagement is one of the primary ways they’re taking action to change their circumstances. Almost 50% of millennials believe more in civic engagement now than before the pandemic, 69% are more likely to volunteer, and 85% think people should help their community and the world.

Businesses that foster a culture of civic engagement know that it’s not just about staying current. It really does affect the tangibles — like recruitment, retention, productivity, and even the bottom-line.

From a consumer perspective, millennials believe companies should be actively involved in social issues, and two-thirds visit corporate websites at least somewhat often to learn about their efforts when making purchase decisions. Black American males, especially, think companies should meet with consumers about the effects of their products and services.

Here again, we see that being a social change leader is not only good for the planet and its people, but for the companies and their profits. Millennials are the largest generation on the earth right now. Chances are that they currently are, or will soon be, interacting with your products and services.

Corporate social responsibility is a symbiotic relationship between brand and consumer, between employer and employee, between big business and society as a whole. Companies have an opportunity to inhabit this space and drive change as we create our better post-COVID world. Later this month, we’ll talk through some key ways that companies of all sizes can reach millennials, based on insights from the research.

Civic Life Today: A Look At American Civic Engagement Amid A Global Pandemic

WE ARE LIVING THROUGH HISTORIC, EXTRAORDINARY TIMES

A movement of change has been spurred by a global pandemic and uprising in response to tragedy born of systemic racism. We are at the dawn of a “Civic Century,” an age when people become the driving force that transforms our world.

In this moment, we see our challenge as, “How can we create a society where it is easy for every individual to take action and accelerate impact within their community and around the world?”

To best understand current perceptions of civic life and identify a path forward for businesses, nonprofits, and individuals, Points of Light, and our partners Carol Cone and Hart Research, conducted a study this spring, with generous support from AT&T, surveying adults in the United States about their attitudes, behaviors, barriers and motivations for civic engagement.

A DESIRE TO DO GOOD

This research offers the most current and comprehensive look into the current state of civic engagement, a universal desire to do more in the future, and how we can help convert good intentions into positive action. Through its findings, Points of Light offers timely information and perspective for businesses, nonprofits and other organizations to harness the power of people and their desire to do good.

The findings from the study revealed the following key themes about Americans today:

• All areas of civic life will be more important post-COVID-19, as nearly two in five Americans say that after the coronavirus, they will do more to get involved than they did before.
• Americans are most encouraged to participate in civic engagement for reasons related to personal fulfillment.
• At the time of fielding, Americans were most concerned with addressing issues such as healthcare and hunger through civic engagement.
• Gen Z Americans participated in civic engagement at the highest rates compared with other generations.
• Those most interested in volunteering have a notably stronger preference for activities that they can do on a regular basis and in person.