Engage for Good, which operates a social impact conference and the Halo Awards, has been acquired from Cause Marketing Inc., by Muneer Panjwani, a nonprofit executive who has been involved in the nonprofit-corporate engagement industry.
David Hessekiel, founder and outgoing president of Engage For Good, will serve as an advisor to Panjwani through Engage For Good’s May 2024 conference in Minneapolis. Hessekiel will continue to own and operate the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Financing for the deal was from Berkshire Bank. Engage For Good was established in 2002 as the Cause Marketing Forum, and rebranded in 2018 as Engage for Good to reflect the evolving landscape of corporate social impact that engages a multitude of stakeholders including consumers, employees, and nonprofit supporters.
Panjwani told The NonProfit Times that acquisition discussions had been going on for about a year and had been attending the conference for a decade. Engage for Good had four employees and Panjwani plans to double that number during the next 18 months.
“Corporations and nonprofits can play a critical role in addressing society’s biggest challenges, and expanding Engage for Good’s programs is the perfect opportunity to support leaders working in both sectors,” said Panjwani. “I am excited to build on Engage for Good’s loyal community of leaders and empower them to take risks, have hard conversations, and move the needle on national and global issues.”
Engage for Good’s portfolio includes its flagship conference, which is one of the nation’s largest annual gatherings of nonprofit and corporate professionals dedicated to corporate social impact. Each year at the conference the company presents the Halo Awards, the highest honor for corporate social impact initiatives. Throughout the year, the company equips industry experts with tools and resources to succeed, including educational webinars and a podcast featuring topical experts, a monthly newsletter, educational guides, a job board, and more. Engage For Good also fosters a community of thousands of social impact leaders spanning hundreds of organizations via a paid annual membership program.
Every corporation looks at partnerships with nonprofits in different ways. For many for-profit firms, the partnership with a nonprofit is a one-off. Panjwani said that the dynamics at for-profits and philanthropy are rapidly changing whether it is workplace giving, monetary donations, specials events or other support. They key is to standardize those type of giving so that there is a baseline with which to work and use with other donors.
