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Is Your Georgia Business in Good Company?

Posted on: March 11th, 2021 by Charles Kelley

Exactly one year ago this month, our company was scheduling on-camera testimonials from some of our clients. To make it easy for them, our producer would travel and film in their unique settings. Then seemingly overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted. This made in-person filming impossible and self-promotion inappropriate. But the broader impact was staggering. Our clients' whole worlds, in business, education and nonprofit, were at once turned upside down.

We are a small business. We understood and felt the same effects. Still, we urgently wanted to help our colleagues navigate the fits, starts and unknown duration of this pandemic. We quickly repurposed our testimonial project to a series of non-commercial videos featuring luminaries across our clients' industries, who would share insights and inspiration for the road ahead.

Christened The Hope Shot, this labor of love debuted in June 2020 with insights from Ambassador Andrew Young. Not long after, the second pandemic of racial unrest erupted, raising ever higher the need to convey hope among professionals in education, nonprofit and business - the backbone of our communities.

As the dual pandemics raged on, we chose to continue underwriting The Hope Shot series for the long term. It is our way of connecting people and helping other organizations stay strong.

We knew we were not alone on our mission, but it was eye-opening and gratifying to discover the coordinated uprising of so many other Georgia businesses with similar intents.

We are definitely in good company!

Please join us in going beyond profit

It was during the tumult of 2020 when we discovered goBeyondProfit, a catalyst for inspiring Georgia businesses of all sizes to invest in making a more meaningful impact within the communities we serve. We became a member in October 2020 and haven't looked back.

Georgia businesses that become members share an aspirational commitment to find ways to invest time, talent and financial resources into corporate engagement to help solve community needs. Nothing is asked of a business except to pledge to continue making a difference. There is no cost. There are no meetings and no requirements to share information or data.

goBeyondProfit is a noble, community-minded initiative.

Make Georgia - and your business - stronger

This no-cost resource is a wonderful way for Georgia business leaders interested in evolving their corporate generosity as a business strategy. Launched by business leaders, for business leaders - every Georgia business is invited to join. The 2021 goBeyondProfit In Good Company report has grown to include more than 925 businesses, large and small, from every corner of our state. More join every week.

Members demonstrate generous operations, values and intentions in diverse ways to help implement a positive way forward and ensure their people, communities and companies thrive.

Some companies have shifted their business models and functions while caring for stakeholders in crisis. Some have shifted production lines to make PPE or hand sanitizer. Many pivoted their workstreams and technologies to support employees isolated at home. Others have shared from their checkbooks, talent pools and supply chain assets to help neighbors feed their families and fellow businesses stay afloat. And others, including us, are doing what we can to share expertise and resources to help other professionals navigate these challenging times.

goBeyondProfit founders Rick Jackson, Jackson Healthcare Chairman & CEO, and Shane Jackson, President, Jackson Healthcare, have long shared the belief that businesses can and should be a force for good in the world. We salute their initiative in starting goBeyondProfit in 2017, along with many other Georgia business leaders.

"In our first years, goBeyondProfit's growing alliance repeatedly confirms our initial premise: Demonstrating generosity and care for others has moved from something "nice' to a business imperative. And the goBeyondProfit peer network has proven to be an invaluable way to learn from and inspire one another." -- Rick Jackson

Through our individual and corporate commitments, we can profoundly impact lives. We encourage all Georgia businesses to become a member today. You will most definitely be in good company!