At this year’s ACCP CSR Marketplace Virtual Conference, Hamish Black, Senior Partner Success Manager at Deed, and Patrick McAnally, Vice President of Community and Civic Engagement at Alliance Bernstein, tackled a critical question: how can social impact leaders make a compelling case for sustained, strategic company investment in CSR?
In a conversation filled with practical advice and personal experience, Hamish and Patrick shared their approach to bridging the gap between social impact goals and business strategy—arming attendees with the language, data, and mindset to turn CSR from a “nice to have” into a business imperative.
Here are a few key takeaways from the session.
Patrick emphasized that a strong CSR program doesn’t just “do good”—it drives results across business lines. “It’s about workforce,” he said. “It’s about recruitment, it’s about retention. It’s about where people choose to work and why they stay.” The most effective way to gain executive buy-in is to position social impact as integral to business outcomes, especially around employee engagement and brand equity.
Hamish reminded attendees that making the case to the C-suite means speaking their language. “They’re not always looking for stories,” he said. “They’re looking for data.” When presenting new initiatives, social impact leaders should come armed with insights that map to organizational priorities—whether it’s employee engagement metrics, progress toward belonging goals, or external benchmarks. Transparency and simplicity are key.
While data earns attention, stories earn trust. Hamish pointed out that human moments, like a frontline employee leading a volunteer initiative, can bring CSR to life. These stories are especially powerful for employees, external stakeholders, and even skeptical leaders when used alongside strong performance data.
AllianceBernstein’s CSR team leans into participatory programming by identifying what their people care about—and then building initiatives around those areas. For example, Patrick described how their signature AB Gives Back campaign integrates volunteering, giving, and employee storytelling in a way that feels authentic and inclusive. “It’s not about us,” he said. “It’s about our employees. We exist to give them a voice.” The C-suite will see that employee excitement and engagement.
The bottom line: To make the case for deeper investment in CSR, social impact leaders must connect the dots between purpose and performance. That means using both data and storytelling to show how doing good is good for business—and inviting employees, executives, and community partners to lead together.