A Guide to Building Social Responsible Organizations and Maximizing Social Impact

“The city, always the human habitat of first resort, has in today’s globalizing world once again become democracy’s best hope.” Benjamin Barber (2013). “If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities”

How does an organization maximize its impact for the urban core and underserved? What are the “enablers” that would apply to any mission-driven organization? A new initiative of over 30 organizations in the Twin Cities is setting out to answer those questions through a collective impact initiative.

The Mission Impact Council is defining a set of characteristics that make organizations “socially responsible” and help them positively change the life trajectory of the underserved. The characteristics are about the “how” rather than the “what” of change. They are meant to delineate how effective organizations engage with the world to create deep and lasting change. The next step will be to create a common agenda and set of measurements for where these principles will be applied. The social responsibility definition will ultimately include a checklist, descriptors, examples and list of resources. Its purpose will be to promote clarity, dialogue, assessment and impact for organizations seeking to maximize their social impact.

1. CLARITY: What does it mean to be socially responsible? While there is a vigorous and contested conversation happening in the corporate sector (i.e. around Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives), there is much less presently to define the term for other sectors.

2. DIALOGUE: How does an organization know if it is being socially responsible? The 10-point checklist and accompanying descriptors and examples are meant to encourage organizations to reflect, question, and push the boundaries of the “what,” the “how,” and the “why” of their work. Its goal is to encourage dialogue and deep thinking, not rigid prescription.

3. ASSESSMENT: How do we assess the level of social responsibility of mission-

focused organizations? Funders, consultants, and other stakeholders might eventually use the completed tool to educate, engage, and evaluate local service providers.

4. IMPACT: How do you make an impact on the underserved and urban core? The

checklist offers general guidance for a proven mindset and set of practices that will increase the likelihood of making deep and sustainable change.

The Mission Impact Council is a diverse collaboration of organizations that work together for positive social change through developing innovative and community-based solutions that change life opportunities for the Twin Cities urban core and underserved. The founding organizations of the initiative are the Twin Cities YMCA, the Greater Twin Cities United Way, and Youthprise.

Characteristics of a Socially Responsible Organization

Social Responsibility refers to a set of business practices that involve participating in initiatives that benefit society. While many organizations practice some sort of social responsibility, few have made it a core of their operations. The following business practices or “Characteristics” will be evident in organizations that are truly Socially Responsible and should be used to answer the question:

IS YOUR ORGANIZATION SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE?

1. Mission: Communicates a clear message about its unique purpose for existing and for benefiting youth, families, communities, and the world

2. Partnerships: Develops broad cross sector initiatives with a wide range of

organizations to create collective impact.

3. Inclusion: Engages the people they seek to serve in facilitating transformative change in a community.

4. Authenticity: “Walks their talk” by ensuring that their words, actions, and

relationships align with their vision, mission, and values.

5. Empathy: Connects with and understands how other people see the world, experience it, and relate to it.

6. Equity: Fosters social justice locally and globally, works to reduce disparities and

discrimination where it exists.

7. Systems: Understands the “cause and effect” relationship and focuses resources on impacting the multiple forces that create and sustain the problems faced in society.

8. Strengths: Honors the culture, identities, and history of the community and

works to unlock the power and potential of its constituents.

9. Family: Strengthens the family factors that are key to people’s development and works to increase the capacity of families to produce this positive identity in their children.

10. Accountability: Uses common measures to evaluate the effectiveness of their

work over time and are focused on both short and long-term impact.

Organizational Checklist for Social Responsibility (Looks like, Feels like, Tastes like!)

1. MISSION: Communicates a clear message about its unique purpose for existing

and for benefiting youth, families, communities, and the world

Why It’s Important: Organizations can easily become overwhelmed with daily demands or seduced by “mission creep” (i.e. taking on unrelated work to your core purpose). A strong mission focus increases impact because it gives clear direction, meaning, and coherence to everything that the organization does.

