Whether they are volunteering, helping fund community-based projects or working to strengthen public-private partnerships such as United Way, more companies are taking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seriously and investing in communities where they are located.

Here are some examples:

U.S. Bank works closely with United Way and its partners in communities across the United States to provide financial education, affordable housing and more. United Way is U.S. Bank’s largest grant recipient and sole partner of the annual employee giving campaign. Employees are encouraged to volunteer through eight hours of paid time off. In 2010, more than 36,000 employees volunteered.

Microsoft provides software and cash grants and employee fundraising—overall providing $14.3 million in cash, software and in-kind donations to United Way in 2010. Plus, when its employees volunteer more than 10 hours for an eligible organization (employees volunteered 363,000 hours last year), Microsoft provides a $17 matching donation for every volunteer hour.

Bank of America employees volunteered more than 1 million hours last year. The bank was also the first financial institution to support the United Way Financial Stability Partnership, with $4.5 million in grants over the past few years, plus employee volunteers, providing free tax preparation and filing assistance, resulting in $2 billion in total tax refunds, reinvested into communities.

Procter & Gamble works each year to touch and improve lives around the world through its partnership with United Way. Last year, P&G employees joined together to participate in more than 145 volunteer events. Since 2007, more than 300 million children worldwide have benefited from the company’s Live, Learn and Thrive Program.

Dominion granted $24 million and partnered with United Way to provide heating assistance in 2010. Last year, Dominion employees volunteered 150,000 hours.

To learn more, visit http://liveunited.org/soa.

Good news about jobs:

Texas, it seems, remains a magnet for corporations. There are a variety of reasons why companies move, including:

• Economic conditions (the cost of doing business)
• Transportation hubs (seaports, rail, interstates, airports)
• Employee talent pool
• Quality of life
• Housing.

Anyone wondering where in Texas to relocate a business can consider this: Forbes magazine named Fort Bend No. 1 on its “Best Places to Get Ahead” list.

“Business is thriving in Fort Bend,” says Jeff Wiley, president of the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council. “Companies relocating to Fort Bend appreciate our low tax burden and highly trained workforce. Their employees enjoy award-winning master-planned communities, no state income tax and a high quality of life.”

Business Diversity
The County is home to a variety of industries, from high-tech computer firm Texas Instruments and innovative game creator TimeGate, to global brands such as Minute Maid and Schlumberger. Education, hospitality, manufacturing and distribution sectors have joined energy sector companies in creating a diverse employment base.

Talent Pool
A quality education is a major motivator for workforce recruitment and achievement. Fort Bend’s colleges-which include the University of Houston System-offer affordable two- and four-year degrees. Innovative partnerships among the university, community colleges and businesses result in best-in-class graduates who enter the workforce prepared for real-world jobs.

Pro-Business Environment
The County offers a wide variety of incentives to qualified businesses, which help corporate decision makers choose Fort Bend. “Fort Bend County is a pro-business community,” says Wiley. “Corporations considering relocation examine a number of factors. Fort Bend-with its low cost of doing business, location, talent force, regional access and high quality of life amenities-consistently rises to the top of the list.”

Learn More
For more information, visit http://www.fortbendcounty.com.

Henok Tesfaye’s dream to be a parking operator all started on one of the most historic and prestigious streets in the country. U Street in Washington D.C. is known for its vibrant culture and world famous restaurants. This same street, however, had a distinct lack of parking available. Henok recognized this as an opportunity to service the community and embark on his life long dream. The first asset acquired by U Street Parking was incorporated in 1998. Today, U Street Parking Inc., has matured into the leading minority owned parking management firm in the country.

Henok resides in Virginia with his wife and two children.

Built in a just few hours and launched on Saturday,

What if there was a magic formula anyone could use to create an Internet sensation?

That’s what the founders of LaunchRock may have discovered during a frenzied weekend of hacking and self-promotion.

