Designing a Legacy of Impact Workshop

We had a full house with over fifty Austin Gives members and prospective members at the July 26^th networking lunch and mini workshop featuring Hannah Nokes, best-selling author of Magnify Your Impact. Hannah provided practical tips for keeping employees invested, fulfilled, and productive and reminded us that no matter the company’s size, or stage of growth, the most successful and resilient companies are leading with purpose, partnering with their people to positively impact the world together.

In the interactive workshop, Hannah provided a simple formula to level up a company’s impact in the community including real-life examples of companies that are leveraging social impact for more loyal customer relationships and an engaged team culture.
Research shows that since the pandemic the most resilient companies have been generous businesses that strategically engage their employees.
Hannah encouraged companies to go deep, not broad, when determining a giving plan and gave interesting examples from several different industry strategies. Finding a few areas of impact that resonates with the company culture and its employees is better than giving without a strategy.

Research shows the consumer rewards social impact alignment to a business. Hannah advised that companies consider their social impact as a portfolio and suggested making 80-90% of the portfolio dedicated to the company’s strategically aligned core ideology.

Attendees were encouraged to consider the following when creating their impact strategy:

Core Ideology: What is your north star? How do you want your company to be remembered? This is the long-range view. Your impact decisions must reflect your core values.
Superpowers: Where are you headed? What makes your company unique? What skills or resources makes your company able to serve your customers AND the community in a way no others can. What resources do you have available to give?
Stakeholders: Who influences or is influenced by your business? Use your social impact program to deepen relationships with these groups.
Impact pillars: What is important to your team or customers? Needs to feel like you!

Ultimately, businesses must find authenticity in branding themselves as impact oriented.

Many thanks to Greater Texas Credit Union for their exclusive sponsorship of the workshop.

Austin Gives educates and empowers businesses to give back 1% of profits, products or services, or time to charitable causes of their choosing. For more information on joining Austin Gives, click here.

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