> Adopt a Client: Helping Organizations be Good <

{NOTE from 5/12: Social Symmetry has modified the project submission process for AaC (see new guidelines here) based on feedback received by a number of organizations submitting projects. Please submit all relevant information, per the post below, to suneet@socialsymmetry.com via email instead of in the blog’s comments section. The deadline has also been extended to May 22nd (from May 15th).]

Though not quite Rousseauian, we at Social Symmetry believe that organizations are inherently good. We firmly believe that any organization would pay increased attention to making a positive social impact if the concept were not so foreign and if the concept were not so abstract. We also think organization’s would pay more attention to making a positive social impact if the market rewards for investing time and money into these efforts were clear and tangible.

That’s where we got this idea.

What is “Adopt a Client”?  We want to help organizations be good. In our opinion, the best way to do that is to dedicate some of our time, pro-bono, to helping an organization realize the potential and opportunity of paying attention to the two forgotten stakeholders: the environment where they operate, and the communities they affect. We are going to adopt a client for the month of June and walk them through our approach.

At the end of the process we are confident that our ”adoptee” will be armed with a plan for either becoming good, or becoming even good-er. (Note: We didn’t feel like the word “better” had the same effect.)

How will organizations be selected?  We are looking for suggestions. It would be easy for us to work with organizations we know really well (and maybe a lot easier for us to impress you all), but that is not the purpose of the exercise. That’s why we will consider any project, from any organization (private sector, public sector, nonprofit sector), that meets the following two requirements:

• The project (website, report, product, service, process) must have a socially responsible mission (defined as positively affecting the surrounding environment and/or the community therein).
• The project must be okfor public consumption. We want to share the entire experience with the world, which brings us to the next section…

To submit your organization (or an organization you would like to see adopted), post the name of that organization and a 1-2 sentence description of the project in the comment section below, as well as a contact we can notify if that project is selected.

If you would like to be part of the team who helps make the final selection, send us an email (with “Adopt a Client” in the Subject Line) and we’ll contact you come decision time: suneet@socialsymmetry.com.  We will be picking the project democratically.

What is the hook?  We want to feature this entire exercise on our blog. We will divide up the month as follows:

• Week 1: A description of the project and the “ask” posted by the “adoptee” on this blog.
• Week 2: Social Symmetry provides its interpretation and analysis of the problem.
• Week 3: Social Symmetry presents its strategy (with a high-level plan for delivery).
• Week 4: Social Symmetry scrutinizes the “projected” deliverable and establishes metrics and a process for measuring the social impact.

Do you have any disclaimers? Yes, actually: make sure the project is reasonable (remember, this is a short-term engagement). We can’t think of a better way to say this. If Coke comes to us and asks us to overhaul its bottling and distribution processes pro-bono, in June, we may find ourselves a bit overwhelmed. The more well-defined the “ask”, the more specific our solution. It’s also important to note that we assume much of the exercise will be done remotely and through conference calls (depending on where the final organization is located).

Here are some examples of things that came to mind when we developed this concept. Please note, these are meant to guide, not constrain or limit:

• Conducting an analysis of a particular product and identifying “green” modifications or enhancements.
• Reviewing an organization’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report and identifying ways to improve what is communicated, and how it is communicated.
• Evaluating an organization’s Website (or the “Social Responsibility section” of a broader Website) and providing feedback on how to improve the experience and drive action (donations, involvement).
• Meeting with a Human Resources Department and identifying opportunities to improve employee satisfaction through volunteer and donor-related programs.
• Reviewing an existing process and identifying innovative ways to minimize the carbon footprint associated with the procedure.
• Designing and developing a cause marketing campaign for an organization, product or service that reinforces its value, while generating positive recognition for the organization.

When do we start submitting projects?Umm, now? We’ll accept project names until May 15th, so spread the word. Make your posts in the comment field below (and please include a company name, URL, 1-2 sentence description of the “ask”, and a contact in case you are selected).And don’t throw us any softballs. We’d rather take a strike on a wicked split-fingered fastball then turn this into a game of homerun derby.

If that didn’t make sense to you, don’t worry. The Canadian on our team feels your pain about the baseball language–and just so you know, he kept insisting we make a hockey reference, instead.