Checklist

• Look at the mission’s content: Does the organization posses a unique and vital role and rationale for how it will contribute to the world? • Look at employee orientation. Are new and existing employees taught about the organization’s larger social responsibility mission or only about programs, policies and benefits? • Look at the organization’s communications. Is the organization’s social responsibility mission highly visible in all of its communications? • Look at the organization’s constituents (e.g. donors, partners and end users): Do all stakeholders understand the core purpose and goals of the organization? • Look for sustainability: Does the organization grow its internal leadership capacity so that it can sustain its mission-based work?

2. PARTNERSHIPS: Develops broad cross sector initiatives with a wide range of organizations to create collective impact.

Why It’s Important: The causes and solutions of social problems today are beyond the scope of any one organization to address. Partnerships and collective impact initiatives can increase impact by coordinating and aligning multiple efforts around a common agenda and set of outcomes. Checklist

• Look for the organization’s number and diversity of partnerships Does the organization deepen its impact through multi-sector partnerships and collaboration? • Look for skill: Does the organization possess the capacity and will to work effectively with partners from diverse sectors (e.g. non-profits, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations, after-school programs, and government)? • Look for how the organization’s solves problems. Does the organization engage the community and partners in agenda-setting and problem-solving?

3. INCLUSION: Engages the people they seek to serve in facilitating transformative change in a community.

Why It’s Important: Organizations can intentionally or unintentionally privilege certain groups through the composition of their leadership and staff, the profiles of their typical members, their choice of services and products, and the environment that they create. Inclusion can increase social impact by soliciting voice, participation, leadership, feedback, and innovations from all community groups. Checklist

• Look for the ways to engage the participation and input of all groups. Does the organization recognize and engage the value of groups often excluded from participation? • Look at who uses your programs and services. Do people from all local groups have access? • Look at how people from different groups are treated. Does the staff welcome and build culturally-inclusive programs for all groups? • Look at the organization’s employees: Does the senior leadership and staff reflect

the surrounding community? • Look at how the organization builds community from diversity. Does the

organization encourage heterogeneous groups to interact and know one another? • Look at how the organization understands the complexity of diversity: Does the organization operate only from labels or does it honor the diverse and varying self-interests of individuals and groups around any given issue? • Look for how the organization builds the capacity of others. “Do those served grow as persons and become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become wise leaders?" (adapted from Robert Greenleaf)

4. AUTHENTICITY: “Walks their talk” by ensuring that their words, actions, and

relationships align with their vision, mission, and values.

Why It’s Important: People may or may not agree with everything that your organization does, but it expects you to possess integrity and transparency. Authenticity can increase social impact by giving the organization the credibility and trust needed to work effectively with a community.

Checklist

• Look at the organization’s actions, not just its words. Does the organization align its mission and its actions? • Look for the organization’s core values. Does the organization live its core values, even when it is difficult? ª Look for “thoughtful transparency:” Does the organization share pertinent information (without breaking confidentiality) that allows others to confidently enter into employment, partnerships, or funding relationships?

5. EMPATHY: Connects with and understands how other people see the world,

experience it, and make meaning. Why It’s Important: If you don’t know what matters to your staff, community, and supporters, it will be impossible to deliver effective services. Empathy can increase social impact because it leads to better understanding of other people’s problems and aspirations. Checklist

• Look for empathy: Does the organization use empathy to understand the community’s

point of view, map existing resources, and identify important gaps that require further effort?

• Look at the organizational calendar. Are people within the organization meeting only

with each other, or are they scheduled to connect with multiple community stakeholders?

• Look for communication channels: Has the organization established multiple formal

and informal avenues to facilitate listening to the community?

• Look at professional development. Does the organization help all staff to be empathetic and understand the story and culture of its users? • Look for responsiveness. Does the organization listen, incorporate ideas, and adapt changes suggested by the community and the changing environment?

• Look for innovation: Does the organization translate empathetic insights into

innovative programming and services?

6. EQUITY: Fosters social justice locally and globally, works to reduce disparities and

discrimination where it exists.

Why It’s Important: When individuals or groups are limited by discrimination and injustice, it is impossible to provide fully effective services to them. Focusing on equity can increase social impact by advocating and attaining fair and just treatment for those that use your services and products.

