Buy It Forward

For its 25^th Reunion, the class of 1980 created a groundbreaking award program to recognize alumni who are setting the standard in "making a difference" through social enterprise. "Given that the mission of the Harvard Business School is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world, publicly recognizing those who are making a difference in activities beyond the pursuit of profits is appropriate and inspiring," said Dick Simon, chairman of the Making A Difference award program.

In a series of conference calls, the awards committee discussed what it means to positively impact the public interest . "While successfully leaders in traditional commercial sectors can make an enormous and positive difference in the world, commercial success has its own built-in rewards and tends to get more attention in a business school environment. This award was designed to recognize those who have made a difference in less traditional or non-profit sectors where the positive impact might be huge but financial compensation may be small or even negative," said Simon.

According to committee member Jim Hummer, over 50 nominations were submitted. "The nominees are all role models," says Hummer. "You couldn't read the descriptions without being inspired "It was humbling to see the accomplishments and commitment of time talent and resources of our classmates," according to committee member Dave West. "We were overwhelmed with the scope of what they have given back to their communities and to the world." more...

Many companies support causes they believe in. Buy It Forward is a list of companies that meet criteria for sharing a portion of the value their businesses create with worthy causes.

To be a Buy It Forward company, an organization must compete in a for-profit industry and contribute an amount equal to or greater than 5% of their total market value to a worthy cause.

Civicom has met the criteria and has been identified as a Buy It Forward company through its gift of 10% of its founding stock.

Interested readers can learn more about the Buy It Forward concept and see the list of Buy It Forward companies on the Buy It Forward website at: www.buyfwd.org