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The month of March and International Women’s Day is dedicated to remembering the glass-ceiling shattering suffragists, visionaries, and trailblazing women who have fought for equality on behalf of women today, and women of the future. 

Whether you’re a march on Washington activist, a low key petition-signing advocate for equality, or just venturing into your celebration of Women’s History Month for the first time, here are some of our ideas for how to honor the progress the women’s rights movement has made and how to support the goals of the movement today.

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This episode originally aired in April 2020. You can find the full episode & show notes here: 

https://growensemble.com/civic-dinners-jenn-graham/

If you’ve ever been to a sub-par networking event, you’ll know that community-building efforts are only as strong as the people participating and the resources available to ensure a solid connection. 

Building a community is an essential part of any well-functioning team or brand. A supportive community offers value and is key to cultivating employee engagement. So, when a business is fostering new connections and building a community that provides real impact, what are the benefits? What is the shared power in building a community together? 

Civic Dinners is a platform that gives groups the opportunity to host events around a certain topic, and provides them with the resources to do so with ease. Whether an individual is interested in discussing the future of the climate crisis or a company is eager to spark open conversations on neutral ground, Civic Dinners is creating communities rooted in relationships. Founder Jenn Graham’s unique vision has allowed for more than 1,300 dinners to take place. 

In our Re-run Episode with Jenn, we discuss: 

• The story and meaning behind Civic Dinners
• How She and the company are addressing and adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic
• What’s led to Civic Dinners’ momentum and success, having over 1,500 dinners hosted, from New Zealand to Atlanta, and many cities in between since launch.
• Lessons and insights she has learned over the years on successfully fostering civic engagement and community 

Links from the Episode:

• Jenn on Facebook, LinkedIn
• Civic Dinners on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
• Civic Dinners Virtual Happy Hours
• Jasmine Crowe of Goodr

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In this podcast, Grow Ensemble shares the purpose-driven marketing strategy that we’ve used to drive over 86,000 monthly views to our brand here at Grow Ensemble. 

Along with our traffic growth, we’ve:

• Grown our podcast listenership in 2020 by 339% vs. 2019.
• Grown our Better World Weekly Newsletter list by 132% in the last 6 months. 
• All the while paying $0 for ads. We’ve done this entirely with our content marketing strategy (blogs, podcasts, etc.).

How were we able to build this global community of change-makers in 15 months’ time without any ad spending? We follow the Grow Ensemble 4Ps of Purpose-Driven Content Marketing. 

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This episode originally aired in February 2020. You can find the full episode & show notes here: 

https://growensemble.com/home-storytellers-francisco-alejandra-alcala/ 

There’s an inherent power in storytelling. When we watch a film, our bodies physically react by releasing oxytocin and sparking empathy. We identify, mourn with, and feel for the people in the stories we’re hearing about. 

But what if the stories we hear are sad to start, but pivot to being uplifting and enlightening? In many people, that triggers a response to participate in the solution that lifted the character out of treacherous conditions and into a better life. This is how Home Storytellers is shedding light on the solutions surrounding the global refugee crisis. 

By focusing on the incredible potential of these people to succeed and drive change in their new communities, Home Storytellers uniquely brings awareness to the refugee crisis as a whole, through the lens of refugee crisis solutions The nonprofit organization shares uplifting refugee stories to inspire people, businesses, and governments to act in support of refugees becoming self-reliant. Plus, each film partners with a nonprofit organization that is providing aid to displaced peoples for the utmost impact.

In our Re-run Episode with Francisco and Alejandra, we discuss: 

• How Home Storytellers was conceived
• What it’s like to form a family-run organization
• The lessons learned from their first few projects
• How they are hoping to move forward as an organization

Links from the Episode:

• Home Storytellers on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn
• Francisco Alcala on Facebook
• Alejandra Alcala on Instagram, LinkedIn
• Asylum Access
• There is Hope
• Watch Hot Dogs on a Tricycle 
• Watch No Single Origin
• Watch Sawdust Trailer

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This episode originally aired in June 2020. You can find the full episode & show notes here: 

https://growensemble.com/fill-it-forward-matt-wittek/ 

Just about everything we use in our daily lives has been designed and redesigned to meet our needs. In fact, the device you’re reading this post on is a result of product innovation.

At Grow Ensemble, we’ve had the privilege of speaking with entrepreneurs who have completely redesigned systems and products to make the world a better place. But how have they done this? And why? 

It’s because social entrepreneurs have the ability to harness product innovation and scale positive impact. Matt Wittek, the founder and CEO of Fill it Forward, is one of those people.