While brainstorming ways to make new websites “go viral,” the trio of web entrepreneurs stumbled upon a seductively simple idea:

• Create a “coming soon” page before a website launches.
• Promise access to the future website for anyone who signs up themselves and at least three friends.

“We saw this formula work with websites like Hipster and Forkly and thought to ourselves, why not enable every website to do this?” said Jameson Detweiler, co-founder of LaunchRock. “It’s like inviting someone to a party as long as they bring their friends.”

To test the concept, LaunchRock took a page from the pharmaceutical industry’s playbook and tested their product on themselves.

Over the Philly Startup Weekend, the LaunchRock team created a simple “coming soon” page for themselves and then, over the next four days, proceeded to earn over 25,000 visits to their website and over 2,200 mentions on Facebook and Twitter.

The story quickly got the attention of the tech press, who proclaimed it the end of the Internet and a sure sign of the next tech bubble. So much so it was on the front page of TechCrunch! Each of these stories drove more people to LaunchRock’s website and pushed their signup numbers higher and higher.

Now LaunchRock is opening up their hype machine to other startups. Naturally, they are starting with those startups who referred the most signups to LaunchRock.

Will it Work for Your Company?
You better get in line quickly (and invite some friends while you’re at it) if you want to find out. In the meantime, all eyes are on this new startup, which is surely one of the most meta, self-referential and self-aggrandizing the world has seen. At least in the last two weeks.

Unfortunately, she kept encountering plastic bags. Like most moms, she found she needed something to package her kids’ snacks — both for school and activities. When she couldn’t find a suitable alternative, she set out to create her own.

Using her sewing machine and fabric from the local store, she made bags for her children. Soon after, her friends began asking if she could make some for them as well.

And just like that, Earth Swag was born.

The Earth Swag line consists of two products that replace the need for plastic bags. They are constructed of bacteria-inhibiting cotton that is machine-washable, water and stain-resistant. The bags have no plastic coating or liner — and contain no phthalates, lead, PVC or polyurethane.

Each Earth Swag item purchased has the potential to keep hundreds of plastic baggies out of the oceans, streams, and landfills each year. Earth Swag has partnered with Carbonfund to offset their carbon footprint, and the business is committed to green practices.

The product line includes:
1. a set of 2 snack baggies, (7” X 7”)
2. a sandwich wrap that opens up to a place mat (14” X 14”)

Both products are available in Bug or Flower print.

For more information, visit Earth Swag on the web at http://earthswag.com.

Within 24-hours, the Grantham Flood Support has raised $10,000 through raffle ticket sales and donations. The Facebook page has nearly 1500 fans.

One of the fund’s mandates is that all proceeds raised are directed to Grantham and surrounding areas. Ms Barros assures, “As a resident, I will be making sure every cent ends up in the Lockyer Valley helping flood victims.”

The Lockyer Valley Regional Council has thrown it’s weight behind the cause as an official supporter.

“Little Grantham, a town of less than 1000 people, is counting more bodies than Brisbane. It really is the ‘ground zero’ of the flood disaster,” Ms Barros explains. “The town is completely gone and we’ll have to go through months of rebuilding just to have a home again.”

Individuals and businesses able to make a donation to ‘Grantham Flood Support’ can do so at the website, http://www.granthamfloodsupport.com.

Donations of all denominations are appreciated.

Consultation from the Grantham community will be sought to identify projects worthwhile funding and the final decision will be made by a committee of Grantham residents.

Show Your Support and Get Business-Building Help Free!

We hope that you will join us in offering support for the Grantham Flood victims. As our way of saying “thanks” for joining us in supporting this great cause, we’ll provide you with some helpful business-building tools for free!

Simply forward your Paypal receipt to us at submissions [at] esbjournal.com (remove spaces and replace with @ symbol), with Grantham Flood Support in the subject line. We’ll gladly forward your thank you gifts immediately by email.

