Employer Based Individual Development Account Initiatives - Assets matter in lifting families out of poverty. This guide, published by the U.S. based Corporation for Enterprise Development, describes the promise of delivering Individual Development Accounts (IDA’s) through employers, the challenges to doing so, some potential models for program design, the benefits that employers can experience from participating in such a program, the keys to success, and much more.

Collaborate with Business for Social Transformation - This Tamarack guide, written by Garry Loewen, identifies how collaborating with business can enhance social change outcomes, provides tips on meeting the challenges that such collaboration creates, and supplies practical tools for planning the engagement with the business sector.

Leverage Business & Markets for Low Income People – This document, published by the Ford Foundation, describes the lessons learned from the Community Involvement Initiative, which examined the idea of businesses using core-operating resources to improve the income and assets of low-income earners.

Meeting the Collaboration Challenge – This is a workbook, with an introduction written by James E. Austin that is intended to complement Austin’s The Collaborative Challenge. Some relevant topics include developing a marketing approach for each potential alliance; developing a management plan for each alliance; and the “Seven C’s: Questions for Partners”.

Working with the Business Sector – A resource prepared by Grantcraft group that explores how funders can partner with businesses on community issues.

The Center for Corporate Citizenship – A Boston College website that promotes – and explores in depth – the rationale and mechanics of corporate involvement in community issues.

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility – This organization of businesses focuses on how the private sector can be an engaged, positive force in the community, whether on a global, national, or local scale. Their site offers a variety of resources, including publications, events listings, and links.

Doing Business with the Poor – This guide, published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, reflects on different approaches and models to doing business with the poor.

Sustainable Livelihoods – This executive brief, produced by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, provides the business case to build inclusive business models that create new revenue streams while serving the needs of the poor through profitable commercial operations.

Sustainable Livelihood: Business Connection – The resource provides a number of examples of businesses that create new revenue streams while serving the needs of the poor through profitable commercial operations.

Win-Win Partners – A website that promotes strategies for corporations to improve their business performance and improve the lives of low income groups and communities

Conversations with Disbelievers – This report, by John Weiser and Simon Zadek, brings together much of the available quantitative evidence that addressing social challenges can help businesses improve their financial bottom lines.

Making The Case: Clarifying Ways Businesses Benefit from Poverty Reduction Strategies - This document, written by Mark Cabaj, discusses how business can benefit from poverty reduction strategies and provides a framework for engaging business in poverty reduction strategies.

Business Contributions to Communities – This Imagine Canada report on the community investment practices of Canadian companies explores why business contributes to charitable organizations and the challenges contribution brings.

Towards a New Partnership for Community Building - This report, prepared by the Private/Voluntary Sector Forum, summarizes the findings on the role of public policy in creating a relationship between the private and voluntary sectors.

Understanding Role of Cross-Sector Alliances - This paper discusses the increasing importance of cross-sector strategic alliances, provides a framework for creating strong and stable alliances between sectors, applies the framework to three case studies and concludes with some suggestions for future research topics on cross-sector alliances.

Engaging Business Community Guide - This is a complete guide for engaging business in development initiatives, specifically focusing on health care delivery. Included are sample tools and surveys designed to facilitate business-community partnerships.

Seeing is Believing – A program of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility designed to engage business leaders in complex community issues.

Partnering for Innovation – This report, published by Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, highlights three case studies that exemplify successful partnerships that build business leadership through social, environmental and economic success.  

Using HR Practices to Build Business & Community - This booklet illustrates a sampling of Human Resources Practice, the success of those practices within the businesses of Waterloo Region and their effect on the reduction of poverty.

Employment Opportunities for Low-income People – This framework provides the principles of best practice and some concrete examples of programs that prepare low income job seekers for employment in high technology industries.

The Road to Good Employment Retention – An Annie E. Casey report from a nine-year, $30 million effort aimed to help young, low-income workers find and keep good jobs, identify and promote nationally replicable models for employment and job training; and better integrate and align local workforce stakeholders.

Increasing Visibility of the Invisible Workforce – This report presents the findings from a study that identified model programs and policies for hourly and lower wage workers in 15 different organizations – companies that have recognized the value of these employees and who are working to make “invisible” workers visible.

Workforce Intermediaries – An Annie E. Casey report that describes the role and structure of workforce intermediaries.

Corporate Voices for Working Families – An organization that aims to improve the lives of working families and the competitiveness of American businesses with a focus on workforce readiness, workplace flexibility, family economic stability, and mature workers.

Back to top.