Detailed Agenda Released for 15th Annual Charities@Work Best Practices Summit Featuring “Next Great Ideas,” Recent Innovation in Employee Engagement and CSR

Washington, D.C. – February 29, 2016 /3BL Media/ Charities@Work—a network of organizations that bridges the corporate and nonprofit sectors in order to achieve greater social impact—today announced details of its full program for the 15th Annual Best Practices Summit on Employee Engagement in Corporate Citizenship, “Bridging Worlds to Scale Impact.” Held on March 28-30, 2016, at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City, the Annual Summit brings CSR practitioners across the country together to share the latest advances and thinking on employee engagement, workplace giving and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice.  A new feature of this year’s agenda is the “Next Great Ideas” segment, a snapshot of innovative ideas being developed and repurposed for use in employee engagement and CSR.

The detailed agenda can be found here. Highlights include:  

Next Great Ideas:

• The World Community Grid (MARCH 28, 4:30PM-4:45PM) - Harnessing unused computing power to better the world.
  
  • Sheila U. Appel, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs U.S. Regional Manager, IBM
• Leveraging #Techforgood (MARCH 29, 10:00AM-10:15AM) - Googlers Give supports UNICEF through innovative Badge-to-Donate program.
  
  • Susan Grotbo, Global Ops Lead, Social Responsibility, Google; Maggie Carter, Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, The U.S. Fund for UNICEF
• Transformative Engagement (MARCH 29, 2:30 PM-2:45PM) – Find out how Time Warner Cable engages all employees, from front line workers to the C-Suite, through transformative volunteerism.
  
  • Jim Gordon, Group Vice President of Corporate Brand and Reputation, Time Warner Cable; Milinda Martin, Vice President, Community Investment, Time Warner Cable; Jen Holick, Community Investment team, Time Warner Cable
• Engaging Donors Through the Virtual World (MARCH 29, 4:15PM-4:30PM) - Learn how virtual reality technology is being used to connect donors on an emotional level directly to a Charity’s mission.
  
  • Natalie Ebel, Director of Marketing, Pencils of Promise; Molly Swenson, COO of RYOT Media

Plenaries, Workshops and Panels:

• IMPACT 2030: Global Goals Scoping Session (MARCH 28, 3:00PM-4:30PM) - Explore specific actions that can be taken to mobilize corporate volunteers to directly and substantially contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
  
  • Chris Jarvis, Senior Partner, Business Development, RealizedWorth

• The Neuroscience of Volunteering and Giving (MARCH 28, 5:00PM-6:00PM) - Chris Jarvis of RealizedWorth
• Employee Engagement: More than Diversity (MARCH 29, 8:45AM-10:00AM) - Explore best practices and opportunities to address diversity and inclusion, as well as generational and multi-cultural efforts in CSR and engagement.
  
  • Kimberly Young, VP of Business Development, America’s Charities; Phyllis James, EVP, Chief Diversity Officer, MGM Resorts; Cid Wilson, President & CEO Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility
• The Silo Mentality: Breaking Down Barriers (MARCH 29, 1:30PM-2:30PM) - A look at how companies are overcoming challenges with silo behaviors in their own organizations and how they can be overcome to achieve goals.  Share experiences, challenges and successes in addressing this issue.
  
  • Sheila U. Appel, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs U.S. Regional Manager, IBM
• Finding Purpose (MARCH 29, 4:30PM-5:45PM) - PwC will follow-up from last year’s presentation on their efforts to implement job purposing and will share eye-opening results from a recent employee survey. Join a workshop to challenge attendees to bring this to life in their own organizations and broaden the social purpose of any job.
  
  • Bea Boccalandro, President of VeraWorks, and Jeff Senne, Director of Corporate Responsibility at PricewaterhouseCoopers
• 360 Degrees of Storytelling (MARCH 30, 8:45AM-10:00AM) - When it comes to unlocking people’s passion and inspiring action, storytelling is a tool that can change the world. Nowhere is this truer than at the “Sweet Spot” juncture of business, the public sector, and social good. Discover how effective storytelling is being leveraged across different technology platforms for engagement and impact, with insights and examples from thought leaders in the nonprofit, corporate, and online media sectors.
  
  • Robin Perkins, Director, Communications and Marketing, EarthShare; Dave Armon, Chief Marketing Officer, 3BL Media; Susan Heaney, Director of Marketing, Rainforest Alliance; Helen Sahi, Senior Director, Sustainability, Avery Dennison
• CSR 365: Best Practices of Year-round Engagement (MARCH 30, 10:30AM-NOON) - Year-round engagement is a new reality, but comes with its challenges. This will be a highly engaging session with panelists sharing successes and challenges with their evergreen engagement programs. Attendees will then interact to develop ideas that can be used to enrich year-round activities in their companies.
  
  • Steve Greenhalgh, Senior Advisor, Community Health Charities; Allison DaSilva, Executive Vice President, CSR Planning & Insights, Cone Communications; Gina Rude, US Corporate Citizenship, Accenture
• Companies & Causes: Moving from Responsible to Exceptional (MARCH 30, 1:30PM-2:30PM) - This session will highlight the process and challenges of creating signature and cause-driven programs that align business strategy with a company’s CSR goals.
  
