The ROI of CSR
Sometimes ROI doesn’t come in the form of money.
In 2014, Qlik’s Radnor office initiated a partnership with the Mentor Foundation USA, mentoring high school students by matching them up with Qlik employees.
Using Qlik software, the students analyzed the causes and effects of stress in their school. The students developed ‘change projects’ based on the data to implement within their school. These ‘change projects’ will provide healthy alternatives to deal with stress to help fellow students stay away from unhealthy alternatives such as drugs and alcohol.
What began as a small project continues to flourish to this day, and as a result of this partnership, many other venerable opportunities have been presenting themselves.
One of these opportunities occurred on March 18, when our Director of CSR, Julie Whipple, was asked to speak on the “ROI of CSR” at a special event hosted by our friend Donna Spurrier, of Spurrier Media Group (SMG) and the Mentor Foundation.
The event opened with testimony from the CEO and President of Mentor Foundation USA, Gunilla Girardo. Gunilla spoke to the organization’s collaboration with the business community to assist young adults in identifying their career goals and making healthy life choices, citing Qlik as a prime example.
The featured guest, David K. Mineta, Deputy Director of Demand Reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) headlined a special session on CSR for local business leaders in Washington, DC. Mr. Mineta oversees ONDCP’s Office of Demand Reduction, which focuses on promoting drug prevention and drug treatment programs, as well as newly-created programs for individuals in recovery from addiction.
These are exactly the kind of opportunities we look for as a company, where we believe that with the right solution, data can be used for good. We’re looking forward to continuing to support Mr. Mineta and the ONDCP, Spurrier Media Group, and The Mentor Foundation to positively impact the lives of our youth. And Qlik has just the right software and CSR focus to do it.
Pictured above: Gunilla Girardo, Julie Whipple, David K. Mineta, Donna Spurrier