Dramatically Increasing CSR Social Impact By Doing Just One Thing!

The CSR Program Intervention

A few years ago, I started leading a CSR education project in a post-crisis neighbourhood that was still turbulent, under-resourced, and difficult. Despite the government's best efforts, it was difficult for children to attend school. Insurgents had killed nearly 2,200 teachers, demolished 1,400 schools, and threatened parents and guardians of orphaned children since 2009. An insane ban on ‘western’ education!

The donor constructed, outfitted, and set up a school for 330 displaced children in this neighbourhood. They also gave the kids school uniforms. Concerned about exorbitant uniform costs, the corporation could only afford a pair—one set of uniforms for every day of elementary school. Their vendor cited high inventory, labour, overhead, and shipping charges (1,511.6 kilometres over 4 days).

One set of uniforms was far from enough!

So, using local tailors, the already disadvantaged parents fashioned a different, but extra pair for their children. This generated chaos in a place where identification might mean life or death. We needed a brand.

Critical Thinking. Practical Solutions

After a year of trying, I found a solution. Localise!

Using the donor's funds, I travelled to the project location and went to the local market with our onsite crew. We bought the identical patterns in bulk as the parents had and hired two tailoring crews from the same local market. We had enough to make two outfits as well as a pair of school sandals for each youngster. We adapted the outfits to the parents' budgets. We then invited the local community and religious leaders to make a presentation to the pupils during the end-of-year celebrations.

Resultant Social Impacts

Everyone was delighted. With three (two brand-new!) uniforms and footwear:

• Pupils maintained a 98 percent attendance rate in an area where going to school was dangerous.
• The parents' drive and dedication grew as they realised, they were responsible for their children's education. Fathers brought their kids' lunch!
• As we honoured their leadership by enabling them to distribute the presents to the youngsters, we increased buy-in, and security risks decreased dramatically.
• Teachers now had happier, more confident students who were eager to learn.
• Community members appreciated the project's economic impact, companies patronised, and skills developed, not just the parachuted supplies.
• The sponsoring firm saved money even after increasing the school supply contributions to the youngsters and was praised by the public for its excellent job in a volatile region.

Below are my top five takeaways:

1. Be Bold and Daring: I modified the school uniforms to accommodate an awkward scenario. Working within the budget and giving the donor extra value is always appreciated. Manage risks, but don't be afraid!
2. Innovate to a Sustainable Solution: When considering solutions, consider sustainability. Spending money on problems does not necessarily lead to creative methods and systemic solutions.
3. Create Shared Value: As a result of investing directly in local businesses, I could manage quality, costs, and improve local skill sets. Any resource is gold in the appropriate situation. Empowerment is vital!
4. Be Contextual: Understanding and appreciating the local and central is necessary to be contextual. I was able to think critically about the difficulties and find a flexible solution that included suppliers, materials, locally used footwear, and safer markets.
5. Engaging Stakeholders: Running a local programme or initiative requires the support and approval of important stakeholders, notably local leadership. This will help you as a sponsor when making internal programme choices.

What did this tale teach you? How might I have improved? Let me know in the comments.