RAISE Global Services opens doors on new consultancy founded on idea that 'having a heart' is good business

ATLANTA, Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- RAISE Global Services today announced the launch of an ambitious new corporate consultancy that seeks to fight social problems around the world while strengthening corporate brands.

The Atlanta-based RAISE offers a full range of services and tools that help for-profit companies achieve greater social good – aligned with the basic business pursuits of producing customer value and making money. RAISE helps those companies build social goals into their core operating principles as a strategy for enhancing brands, attracting and keeping talent, motivating employees and differentiating themselves from competition.

RAISE also announced that global travel management company BCD Travel has retained the social innovation specialist to find creative ways the TMC can collaborate with key clients, suppliers and nonprofits to give a boost to the communities where it operates. The largest privately owned TMC employs 430 in the Atlanta area, which serves as headquarters for the Americas region. The company employs 11,000 in 97 countries and recorded sales of US$21.2 billion in 2012.

RAISE was founded on the idea that rather than being mutually exclusive, business goals and social goals can and should go hand-in-hand to solve major environmental and humanitarian problems.  The company taps into a for-profit's existing network of customers and suppliers to create what it calls a "social ecosystem" with the power to achieve a sustainable social impact.  Social ecosystems are teams of organizations with common goals working in collaboration to fight hunger, poverty, homelessness, injustice, disease and other social problems around the world. The ecosystem is more powerful than individual companies operating on their own.

"While companies are doing great things through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, they are often done in a vacuum without respect to overarching goals of the corporation, its brand, its culture and its footprint," said RAISE Founder and CEO Carol McKown. "Integration into the DNA of the company is what's missing."  RAISE helps resolve that problem by identifying initiatives that grow naturally out of an organization's underlying purpose, McKown said.

BCD Travel has long practiced CSR. In partnering with RAISE, the company is looking throughout the organization and across its relationships for new ways to make a sustainable impact. As a global TMC, BCD Travel has established business relationships with thousands of global companies across nearly every sector – transportation, medicine, building supplies, finance, technology, media and many others. Together, BCD Travel and RAISE will identify key clients, suppliers and nonprofits across these sectors to facilitate ecosystems that make business sense for all involved and take advantage of their respective resources and strengths.

One surprising aspect of social innovation is the benefit it brings to a company's bottom line.  Some of the most successful brands place purpose as a priority and are known for that. RAISE helps companies harness shared passion and purpose in a greater good to reach new clients, strengthen relationships with existing clients and recruit top talent.

"Our owner and management team believe that responsible business is a powerful force for alleviating social ills and creating human prosperity," said John Snyder, BCD Travel global president and COO. "From our earliest days, BCD Travel has joined its employees in contributing to worthy social causes in communities where we do business – out of gratitude for our success and a desire to give back."

"We see an opportunity to be more systematic in our approach," Snyder said. "With the help of RAISE, we will connect with like-minded companies and accomplish much more than we all could do in isolation."

About RAISE Global Services

The purpose of RAISE (Responsible Alliance in Social Enterprise) is to begin a movement to build social innovation into the core business strategies of global for-profit organizations. We believe the only way to accomplish real impact in solving major environmental and humanitarian problems is for corporations to take responsibility in being a part of the solution. Integrating RAISE social innovation programs into the very DNA of a company makes for a better and more sustainable future. Companies cannot achieve, in isolation, maximum impact for positive growth and change. For more information, visit www.raiseglobalservices.com.

About BCD Travel

BCD Travel helps companies make the most of what they spend on travel. For travelers, this means keeping them safe and productive, and equipping them to make good choices on the road. For travel and procurement managers, it means advising them on how to grow the value of their travel program. For executives, we ensure that the travel program supports company objectives. In short, we help our clients travel smart and achieve more. We make this happen in 97 countries with 11,000 creative, committed and experienced people. And it's how we maintain an industry-leading client-retention rate of more than 95%, with 2012 sales of US$21.2 billion. For more information, visit www.bcdtravel.com.

SOURCE RAISE Global Services; BCD Travel