Five reasons to be optimistic about 2021
By: David Hessekiel, President, Engage for Good
We’re all thrilled to see 2020 come to an end but predictions of a long, hard winter still loom large. With a vaccine rollout imminent, we’re cautiously optimistic that a new year will bring new possibilities for the social impact space. Here are five reasons to be optimistic about 2021 that will keep your heart hopeful this holiday season:
1) More than half of U.S. CEOs surveyed in the CEO Confidence Index believe there will be increases in hiring over the next 12 months. This is the highest proportion since December 2018, a clear sign that business leaders are optimistic we have now turned a corner in this pandemic.
2) Large companies aren’t the only ones feeling jolly this December. A new survey from GGV Capital and Hello Alice of small and medium-sized business owners describes their outlook for 2021 as “optimistic” and reports that SMB owners expect an uptick in hiring, technology purchases, and overall growth.
3) Start-Ups are also feeling the glow. Venture firms have raised record levels of capital and a strong stock market has enabled more I.P.O.s. Start-ups secured $36.5 billion in funding in the third quarter, up 30% from 2019, according to CB Insights.
4) Retail sales are rebounding due to continued consumer resilience, said the National Retail Federation. Holiday sales during November and December will increase between 3.6 percent and 5.2 percent over 2019 – an incredible accomplishment amidst a global pandemic.
5) Combine this strong business sentiment with an ever-expanding consumer and employee desire for purpose-focused engagement and you have a recipe for a red-letter social impact year in 2021.
David Hessekiel, President, Engage for Good
Engage for Good President (formerly Cause Marketing Forum) David Hessekiel came to the field of “doing well by doing good” after years of volunteering for good causes and a career in journalism, publishing and consumer marketing.
In the months after 9/11, he identified a growing business need: a clearinghouse where corporations and nonprofits would find the building blocks of cause marketing success. That “Eureka!” moment led him to found the Cause Marketing Forum (now Engage for Good), the world’s leading resource on building mutually-beneficial business/nonprofit alliances.
Since 2002, the company’s events, online offerings and membership program have helped thousands of executives gain the practical knowledge they need to succeed, make valuable connections, and honor outstanding accomplishments in this expanding field.
His single-minded concentration on cause marketing and corporate social initiatives has quickly made David one of the field’s leading authorities, frequently quoted in leading publications such as The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Adweek, The Chronicle of Philanthropy and PRWeek. A popular speaker, David has addressed nonprofit and business groups in the US and abroad.
The recipient of a BA from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, David’s background in journalism, magazine management, consumer marketing and the dot.com world equipped him to launch Engage for Good. He lives in Rye, New York with his wife Andrea.