• Donate $20 – Receive Traci’s Propabranda Brandstorm & Evaluation Worksheets (a $22.50 value).

• Donate $40 – Receive Traci’s Propabranda Brandstorm & Evaluation Worksheets AND Brand Positioning Worksheets (a $45 value).

• Donate $100 – Receive a FREE 1-hour Skype consultation with Traci, on your choice of topic (branding, affiliate marketing, positioning, web marketing, press releases, publicity, social media). This is a $150 value.

We will also be updating this page to include a list of supporting businesses, and link them to your blog or Facebook fan page.

Can’t donate? You can still help. Please retweet this page, and share the information with your clients, friends and family. Thank you!

“WomenOnCall.org makes it easy to get involved with issues and organizations that I believe in,” said member Laura-Ashley Barnes, who has volunteered her graphic design skills to a number of non-profits. “The website has made it possible for me to fit volunteering into my busy schedule and give back to the community.”

WomenOnCall.org is a free online network that connects non-profits that have specific volunteer opportunities with women who want to share their professional skills and expertise with non-profits. The website makes it simple for women to find meaningful volunteer opportunities nationwide.

Retaining professionals, such as a lawyer or accountant, can be costly, especially with rates often exceeding $200 per hour. Yet, there are occasions when non-profits can leverage these highly skilled professionals for short, high-impact volunteer opportunities. For example, through WomenOnCall.org, a lawyer could review and provide feedback for a memorandum of understanding, a graphic designer could develop a brochure, or a writer could edit a monthly newsletter.

The win-win experience provides non-profits access to needed professional assistance. At the same time, women, whether working, in between jobs, stay-at-home moms or retired, can keep their skills sharp and utilize their professional skills while networking with wonderful organizations.

“There are so many things to do when starting a non-profit,” said Elizabeth Leibovitz of Childreach International USA. “WomenOnCall.org provided me with fantastic professional resources that I would not have otherwise had access to if this community of volunteers did not exist.”

“WomenOnCall.org was founded because we recognize that time is a premium for professional women and that given the right match of volunteer skills and opportunity, just one hour of service a week has the potential to positively impact people’s lives,” said WomenOnCall.org Founder Margot Pritzker. “This thinking continues to ring true as we expand to connect women and non-profits across the country.”

Launched in 2006 in Chicago, WomenOnCall.org has thousands of members and hundreds of participating non-profits-and this now-national network continues to grow.

Here’s how it works. Volunteers register on the site and provide details about their skills and experience and their preferred time commitment, including if they are willing to volunteer virtually. Non-profits are able to view volunteer profiles and initiate a connection through a secure e-mail system. Volunteers can then accept or decline an opportunity, at which time volunteers can communicate directly with the non-profit. WomenOnCall.org does not provide non-profits with volunteers’ personal contact information.

“More and more, we’re seeing virtual connections being made, which allow busy women to volunteer while traveling or from home in the evening,” said Pritzker. “Virtual volunteering allows our non-profit members to engage our nationwide network of skilled volunteers.”

For more information on WomenOnCall.org, connect online at http://www.WomenOnCall.org, Facebook , or on Twitter.

Businesses of any size can give. For example, Dapple, a pioneer in natural cleaners, got the break it needed to get off the ground when the start-up company won the Yahoo! Small Business’ Seeds for Success program in 2008. The program provided Dapple free Yahoo! Web Hosting services, cash prizes, and expert advice from top business mentors.

Dapple began its business with a mission: to create a line of products that were natural and safe for babies but were also targeted to clean tough messes.

Remembering the amount of help it took to get started, including the help of several pediatricians, a team of green chemists, support from friends, and expertise from Yahoo! Small Business, Dapple now “pays it forward” in a variety of ways. From career mentorship to financial donations, Dapple founders Tamar Rosenthal and Dana Rubinstein are focused on giving back as often as they can.

