A new survey finds that Americans are suffering from a “civic foreclosure” that is limiting the range and depth of their civic engagement. The survey results reflect the hard choices Americans have made during the downturn, with 72 percent of respondents saying they have cut back on time engaged in civic participation, which includes time spent volunteering, participating in groups or performing other civic activities in their communities.

That finding undercuts anecdotal reports of volunteers’ flooding nonprofit groups as unemployment has increased and suggests the challenges faced by the Obama administration, Congress and foundations working to encourage greater volunteer service and civic participation, says the New York Times.

The survey by the National Conference on Citizenship can be viewed here.

For many years, when community involvement professionals used the term “government relations” they were referring to lobbyists who influenced legislators on policy matters important to their companies’ business plans. The rise of corporate citizenship, however, has broadened that view. CSR professionals now increasingly employ the advocacy skills of their government relations colleagues in matters that concern the company’s social agenda, because government plays such an important – almost ubiquitous – role in their community and corporate involvement activities. Read the rest of this entry »

How can companies do good business with a reduced environmental impact? That was the focus of a very well organized conversation in a large unconference held recently in Boston. Read the rest of this entry »

The outdoor clothing store Patagonia is looking for sales associates who “provide a complete shopping experience for our customers, involving product knowledge and environmental involvement.” Yes, you read that correctly: community involvement is a leading sales job requirement, second only to product knowledge. Read the rest of this entry »

The Center is pleased to welcome new member Hershey Company, the largest North American manufacturer of chocolate and chocolate grocery products with revenues over $5 billion and over 12,000 employees worldwide. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently dialed in to my first “stakeholder dialogue” hosted by Timberland. If you haven’t heard of them, Timberland has begun to offer quarterly calls with any and all interested parties to discuss some of its CSR themes directly with CEO Jeffrey Swartz. Today’s call was about its Earthkeeper program for engaging employees and citizens at large in environmental preservation. Read the rest of this entry »

With a sickening economy jeopardizing the health of businesses, many corporate citizenship professionals may fear they face the worst of diagnoses. But a recent survey by the folks at IBM indicates that most business leaders believe effective corporate citizenship may be just what the doctor ordered – if the patient follows doctor’s orders. Read the rest of this entry »