Introduction
On June 28th, 2022 NY NOW hosted a webinar titled “Integrating Generosity into Social Impact-Driven Brand Stories,” the second of a three-part social impact series titled “Balancing People, Planet, and Profit.” The webinar was hosted and moderated by NY NOW’s Senior Producer Dondrill Glover, with special guest Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi, Founder and CEO of The International Social Impact Institute® (ISII). The discussion aimed to help participants integrate social impact into their brand’s mission statement, showcasing the ISII’s Impact Story Development Framework, with practical examples.
Webinar Overview
Building upon the first webinar in the series, the second session focused on helping participants identify which aspects of the social impact equation – people, profit and/or planet – they wanted to incorporate into their brand’s mission. Liz Ngonzi, shared case studies with organizations that have successfully developed purpose-driven mission statements and corresponding brand stories. In order to leverage the social impact equation, Liz Ngonzi emphasized the importance of having clear values that drive your brand’s story; this method enables companies to attract aligned stakeholders, including consumers, investors, and philanthropic partners.
The case studies presented in this webinar illustrated the impact of having a mission statement that broadly aligns with the organization’s work and core values. In these examples, the speakers highlighted the importance of being able to draw a direct line from the organization’s mission to individual behaviors, core values, and key partnerships, including with philanthropic partners. Three main elements were highlighted in the discussion as being critical for impact-driven mission statements:
- Identifying the challenge
- Offering solutions
- Showing impact
These three components should be clear and recognizable when developing an impact-driven mission statement and brand story. Liz Ngonzi shared multiple real world examples of this template in practice, and the impact it can have on an organization’s success.
Conclusion
Liz Ngonzi concluded the discussion by highlighting how these principles can affect stakeholder engagement, most importantly in finding and attracting stakeholders with aligned core values. The template offered by ISII provides significant advantages, and the speakers highlighted simple and straightforward ways to get started building a social impact-driven mission statement and brand story.