Season of Giving: Using Your Vote to Engage & Advocate

A record number of individuals turned out to vote in the latest United States 

p

residential election

 – 

more than 

150 

million

 Americans

. 

In our recent civic engagement research, 

Civic Life Today

, 78

 percent

 of respondents said post COVID-19, voting will be more important than ever. 

S

ee

ing

 so many people 

cast 

their vote as a means of taking action and advocating for their beliefs

 shows that civic engagement is a continued priority

.

As we celebrate this 

milestone in history, Points of Light wants to 

thank and 

uplift the 

volunteers that made the election process safe

and efficient. 

Democracy depends on ordinary people who ensure that elections run smoothly and that every vote is counted. 

If you know someone in your life who volunteered t

his election cycle, thank them for their service and for being an essential worker for democracy. 

Although the

 election is over, 

there are still ways you can engage and help

 others

 get

 involved

:

• Stay informed about local issues. While presidential and midterm elections garner the most media attention, there are critical votes in local communities from school board budgets to town council members. Don’t forget to participate in these critical elections in your community.  
• Equip others to get involved. Sharing nonpartisan resources and information about upcoming elections and policy issues equips voters with essential information about the voting process. Organizations like When We All Vote, Civic Alliance, and The League of Women Voters encourages informed and active participation in government and distributes free, nonpartisan educational materials for all voters.  
• Volunteer. You can still become a volunteer poll worker, letter-writer or phone banker for the runoff elections that will be held over the next couple months and for local elections in the future. Check out our election resources for more information on all the ways you can get involved, inside and outside of your home.  

At Points of Light, we believe that every individual should be able to live their most civically engaged life, and voting is an important piece of that.

Thank you to all the voters, volunteers and elected officials who ensure the voice of the people is

heard

 during elections

. 

Season of Giving: Ways to Share Your Light in the Workplace

We’re kicking off day four of

our 

Season of Giving: 9 Ways to Share Your Light 

by highlight

ing

 how you can be more civica

lly engaged 

through 

you

r

workplace.

This element in our Civic Circle focuses on the different ways that you can give back to your community 

by the cho

ices

 you make in your 

career and daily work

. Our 

Civic Engagement Research

shows that over 40 percent of Generation Z and 25 percent of Millennials c

onsider

 a company’s 

level of social responsibility and position on important issues before they 

apply

 for

 and/or 

accept a 

job 

with a potential employer

. 

The choice of where you work and how companies 

choose to 

engage their employees has an impact

 on 

applicant pools, retention rates and employee satisfaction

. 

Points of Light’s

The

Civic 50 

initiative 

recognizes the 50 most community-minded companies in the nation 

annually. We are guiding the way for corporate citizenship and shin

ing

 a light on businesses committed to doing good. Read more about United Parcel Service

,

 our partner and

 one of 

the 

Civic 50 honoree

s

,

 on our blog: 

UPS: In Service of Human and Civil Rights

. 

What can you do to be civically engaged at work? Here are a few tips:

• Research the social responsibility programs of the companies you are applying to or working for and see how much they give back to your own community and communities across the globe. 

• Find out if your employer has a volunteer program and sign up to participate. If they don’t have one, share our resources with your leadership and ask them to explore ways your company can get more civically involved. Check out Points of Light’s Community for Employee Civic Engagement for ideas.  

• If you are a business owner or hold a leadership position, explore the ways your organization can give back. You can motivate your supply chain to engage in this work with you, amplifying your impact.  

• We recently launched The Civic 50 survey, a benchmarking tool for companies in the United States with revenues of $1 billion or more, to measure their community engagement and social impact. Encourage your company to take the survey and see how they measure up.

At Points of Light, w

e believe that companies, their employees, partners, vendors and customers 

are critical to 

drive

transformative social change in communities across the globe.

We en

courage you to learn more about 

how we work with companies around the world

.

Season of Giving: Embrace the Power of Your Purchases

Over the past 

few 

weeks, your inbox has been filled with advertising emails and special shopping deals 

prepping you for one of the biggest shopping days of the year

 – 

C

yber Monday

. 

But do you know how to u

se your

 purchase power 

for more than just good deals? You can use it to do good in the world, too. 

As a consumer, your purchases have the power to make a difference in your community, whether 

it’s through a 

percentage

of

 your

purchase 

benefitting a cause that it important to you

 or by supporting businesses engaging in 

socially

–

conscious

 practices. Choosing where to spend your dollars

,

 and which companies 

or social entrepreneurs

to support

,

 reflects the values and causes important to you. 

I

n our

 recent

ly released

 research,

Civic Life Today,

41

 percent of 

all adults 

shared that they make purchasing decisions based on a company’s social responsibility

 practices

.

 For Gen Z, it’s significantly higher with 

nearly 60 percent saying they

 take a company’s practices into consideration when buyi

ng.

T

apping into your purchase power is an easy way to increase your civic engagement, and we’ll be sharing more information about using 

p

urchase 

p

ower next week, so stay tuned. 

Here’s just a few ways

 that you 

can 

impact your community through your 

spending power

:

• Choosing to shop at a small, locally–owned and/or minority-owned business helps address inequality and contributes to the growth of your own community by creating jobs and boosting your local economy.  

• Similarly, you can choose to buy from certified B Corporations, Public Benefit Corporations and social enterprises. Although not identical, these types of businesses believe that companies can be a force for good. They work to prioritize social impact in their operations. Some well-known examples include Ben & Jerry’s, TOMS Shoes, Seventh Generation and Patagonia.  

• When you purchase through large retailers, look for companies that are socially responsible and philanthropic. Many of them, like Amazon, have initiatives that donate a portion of your purchase to charity. You can support Points of Light every time you shop on Amazon by selecting us through AmazonSmile. A percentage of the sale is donated back to Points of Light and helps fund our critical work.  

As a reminder, purchase power centers on the choice of where and how you spend your money – not the dollar amount itself. As you go about your normal shopping routine, consider the areas 

where 

you can implement one

,

 or all

,

 of our tips

 to support the communities and causes you care about

.