  • Scott Jackson, President and CEO, Global Impact; Sean Milliken, Head of Global Social Innovation, PayPal; Melissa Robinson, Corporate Responsibility, Hilton Worldwide; Andrew Troup, Senior Product Manager, MicroEdge

Peer-to-Peer Breakout Sessions:

• Strategic Volunteerism: Stop Painting the Same Wall Seven Times (MARCH 29, 10:30AM-Noon) - Address steps to bridge the gap between corporate goals, employee desires and nonprofit needs when it comes to structuring a valuable and successful company volunteering program. Identify solutions to a real-life volunteerism scenario and discuss the key strategies the most successful corporate volunteering leaders use to drive awareness and employee engagement.
  
  • Jim Starr, COO and Chief Business Development Officer, America’s Charities; Gary Levante, Community Engagement Officer, Berkshire Bank
• Environmental Sustainability & the Engagement Continuum (MARCH 29, 10:30AM-Noon) - Environmental sustainability ranks consistently as a top issue for next generation employees, but engaging a workforce on such a broad topic can be challenging. This session will guide participants through the stages of the Engagement Continuum on how to build the awareness, connection and commitment that leads to action, to help you meet employees where they are, guide them toward their individual commitments and unleash their entrepreneurial spirits, and achieve action-oriented results at work and in their communities. 
  
  • Mary MacDonald, Senior Vice President, National Business Development, EarthShare; Michael Carren, Head of Strategic Philanthropy, The Guardian Life Insurance Company; Jason Leiker, Associate Vice President, AT&T; Christopher Walker, Director, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
• Engaging Health Nonprofits in Your Wellness Strategy (MARCH 29, 2:45PM-4:00PM) - Learn how companies have moved beyond traditional resources and incorporated health nonprofits to make a positive impact on their employees to help them understand how to manage their conditions and what resources are available to them.
  
  • Jonathan Edelheit, CEO, Employer Healthcare & Benefits Congress; Community Health Charities
• Effective Disaster Relief (MARCH 29, 2:45PM-4:00PM) - There are many challenges to consider when integrating disaster relief into CSR programs – from aligning global and emerging markets, to representing employee interests and choosing the right funding recipients. Join this session for an in-depth overview on how to develop your disaster relief strategy and a look at common pitfalls to avoid.
  
  • Susan Grotbo, Global Ops Lead, Social Responsibility, Google; Global Impact

Keynote Speakers:

• Michael I. Norton, co-author of “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending,” will provide the keynote address on Tuesday, March 29, at noon ET. Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School (HBS), and a member of Harvard’s Behavioral Insights Group. In 2012, Norton was selected for Wired Magazine’s Smart List as one of “50 People Who Will Change the World” and his TEDx talk, How to Buy Happiness, has been viewed more than 3 million times.
• Jeffrey Vargas is the Chief Learning Officer for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), an independent federal agency that regulates the 600 trillion dollar swaps, futures and options financial marketplace. Vargas will provide the keynote on Wednesday, March 30, at noon ET. He is ranked as one of the nation’s top experts on understanding generational differences with an emphasis on building generational synergy in the federal workplace.

Tickets to the 2016 Charities@Work Annual Summit are $650 for the standard three day pass; $450 for the one day pass on Tuesday only; $350 for Monday half-day only; and $350 for half-day Wednesday only. Charities@Work has secured a group rate at the New York Marriott Marquis, nestled in the heart of Times Square.  To book, modify or cancel your hotel reservations and receive updated information about the event, visit http://charitiesatwork.org/annual-summit/2016-2/.

Upcoming Charities@Work Webinar

Join us Wednesday, March 2, at 1:00 PM ET, for a free webinar titled “Pro Bono Volunteerism: Challenges and Solutions.” Pro bono volunteerism is hot with companies of all sizes trying to offer skills-based and pro bono volunteer opportunities to their employees. Although the popularity of this type of volunteerism has risen, the number of available opportunities has not. What is causing this imbalance and how can companies address this growing discrepancy?

Come hear Dr. Linda Gornitsky of LBG Associates share the results of her latest research study, which examines the challenges of pro bono volunteerism and suggests solutions to help fix this imbalance. Register here: http://bit.ly/1VA9Xzr

Charities@Work Sponsors and Technology Partners

Charities@Work is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors and technology partners. Charities@Work extends its gratitude to Underwriter Sponsors – Time Warner Cable and Wells Fargo; Cornerstone Sponsor – Prudential; Benefactor Sponsors – Best Buy, New York Life, PricewaterhouseCoopers, UnitedHealth Group; Patron Sponsors – PIMCO Foundation and Silicon Valley Community Foundation; In-Kind Sponsors – 3BL Media, COMMIT!Forum, and RealizedWorth; Showcase Technology Partner – MicroEdge; and Standard Technology Partners – Benevity, DoTopia, GIVINGtrax, Good Done Great, Innovations for Learning, INPEx, JK Group, VolunteerMatch, YouGiveGoods, and YourCause. The 2016 Charities@Work Annual Summit is an official conference of Impact 2030.

Opportunities to invest in Charities@Work are still available. For information about sponsorship and technology partner opportunities, please contact Lynne Filderman at lfilderman@charities.org.

To find out more information about this year’s Charities@Work Best Practices Summit, visit http://charitiesatwork.org/annual-summit/2016-2/. 

About Charities@Work

Charities@Work, www.charitiesatwork.org, bridges the corporate and nonprofit sectors in order to achieve greater social impact. Charities@Work is an alliance of four nonprofit organizations – America’s Charities, Community Health Charities, EarthShare and Global Impact – that collectively represent more than 2,500 of the most respected and effective international, national and local nonprofits. These four networks exist to facilitate interaction and partnerships between charities, companies and their employees for meaningful outcomes and impact for all parties.