Matt didn’t set out to create a reusable bottle to compete with other reusable bottle companies. Instead, he set out to make a product that would help reduce plastic pollution, create a community of like-minded everyday philanthropists, and increase clean water access. It all started with a bottle, a phone, and a sticker.

In our Episode with Matt, we discuss:

• His entrepreneurial journey from making a durable water bottle to creating a sustainable movement. 
• The marriage of philanthropy, technology, and product innovation. 
• The reason the company decided to use the bottle as a way to fund clean water projects. 
• The lessons Matt has learned from scaling the company. 

Links from the Episode: 

• Matt on LinkedIn
• Fill it Forward on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, LinkedIn
• WaterAid
• Wine to Water
• Charity Water
• TOMS
• Warby Parker
• KeepCup
• Klean Kanteen
• Thirst

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Welcome to our first Grow Ensemble Community Update of the year! 

Excited to be back with another update here, to share with y’all an inside look of what we are working on at Grow Ensemble. 

Here’s a look at the year to date after February wrapped up. 

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Purchasing trends show that people prioritize environmental impact when buying. Our move towards companies that share our interest in protecting the planet comes at a time when the choice is becoming more and more of a no-brainer.

No matter what we are looking for, there is almost always an option that is comparable in price, equal or better in quality, and doesn’t come at the expense of the planet. Not only are some companies responding to consumer preference, but, excitingly, many are leading the way forward in terms of environmental stewardship.

As companies increasingly label themselves “eco-friendly,” it can be tricky to identify the companies that are truly eco-friendly and those that are merely jumping on the environmental bandwagon for “green marketing.”

But worry not! After a brief discussion of what it means for a business to be truly environmentally sustainable, we will share a list of our favorite companies leading the way in planet-friendly business practices.

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🤩Enter the Giveaway, *HERE*!! 

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Learn about our Biodynamic Wine + Virtual Tasting Giveaway kicking off on February 22nd!  

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This episode originally aired in May 2019. You can find the full episode & show notes here: 

https://growensemble.com/atlasgo-thomas-querton/ 

The most “engaged” employees do the most in their work. Engagement is what motivates an employee to personally invest in their work, think creatively, and contribute enthusiastically. When this only describes 13% of the global workforce, the lack of engagement is worthy of attention and action. 

Unengaged employees have lower productivity, which translates to lower employee satisfaction and lower revenue for your business. So how can you improve employee engagement and cultivate a passionate workforce? By focusing on health, teamwork, and impact of course!

AtlasGO is a tool that companies like Salesforce have used to increase employee engagement through sweaty challenges. Each wellness and fitness challenge completed contributes to nonprofits around the globe and creates a sense of camaraderie among employees. Integrating doing good into work brings purpose and meaning to each day.

The AtlasGO platform successfully lowers barriers to corporate philanthropy and welcomes employee engagement in creating impact. Co-founder Thomas Querton explained on the Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast that sports bring people together from every background—making room for everyone to take part in making a difference.

In our Episode with Thomas, we discuss:

• The importance of defining your own measurements for success and how that plays into the continued development of atlasGO
• How altasGO cultivates a healthy and fun work environment and the strengths of working on a team while building an example conscious business. 
• How to seek out mentors, what steps to take in creating those relationships, and how mentorships have helped Thomas in his growth with atlasGO

Links from the Episode: 

• altasGO on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube
• Thomas on LinkedIn 

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So you’ve heard about the environmental impact of plastic pollution, meat consumption, and food waste, but do you know about the environmental impact of the internet? 

Alarmingly, our digital footprints aren’t as clean as we think. Each spam email, Netflix binge, and Instagram refresh adds up to roughly 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is about the same as the entire airline industry. Let that sink in for a minute, the entire airline industry!

Don’t worry, we’re not saying that you need to stop using the internet (that would be crazy, we’re not crazy). We’re just saying that there’s a smarter, more environmentally-friendly way to be using the internet. Naturally, one company is doing just this by installing ground-breaking technology all around the world that sucks up carbon emissions while releasing oxygen and improving everyone’s health and wellbeing. You may have heard about them: trees. 

Ecosia is the world’s only search engine that uses ad revenue to plant trees, more than 118 million trees since their inception to be exact. In doing this, the company is fighting the negative ramifications of climate change and making a healthier, more livable planet for all. 

In our Episode with Ruby, we discuss:

• The origins of Ecosia, the only search engine that plants trees.
• The benefits of a fully transparent technology company. 
• Ecosia's "200% renewable" status and designation as the first Certified B Corp in Germany. 
• Ecosia's selection process for tree planting partners around the world. 

Links from the Episode:

• Ecosia Search Engine
• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff