Corporate – Nonprofits Partnerships to Improve Social Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporations are under increasing pressure to serve social purposes beyond maximizing shareholder value. One of the best resources for businesses seeking to affect social change meaningfully is through working with, learning from, and partnering with nonprofits. Different approaches have been emerging for nonprofits to inform and support the interests of for-profit businesses in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In particular, collective impact (CI) and its implications for corporate partners; increasing positive community engagement through progressive hiring practices instituted by non-profit organizations (NPOs); fostering innovation within an organizational setting through NPO collaboration; and exploring a hybrid model of non-profit/for-profit business, with an examination of the advantages and disadvantages thereof. In this paper, we review these unique approaches to show how for-profits can learn from nonprofits and vice versa when it comes to social innovation and corporate social responsibility.