The Impact Innovator Awards were introduced this year at the Fortune Impact Initiative 2024 conference. These awards honor standout companies from our Change the World list with under $1 billion in revenue but immense potential to create a transformative global impact.
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00:00Hi everyone. Thank you so much for joining us this evening and thank you for making the 2024 Impact Initiative a fabulous gathering so far.
00:09Our conversations today have been the perfect blend of fresh perspectives and actionable concepts, and we appreciate all of your stellar insights, so thank you.
00:19We would also like to thank our founding partner, Everfi from Blackbaud, for co-hosting tonight's program.
00:25This evening, our focus is on people and organizations that are having a positive impact on their worlds and beyond.
00:32In just a short while, we'll talk about the effort to end the epidemic of gun violence in America.
00:38We'll hear from three people who have had heartbreaking and alarming personal stories on how gun violence changed their lives forever.
00:44Family members of the rapper Takeoff, who was shot and killed almost two years ago,
00:49and Greg Jackson Jr., the first-ever Deputy Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
00:55We'll learn how they're using their experiences to help create safer communities for us all.
01:00Also this evening, we're pleased to recognize organizations that have been doing notable and impactful work.
01:07Every year, Fortune releases our Change the World list, which we're proud to say is now in its 10th year.
01:14This year's list just published on September 25th, so please check it out online.
01:18And you can also find it in our latest magazine issue, which is on newsstands next week.
01:23The Change the World list highlights companies that have achieved measurable, innovative, sustainable social impact as part of their profit-making activities.
01:32This year, Fortune selected 52 companies out of a pool of more than 250 nominees.
01:38They're making a difference by protecting the planet, enhancing public health, and expanding human rights and economic opportunity.
01:45Congratulations to all of the organizations on our list that have done so.
01:49And in addition to this year's list, we are thrilled to announce the Fortune Impact Innovator Awards.
01:55The recipients of these awards are up-and-coming innovators, actually from our Change the World list,
02:00that have under $1 billion in revenue, but have the potential to make a big impact globally.
02:06This is the first year that these awards are being presented, and we're pleased to have with us Dale Strange,
02:12President and SVP of Corporate Impact at Blackbaud, to do the honors.
02:15So, welcome, Dale, to the stage.
02:24Thank you, Kristen.
02:25Thanks so much.
02:25And hello, friends.
02:27It's great to be with you all.
02:29As Kristen mentioned, my name is Dale Strange, and I have the honor of being the President of Blackbaud's Corporate Impact Division,
02:36which is made up of two amazing companies, EverFi from Blackbaud, as well as YourCost from Blackbaud.
02:42And it is an honor to be with you all tonight.
02:46One thing that we know is that social impact is not about just one particular initiative.
02:52True social impact is comprehensive, it's holistic, and it's engaging communities as well as engaging employees.
03:00And I think we could all agree in this room that a corporation has an obligation not just to its shareholders, but also to all of the other stakeholders,
03:09customers, employees, suppliers, and members of the communities that we all live in and serve.
03:17Within Blackbaud, we have an institute, the Blackbaud Institute, and that institute does a lot of work on the trends of particular giving.
03:26And we've recently done work to examine the behaviors and trends of Gen Z.
03:32Stop by our booth, by the way, if you want to learn more about that.
03:34We have an amazing team here who would love to talk with you about it.
03:37But one of the things that we know is younger generations agree and are absolutely expecting companies to be serving their communities.
03:46Millennials as well.
03:48Millennials and Gen Z want to buy from and work for companies that share their values.
03:55Within the work that we do as an institute, we recently learned that after learning a brand supports a social cause or is socially responsible,
04:0485% of Gen Z consumers are likely to trust it, 84% are likely to buy its products, and 82% are likely to recommend that brand to friends and family.
04:16But millennials also care about this work.
04:1964% of millennials won't take a job if their employer doesn't have a strong CSR policy.
04:25And 83% would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues.
04:32So the work that all of you are doing is so incredibly important.
04:36We also know that almost eight in every 10 Gen Z workers say it's important for them to work for an organization for which the values are aligned,
04:44making purpose the number one driver in career decisions amongst this group.
04:49So never has the work that we all do been more important than where we are today and the work that you all are doing day in and day out.
04:57For all of us here at Blackbaud, it has been an incredible honor over the last few years to be a founding partner of the Fortune Impact Initiative
05:05and to be part of this group of amazing and dedicated professionals.
05:09Like all of you, we believe that social impact is a business imperative, and that's why I am so incredibly honored tonight to be here with you
05:16and to be able to present the winners of the Fortune Impact Innovator Awards.
