We wish to thank Kevin Kaminyar, founder and CEO of Yellow Tree Marketing, for sending in the following thoughts on how to grow your company and strengthen your brand with a corporate responsibility program:
"With conscious consumerism growing and the importance to businesses of embracing their role as players in an increasingly interconnected world, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs are on the rise. However, beyond limiting potential impact, improper implementation can harm the company, and even the cause it has chosen to champion.
"As CEO of Yellow Tree Marketing, www.yellowtree.co, I oversaw the design and implementation of our CSR program following these three simple steps:
"First, don't overthink it. Pick an initiative that is simple, yet concrete and impactful. We wanted to build our CSR program around climate change mitigation. Rather than worry about solving it alone, we chose a simple mission—planting trees. While each tree will have a small impact, the CSR program's impact can (and literally will) grow over time.
"Second, once you have chosen your initiative choose the right plan of action and/or mission partner. We plant a tree for every new client. We plant a tree for every month they stay with us. And to do this, we chose to partner with One Tree Planted, https://onetreeplanted.org - no need to reinvent the wheel.
"Finally, use your brand messaging to drive a call to action to inspire more impactful change. At Yellow Tree, it is in our name and our branding, and has become inextricably linked to our identity. If the initiative behind your program becomes part of your corporate identity, your company, your CSR program and its impact will all grow together.
"By following these three simple steps, you can align your company with a social responsibility program that speaks to you, your employees and your clients, and—most importantly—allows you to have a true and lasting beneficial impact."
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the effectiveness of CSR programs and how payments businesses can employ them effectively. Email us at greensheet@greensheet.com. 
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