In partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, the Think Tank will break new ground on CSR research and help members make an even bigger impact.
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As the leading CEO organization dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility, the Satell Institute is committed to giving its CEO members the best tools and information possible to make a positive impact on their communities and companies through CSR.
That’s why SI is so happy to share a series of exciting new initiatives at the Satell Institute Think Tank, SI’s research and education platform.
The initiatives — first announced by Mark Baiada, chair of Bayada Home Healthcare and a founding SI member, at the Fall Private CEO Conference — will further equip SI’s Corporate Members and Nonprofit Affiliates with the best practices when it comes to CSR. The work will put a particular focus on how CEOs — the Satell Institute’s members — can guide and impact their companies’ CSR strategies.
The new programs are the byproduct of a small working group that was convened to update the Think Tank. In addition to Mark Baiada, members of the group included Tony Conti, SI’s Founding Vice Chair; John Elliott, Dean of UConn’s School of Business; Greg Hagin, Principal and Managing Director of CCS Fundraising; Regina Black Lennox, SI’s Executive Vice President; and Ariel Schwartz, Managing Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Social Impact Strategy.
Re-Engaging with Penn
Powering the initiatives is a new, three-year research partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, one of SI’s Founding University Affiliates.
Penn’s Ariel Schwartz is leading this research effort. Ariel has been engaged with the Satell Institute as its Assistant Research Director since the beginning, attending board meetings; producing SI’s acclaimed first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), the first on global and strategic CSR on the edX platform of MIT and Harvard; advising summer interns; and consulting on the Satell Institute’s thought leadership content.
Timeline
The new initiatives will roll out over the next year:
Q1 2025
- Refresh and update the Think Tank portion of SI’s web site, summarizing research findings so that CSR practitioners (SI’s focus) know how to implement the best of recent research on CSR and corporate philanthropy
- Glean insights from SI’s existing data about the great work of SI Corporate Members and Nonprofit Affiliates
- Cultivate cutting-edge questions for new original research on Executive CSR
Q2 2025
- Launch publications, starting with blog-style, practitioner-oriented summaries of existing SI-commissioned White Papers on CSR. This work will be published on the web site and shared on LinkedIn to CSR practitioners inside and outside our network.
Q3 2025
- Update SI members on how they can participate in a survey and interviews that advance the conversation about Executive CSR. Member voices are needed!
Q4 2025
- Begin publishing new original research that aims to advance the thought leadership and experience of the SI community.
The focus will be on how to cultivate executive corporate philanthropy practices that create a stabilizing and supportive environment for nonprofits. The mandatory four-year commitment SI has pioneered has made a dramatic impact on the practice of CSR.
SI is grateful for the contributions of the small working group. And we thank — in advance — SI members for their participation in highlighting the special place of Executive CSR in the world corporate philanthropy. As Ed Satell would say — Community Is Every Leader’s Business!