Over the weekend of March 4, 2011, Mary Hutton '11, Elizabeth Alfred ’12, Adelina Janiak '12, and Astrid Paniagua '12 traveled to the Sargent Center in Peterborough, NH, for the annual Robert M. Cover Public Interest Law Retreat. The retreat is held each year in late February with the goal of bringing together law practitioners, professors, and students from across the country who share a common passion for public interest law.
The Cover Retreat hosted workshops, panels, and speakers covering issues and topics in public interest law, as well as networking, socializing, and recreational opportunities. Hutton noted, “attending the retreat was a wonderful experience. My only complaint is that there was simply not enough time to attend all the workshops on topics ranging from immigration law to educational equality to starting your own legal nonprofit.”
The overall tone was informal, fostering learning and collaboration with the various students and practitioners. Alfred explained, "the advantage of being at retreat with the speakers is the opportunity to follow up on what they said. It was a privilege to be able to sit, at a meal or during recreational time, with lawyers who are actively succeeding at making the law work for everyone, including the most disadvantaged, and talk about how these lawyers got to where they are and how they view the world. It was inspiring to hear other law students and recent graduates talk about the projects happening at their schools. Probably my favorite part was getting to know the other four New England Law students so well, and talking about how we can bring what we learned at the retreat back to NELB.”
Additionally, Hutton noted the importance of the collaboration between students at the Retreat: "I also very much enjoyed meeting so many different law students who are committed to public interest. Many of these students have already achieved amazing things, from starting their own non-profits (funded by teaching salsa lessons), to forming the first public interest law groups in sometimes hostile academic environments. Spending time in this environment was a good reminder of the reasons I went to law school in the first place."
The CLSR intends to promote and support similar student opportunities in the future.
The Attractor Factor in Business Giving
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has written a piece How Giving Has Helped One Business Grow about Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes and his opening presentation at the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. While the story of the beginnings of his inspiration is moving, he also added three key points about why embedding philanthropy into the fabric of a business can help it grow with the attraction of these three essential elements.
We have written lots about why giving is strategic and advantageous for business growth, but here is a different way of thinking about it.
1. Attracting Loyal Customers
Blake cited a story about a woman he spoke to in an airport who, without knowing who he was, told him that it was the philanthropic aspects of the company that appealed to her. We also know with current research by from Edelman's Good Purpose Study 2010 , that indeed customers not only are enthusiastically supporting businesses with a social purpose but are increasingly expecting it.
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2.Attracting Quality Employees
TOMS shoes was able to lure employees from other well known shoe manufacturers because of the attraction of being part of a cause and having more meaning in their work. Studies have shown that even volunteering can contribute to an increase in employee satisfaction and retention rates.
3.Attracting Participating Partners
Companies like Ralph Lauren and ATT have joined with TOMS shoes to support their cause. Paul Newman set a trend in this area with Newman's Own, by enlisting other companies to help support his Hole In the Wall Camp for children with life threatening illnesses. CECP which he founded, is based on the principle of businesses helping to support, inspire and partner with each other in their philanthropic efforts.
See related stories about other companies where giving has helped them grow.
Give Something Back which we wrote about last year was recently profiled in the SF Chronicle.
We have written lots about why giving is strategic and advantageous for business growth, but here is a different way of thinking about it.
1. Attracting Loyal Customers
Blake cited a story about a woman he spoke to in an airport who, without knowing who he was, told him that it was the philanthropic aspects of the company that appealed to her. We also know with current research by from Edelman's Good Purpose Study 2010 , that indeed customers not only are enthusiastically supporting businesses with a social purpose but are increasingly expecting it.
.
2.Attracting Quality Employees
TOMS shoes was able to lure employees from other well known shoe manufacturers because of the attraction of being part of a cause and having more meaning in their work. Studies have shown that even volunteering can contribute to an increase in employee satisfaction and retention rates.
3.Attracting Participating Partners
Companies like Ralph Lauren and ATT have joined with TOMS shoes to support their cause. Paul Newman set a trend in this area with Newman's Own, by enlisting other companies to help support his Hole In the Wall Camp for children with life threatening illnesses. CECP which he founded, is based on the principle of businesses helping to support, inspire and partner with each other in their philanthropic efforts.
See related stories about other companies where giving has helped them grow.
Give Something Back which we wrote about last year was recently profiled in the SF Chronicle.
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