Momentum de-clutters and de-mystifies the vast array of corporate sustainability and … Read More
Mission Driven Fundraising & Social Marketing Campaigns
Mission driven fundraising refers to fundraising that is designed and implemented to promote the organisational mission. There are many misaligned fundraising initiatives solely focused on raising money and completely detached from the organisational mission – a topic for another time.
When fundraising and mission merge positive results are almost guaranteed – provided a good social marketing campaign is part of the strategy – no fundraising strategy can succeed if not enough people know about it – no matter how good it is.
Fundraising Overheads
Fundraising consumes an enormous amount of resources – money and time, often up to half of what is being raised. There has been much public discussion about the acceptable level of expenditure for fundraising campaigns as these resources, on the face of it, compete or are taken away from service delivery resources.
Headlines like “Charity Spends More on Fundraising than Research” don’t inspire public faith in charitable organisations and are regularly reported in the media. [Read more…]
Corporate Sustainability Strategies – a feel-good gimmick or good for the planet’s bottom line?
The failed attempt of voluntary corporate sustainability strategies to save the planet.
Corporate sustainability strategies developed in response to the resource constraints of the 21st century. These constraints are the result of over population and over consumption and their damaging effect on the health of the earth.
Even the gentle Sir David Attenborough has joined the chorus of people arguing for fewer people in the interest of more biodiversity and a quality environment in his speech People and Planet in March 2011.
We have been trying to persuade companies to engage in voluntary corporate sustainability programmes of all kinds in order to address the obvious negative impacts of the way the ‘developed’ world does business.
Corporate sustainability strategies or planned abandonment?
However, do we ever stop to consider if it actually makes sense for a particular industry to engage in sustainability programmes or should it rather be a question of planned abandonment of this particular industry/product/ manufacturing process?
Take the issue of water. [Read more…]
Bottled Water
Bottled water is redundant.
Today, water is a readily available commodity and consumer item in industrialised nations. We have the luxury of choice: to spend our money on a variety of bottled water, use tap water or install a water filter at home and in the office. However, more than 1 billion people globally don’t have this luxury. [Read more…]
Business and human rights (part 3): advantages of the human rights framework for CSR
The debate on business and human rights has become a central theme on the international and national corporate sustainability & responsibility agenda. The world has changed significantly with the majority of large-scale projects – including those delivering basic human services – being privately rather than publicly funded. This has led to a new set of obligations and demands from business.
Part 1 of this series offered four key introductory texts into the subject, part 2 looked at The Role of National Human Rights Institutions with links to various players; today I will review the advantages of the human rights framework for corporate sustainability and responsibility, a link often overlooked by practitioners.
Human rights refer to the basic rights and freedoms all human beings are entitled to. [Read more…]
Valentine’s Day – it’s about love, isn’t it?
Did you know that Saint Valentine’s Day is said to derive from a christian tradition involving a Pope in 500 AD?
These days, Valentine’s Day has become a symbol for consumerism with ideas for Valentine’s Day gifts for him and her and ‘experiences’ at varying costs being promoted relentlessly weeks before the occasion. I resent the commercialisation of such a precious gift: the love and affection between two lovers. And that is why I am making the case for no Valentine’s Day or slow Valentine’s Day – borrowing from the slow cooking movement -and it goes like this: [Read more…]
Business and human rights: the basics (part 2): the role of national human rights institutions
Today, following business and human rights: the basics (part 1) which included 4 key introductory texts for anybody wishing to make sense of this rapidly evolving field and become familiar with the issues, this short overview focuses on the role of National Human Rights Institutions in business and human rights.
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) play an important role in the business and human rights sphere and are well placed to help align business activities with international human rights standards in line with their general mandates to promote and protect human rights. Some NHRI”s already address many business related human rights issues through:
Australia Day’s Inspiring Australians
Australia Day is a day of celebration for most people but also of sadness for others. It is definitely a day to pose the question: what does it mean to be Australian? Well, what better place to start looking for an answer than in the beginning.
Reconciliation Australia has put together this fantastic list of inspiring Australians for us and while Australia Day can be considered by many a sad day for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders it lends itself to celebrate their great achievements.
“Each year the Australian of the Year Awards provide an opportunity to recognise someone who inspires us and makes us proud. Whether you call it Australia Day, Invasion Day or Survival Day, the 26th of January provides an opportunity to acknowledge successful and inspiring Australians and what they add to this nation—acts of recognition such as these are building blocks for reconciliation.” quote Reconciliation Australia
Click here for more information about the work of Reconciliation Australia and here for information about Australia
Reconciliation Australia has developed another website: Share our Pride with initial funding from the Westpac Foundation and the Coles Group Community Fund. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from across the country have provided input and feedback on the content. Every effort has been made to capture the diversity of Indigenous cultures but to also keep the content simple and introductory. The site will continue to grow and the first priority is to add specific Torres Strait Islander content.
Business & human rights: the basics (part 1)
For the past decade or so I have been keeping abreast of developments in business and human rights in Australia and abroad and have just updated an introductory reading list for a forthcoming workshop. I would like to share the key documents with those of you who need to get across the topic quickly without compromising quality.
Whether you are a law student, a sustainability or corporate responsibility professional or simply an interested individual – if you want to save time sifting through the vast amount of material and wish to get to the substance immediately – look no further. The list of articles below is organised in priority order:
New year’s resolution – where there’s a will there’s a way!
Did you know that most New Year’s resolutions fail? How frustrating! This newly won insight is reinforced in many articles about our impending failure being published this time of year. It instills a certain fatalism and gives us an excuse before we even begin.
The trick is to either not make any resolutions at all or to focus our attention on the attainable and on how to make it work! One thing, action, habit that can move from intention to action. This list entitled: “5 ways to make your New Years Resolutions Stick” appealed a lot to me – because it moves away from setting grand gestures to simple, achievable goals.
And this ties in nicely with my guiding motto for 2013:
Actions speak louder than words. [Read more…]
Ten last minute alternative Christmas presents that rock the world!
Christmas is about generosity, good will and love – and thankfully there are many ways to express these sentiments. Instead of spending money on last minute gifts that might end up in landfill, here are a few ideas. Giving to a good cause is one of them. Let’s match the amount of money we spend on presents with the amount we gift to charities! Imagine the impact that would have!
1. Give an hour. Change the Future for Australian disadvantaged children – donate the equivalent of one hour of your income to Children’s Promise and help change the world for the better!
2. Sponsor your very own bear from as little as $200 and help this wonderful Australian organisation to achieve even more ! 100 % of donations go to the cause: Free the Bears [Read more…]
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