I had an interesting conversation with Net Impact Austin advisor Sarah Cooke last week about the definition of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). She has embarked on a new project on how employees can shape their employers CSR strategies. One of the members of her team was tasked with creating a definition of CSR and they responded with something like "it's anything a company endeavors to do that doesn't effect the bottom line."

This last May we elected a new volunteer board to run Net Impact Austin. The new board members came together in June to start the arduous process of guiding Net Impact Austin in a new direction for 2010 and 2011.

The issue was simple – how do we create something that gets Austinites thinking about the importance of picking up after their dog?

Sarah Cooke, a Dell employee, went from a passive member of Net Impact to Founder of the Austin Professional Chapter after attending a NI National Conference and discovering thousands of people who – just like her – believed that work can be about much more than just getting paid.

An easy and fun way to take action in honor of Earth Day: take photographs in your community and join them with others from around the world to create a world view of sustainable consumption. 

Sid Balwani, an Intel employee, credits Net Impact Austin with shaping his long-term career plans toward a focus on BoP products and services. As a Chapter Leader, he has gained real-world experience applying business techniques to enhance positive social impact.

“Recycling”, the word conjures up images of responsibility, sustainability and a healthy respect for the environment. And rightly so. But of fun? Not so much.

On Wednesday Net Impact Austin co-sponsored a talk on Microfinance in the USA during the RISE conference. Those of you who attended the last Net Impact event on Microfinance In Texas (Raising the BoP) may recall that many attendees were interested in how similar concepts work in the USA. Kala Philo founder of the Austin Microfinance Network led an engaging panel consisting of professionals who cover a wide variety of roles dealing with Microfinance right here in Central Texas.