When a mass shooting occurred during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, last year, ShoppingGives quickly took action.
The Chicago-based company launched a Highland Park Shooting Response Fund in support of the Highland Park Community Foundation. With a pledge to match $10,000 in donations, the team encouraged its merchant partners to support the cause and ultimately garnered support from several organizations.
Making an impact on communities isn’t simply a goal at ShoppingGives — it’s the company’s purpose. “We exist to create a positive social and environmental impact, empowering brands and individuals to make a difference and find purpose in their everyday actions,” said VP of Social Impact Molly Trerotola.
The company, which enables brands to launch, scale and optimize their charitable giving strategies, has been driven by social responsibility since its inception. Trerotola said this commitment is ongoing and doesn’t simply manifest in response to tragedies and civil unrest.
It requires an authentic approach, which is something of interest to consumers, who Trerotola said are “looking for follow-through on social impact commitments and want to see companies ‘walk the walk.’”
Consumers are looking for follow-through on social impact commitments and want to see companies ‘walk the walk.’”
For the team at ShoppingGives, “walking the walk” involves creating honest connections and staying proactive. Built In Chicago caught up with Trerotola to discuss how the company does this and her advice for leaders wishing to improve their approach to social responsibility.
Which specific values are most integral to your company’s culture?
Our most poignant value is, “We are powered by purpose.” Impact is our purpose, ethos and priority. Inspiring purpose is at our core, and we hold ourselves and our partners accountable to live by our values in an honest way.
Social responsibility is an ongoing commitment and shouldn’t just be a focus when pressing societal needs arise. By focusing our entire company around social responsibility, we’re not only able to create a larger impact for those in need, but we’re also able to create more authentic connections with our partners, empowering them to live by these same values.
Authenticity is a huge component of being socially responsible. People are becoming increasingly more concerned about businesses’ impact on society and are more cautious about whether to trust a brand’s authenticity regarding its social responsibility initiatives.
Over the last three years, employees and consumers have sought clearer stances from companies in the wake of upheaval and current events. How have those values helped your company respond proactively?
People want to align themselves with businesses that share similar values, which is something we’ve seen firsthand at ShoppingGives. Our team is driven to help companies find this alignment, and we collaboratively work towards responding to current events.
Every day, we support businesses that give back and make a positive impact — and as a company, we’re committed to doing the same. By being authentic to our values and our mission, we lead by example and create more opportunities for businesses and consumers to get involved in social responsibility.
By being authentic to our values and our mission, we lead by example and create more opportunities for businesses and consumers to get involved in social responsibility.”
What advice would you give to leaders who want to take a more proactive approach to social responsibility, and what specific actions can help embed company values more deeply into their culture?
Proactivity in social responsibility begins with building an evergreen giving strategy versus giving reactively or opportunistically. Evergreen giving requires teams to align on North Star values to help shape the company’s overall social impact goals and the direction of its proactive philanthropy initiatives.
These values can align with your customers, the people behind your brand or the product itself — and ideally, it involves all three of these parties. For example, if your brand is owned and founded by women, then female empowerment and gender equality may be a good value fit. On the other hand, if your brand produces sustainable products, conservation and environmental sustainability is likely important to your key stakeholders. This consistency communicates what your brand stands for and showcases an authentic commitment to social impact outside of opportunistic giving moments.
With a solid philanthropic foundation and commitment to social responsibility, companies can take additional proactive measures by engaging social impact programs that enable the launch of turnkey giving campaigns in the wake of social, political and environmental issues. Ultimately, don’t get hung up on a perfect strategy, because what’s most important is simply the act of giving.
