Managers and third sector realities together to develop initiatives, ideas and projects with high social and environmental value. During a conference organized in partnership with ALTIS, the Graduate School of Sustainable Management of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Profit4nonProfit was presented. This is the project conceived by the Social Manager Group of Manageritalia Lombardia, through which the skills of managers and companies are made available to non-profit organizations to support and co-design initiatives aimed at promoting the dissemination of good practices, attention to others, the environment and the support of "good causes" such as recycling and recovery.
To illustrate the contents of Profit4nonProfit, Paolo Scarpa, President of Manageritalia Lombardia, together with Lamberto Bertolè, Councilor for Welfare and Health of the Municipality of Milan and Giancarla Bonetta, Coordinator of Manager for Social Affairs of Manageritalia Lombardy.
"The development of Social Responsibility ," explained Scarpa, "is increasingly becoming a must for the for-profit world and an essential condition for various business management models. This is a direction that Manageritalia Lombardia has always promoted and that now, with the Profit4NonProfit Project, we are making it even easier to follow by making available, free of charge, the experience of many colleagues who have been involved in the Social Manager Group for over 20 years. A great opportunity to "make things happen" and, at the same time, to increase the influence of the managerial role in companies and in the social fabric. Concretely, Profit4NonProfit is a call to action that invites business managers and non-profit professionals to "converge" and work together on common goals of high social impact".
"We are Managers ," Bonetta added, "many of us work in companies where social responsibility is already an integral part of the mission. Some deal with it directly. Others would like to take care of it. Manager per il Sociale is the group of Manageritalia Lombardia, today over 300, with which for more than 20 years we have been voluntarily supporting Third Sector Entities, a world whose dynamics, needs and aspirations we know. An experience that this year, with the Profit4NonProfit project, we intend to make available to all colleagues and interested companies to facilitate virtuous co-planning in the social field between companies and Third Sector Entities. Today, more than ever, the commitment to the non-profit world also becomes fundamental for companies, whose activities must aim at not only economic, but also social and environmental sustainability. This is why we are all here today together to discuss the opportunity and benefits of concrete co-planning between the company and the third sector to achieve common goals."
THE RESEARCH
To underline the deep link between the managerial world and the non-profit world, the results of the survey carried out by AstraRicerche for Manageritalia and illustrated by Cosimo Finzi. The research involved over 350 managers belonging equally to small, medium and large companies, from which it emerged that in the last 3 years 67% of managers and related companies have given economic support to Third Sector entities, 50% have given rise to an active partnership with the aim of spreading knowledge of a "good cause", while one in three companies, 31%, has taken action to implement initiatives that involve workers in volunteer activities.
It should be noted that for 62% of respondents the main motivation for supporting "good causes" or in favor of Third Sector entities is consistency with the ethical spirit of the company, specifically, 5% indicate that they continue a company tradition, in line with the authentic Lombard and Ambrosian spirit made up of attention to others and to the social. Only 19% indicate that this choice is made to improve the company's image with buyers while 2% to increase sales. For 92% of the sample, initiatives in support of the third sector are really useful to the community and society, for 91% they can create social added value perceived by the company's workers. Activities that 85% of managers are willing to carry out even without any economic or image return. Finally, 70% of respondents believe that the support and promotion of "good causes" should be implemented regardless of the socio-economic context of the country, 24% should be implemented in periods of growth (in which company resources are more available) and only 6% think that they should be implemented in times of crisis.
THE ROUND TABLE
During the morning, in addition to the presentation of the research, there were numerous opportunities for discussion and dialogue between different stakeholders committed to creating a system in the name of attention to social issues. Meetings that saw representatives of the Public Administration, the university world, responsible finance and companies such as: Leroy Merlin, STMicroelectronics Italia, Lidl Italia, BWH Hotel Group Italia, Gottardo (Tigotà brand) ACRA Foundation, Banco Alimentare Onlus Foundation, San Patrignano Community.