Checklist

• Look for organizational risk-taking. Is the organization comfortable being a disruptive influence? Is it comfortable with and transformed by discomfort? • Look for the organization’s strategic plan. Does the organization recognize and fund its

responsibility to be not only a provider of services, but an agent of change? • Look for advocacy: Does the organization identify and advocate against institutional

racism and other forms of discrimination and injustices? • Look at how the organization educates others. Does the organization transform teaching social justice through experiential learning and civic engagement? • Look for global awareness. Does the organization foster understanding and action about both the local and global dimensions of issues?

7. SYSTEMS: Understands the “cause and effect” relationship and focuses

resources on impacting the multiple forces that create and sustain the problems faced in society.

Why It’s Important: If we try to fix symptoms instead of systems, we will make little long-term progress. Systems thinking can increase social impact by helping first to understand and then to change the deeper roots of social ills.

Checklist

• Look for the organization’s time frame. Does the organization look at the long- term as well as the short-term implications of its actions? • Look for system innovation. Is the organization built for system change and innovation? • Look for comprehensiveness. Does the organization cultivate a holistic approach to address cultural and other needs of its constituents? • Look for education. Does the organization educate people about policy, system and environmental changes that would be helpful for the urban core and underserved? • Look for environmental footprint: Does the organization operate in a way that is sustainable to the environmental.

8. STRENGTHS: Honors the culture, identities, and history of the community and

works to unlock the power and potential of its constituents

Why It’s Important: Too many intervention strategies are built on “fixing people and communities.” Focusing on strengths can increase social impact because it identifies and amplifies people’s self-confidence, motivation, and capacity to be successful.

Checklist

• Look for empowerment. Does the organization unlock the power and potential of all its constituents? • Look for cultural competence and intelligence: Does the organization honor the history, culture and identity of the people it serves?

• Look at how the organization understands the complexity of diversity: Does the organization operate only from labels or does it honor that individuals and groups can hold varying positions around any given issue?

• Look for an asset-based mindset. Does the organization see differences as strengths to access rather than deficits? • Look for input: Does the organization allow the community to define their own strengths and work through that lens? • Look for an optimistic mindset. Does the organization talk more about possibilities than problems?

9. FAMILY: Strengthens the family factors that are key to people’s development and works to increase the capacity of families to produce this positive identity in their children.

Why It’s Important: Programs can inadvertently undermine the power and identity of families. Focusing on the family can increase social impact because families are best situated to produce a strong positive identity in their own children within the larger community context.

Checklist

• Look for organizational priorities. Does the organization always consider the potential impact (good or bad) on youth and families when making decisions about programs and services?

• Look at investment in youth: Does the organization design to encourage the development of social responsibility in youth? • Look for participation: Does the organization authentically engage families when creating goals, policy, and resource allocations for children and communities? • Look for capacity building: Does the organization build the family’s capacity to take wise, principled actions on their own behalf and the larger public, not just deliver programs and services? • Look for the family engagement: Does the organization authentically engage families to define issues, solve issues, and produce policies that sustain those solutions? • Look for how we define sustainability: Is sustainability defined by family capacity to achieve its self-identified goals? • Look for evaluation plans: Do we evaluate with a focus on family capacity? • Is engagement a process that ensures families in the end are the policy base for actions, resources, goals for their children and larger community? • Does the organization ensure that outcomes and measurable goals are born out of policy- making from family?

10. ACCOUNTABILITY: Uses common measures to evaluate the effectiveness of their work over time and are focused on short and long-term impact.

Why It’s Important: It is not enough to assess your success solely on anecdotes and perceptions. Focusing on accountability can increase social impact by using both qualitative and quantitative data to continually assess and improve your programs and services.

Checklist

• Look for how the organization defines success. Does the organization have clear, measurable metrics to define success now/ in five years? • Look for the frequency of assessment. Does the organization formally and informally assess the impact on a regular basis? • Look for community participation. Does the community possess a role in assessment performance management? • Look for reciprocal accountability: Do the members of the organization hold themselves and each other accountable to their social responsibly mission? • Look for evidence: Does the organization possess evidence to validate that it has fulfilled its social responsibility mission?

March 16, 2014