05:21Our first recipient this evening is a company that works to protect pollinators and, in turn, is working to help sustain the global food supply.
05:30BeWise uses artificial intelligence and precision robotics to monitor and care for bee colonies in real time in autonomous beehives.
05:39And in doing so, the company says that its hives have saved more than 150 million bees, which are helping to pollinate more than...
05:48Yes, we can applaud for that.
05:53And that work is helping to pollinate more than 250,000 acres of crops every year.
05:59Joining us to accept the award tonight is Ty Nikolaopoulos, Vice President of Marketing at BeWise.
06:05Ty, please join me on stage.
06:08Congratulations.
06:19Congratulations.
06:26Let's see.
06:29For you.
06:42Perfectly placed.
06:43Thank you so much to Fortune for recognizing BeWise's work to save bees.
06:48It's such an honor to be in this room full of so many leaders doing so much to impact our world positively.
06:56So, what am I doing here with you?
07:00I'm here to talk to you about how we can be a better place for bees.
07:04I'm here to talk to you about how we can be a better place for bees.
07:09So, what am I doing here with you?
07:13I think that we all have heard that we have to save the bees.
07:16But why?
07:18Well, 75% of the crops that we eat depend on bees for pollination.
07:25But every year, 50% of those commercially managed hives that pollinate your food collapse.
07:33And it's a lot of things that's causing it.
07:38We all experienced extreme weather as we were planning our trips here to Atlanta.
07:43That kind of climate change-related once-in-a-lifetime event that now happens all the time, it's
07:47catastrophic for bees, but it's other things too.
07:50It's monoculture.
07:51It's pesticides.
07:52It's poor nutrition.
07:54It's really contagious pests and parasites.
07:57And what's worse is beekeepers aren't in a good position to help.
08:02They have a skilled labor crisis where they can't find the right talent to help them.
08:08And their hives can be hundreds of miles apart.
08:10So the help that bees get is always too little or too late.
08:15And that's been devastating until today.
08:20At BeeWise, we're using computer vision and advanced robotics to be able to remotely scan
08:27and inspect hives, take action when there's threats automatically, and respond in real-time.
08:35The net result that we've seen is a 70% reduction in colony loss, and we've been able to save
08:42millions of bees.
08:45And what's even better, and what makes me so happy to come to work every day, is that
08:50we do well by doing good.
08:52So I want to dedicate this award to the growers who pollinate with us, to the beekeepers who
08:58produce honey with us, and to the corporates who are bringing our bee homes to their campuses
09:03as part of biodiversity initiatives.
09:06Thank you and good night.
09:18Thank you, Tai, for that amazing and impactful work.
09:22Our next recipient is a digital platform that helps consumers compare prescription drug prices.
09:29You probably are all very familiar with the name that I'm about to mention.
09:33GoodRx collaborates with insurance providers and pharmacies to secure discounts for its
09:37customers, and according to GoodRx, these efforts resulted in $15 billion worth of savings
09:43for patients in 2023 alone.
09:47We congratulate GoodRx on making the list, and we are so pleased to honor the company's
09:51impact this evening.
09:53Accepting the award is GoodRx co-founder, Doug Hirsch.
09:56Doug, please join me on stage.
10:05Congratulations.
10:28Well, first of all, thank you, everybody.
10:30Thank you, Fortune, for this wonderful award.
10:34I've heard a lot today about just how people teach this and how people learn and bring
10:40it and make it part of your company, and I guess we were just born that way.
10:44I started GoodRx because I walked into a Walgreens in Santa Monica, California, and they wanted
10:47500 bucks for a prescription, and I just said, that's crazy, and I went to the Rite Aid down
10:52the street, and I went to the CVS and found out that prices varied.
10:56My first thought was, okay, 500 bucks is a lot for me, but think about how many Americans
11:00simply just won't fill their medications and then have all the follow-on effects, which
11:04is not just about them.
11:06It's about the entire economy.
11:07It's about, I mean, literally entire populations.
11:10And so here we are 15 years later.
11:12GoodRx has saved consumers, I think, about 75 billion now.
11:22We are just literally doing our part every day.
11:24We work very closely with doctors.
11:26We work very closely.
11:27We have a non-profit arm called GoodRx Helps that helps people who just can't even afford
11:30the few dollars when we can help you.
11:33Even when we can help you save, there's more that can be saved.
11:35But for me, it all just comes down to that initial experience.
11:37I'm just trying to connect people with the healthcare because we all deserve quality
11:41healthcare, and we're just going to continue to do that, and that's really the mission
11:44of the company.
11:45It will always be the mission of the company.
11:46So thank you guys, and I'm going to get back to work.
11:57Bye.
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