The duo also hopes to inspire other companies to give back by providing the following ideas:

• Ask customers which causes are most important to them, and then create a special donation section on the company website featuring the relevant links and logos

• Organize a charitable event or fundraiser that involves the company, employees and community;

• Donate products and proceeds to organizations that map back to your company’s mission.

Although many small businesses have limited resources, the most important thing to remember in giving back is to support a cause that is important to your organization and employees. For example, Dapple’s mission is to keep families safe and healthy, so it supports organizations like March of Dimes, Midwives Association of Florida, Safe Kids Upstate, and Moms Offering Moms Support.

With one act of kindness, an individual or business can make a difference in someone’s life. And before you know it, a “Ripple of Kindness” has been created. For Dapple, it started with the mentorship provided by Yahoo! Small Business and continues with waves of giving by them.

For more information about how you can start your own “Ripple of Kindness,” visit http://www.kindness.yahoo.com or http://www.dapplebaby.com and see how one company does it day in and day out.

These dedicated farmers are making a difference thanks in part to a program from Monsanto Fund called America’s Farmers Grow Communities. This program provides farmers with a chance to win $2,500 for their favorite local nonprofit organization.

For Iowa farmer Jerry Varenhorst, his rural community has been “a great place to live and raise a family.”

Varenhorst farms 600 acres of corn and soybeans on his family operation in Le Mars, Iowa. He was named the Plymouth County, Iowa, winner for a pilot program.

“I chose the Good Samaritan Society, a nursing home facility where many local retired farmers are residents, including my father,” Varenhorst says.

Third-generation family farmer Allen Berryman, winner from Hobbsville, N.C., elected to direct his prize to the FFA youth agriculture organization.

“I chose the Chowan County FFA chapter because my 17-year-old daughter, Emily, is the local secretary,” he says. “The FFA has done so much good for my daughter and she absolutely loves it. Because of it, she has been able to travel to a lot of different places and meet new people.”

The chapter plans on using the funds to help students pay their FFA dues, which have gone up in recent years.

Now farmers in more than 1,200 counties across 38 states will be able to help grow their communities by more than $3 million.

Eligible farmers can sign up online at http://www.growcommunities.com until Dec. 31, 2010. Farmers age 21 and over who are actively engaged in farming a minimum of 250 acres of corn, soybeans and/or cotton or 40 acres of open-field vegetables or at least 10 acres of tomatoes, peppers and/or cucumbers grown in protected culture are eligible. One winner will be randomly selected for each eligible county.

As a bonus for each eligible farmer who signs up, Monsanto Fund will also donate $1 to the United Way to help fight hunger in their community.

Five years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast

Silk Road Collection, a New Orleans-based seller of antique Chinese furniture, lost most of its customer base when Hurricane Katrina shattered tourism in the region. They needed to find new sources of clients and revenue. Then Yahoo! Small Business sent a team of volunteers to the region to help Gulf Coast businesses get back on their feet. The team built 150 online stores for free in one day, including an online store for Silk Road Collection. Today, online sales account for 80 percent of overall sales for this Asian antiques company.

Lessons Learned Over Five Years
Even five years after Hurricane Katrina, Silk Road Collection will never forget the volunteers from Yahoo! Small Business who created its online store and helped put it back in business.

“We are thankful to everyone who helped New Orleans over the last five years, so we want to share the business lessons we’ve learned since opening our online store,” said Robert Turner, co-owner of Silk Road Collection. Tips include:

Pursue your passion. Whether you’re starting a new business or looking to fine-tune your existing one, you’ll be more successful if you sell products and services you love. The enthusiasm will be contagious!

Seek trusted advisers and partners. From your website to your accounting services, seek the help of trusted brands and trusted advisers.

If you’re starting a new business, consider minimizing the startup costs. Online storefronts can cost as little as $40/month to start up.

Communicate with your customers. Make sure you capture e-mail and physical addresses, when possible, to enable you to develop long-term relationships with your customers. Should disaster strike, as it did for Silk Road, having e-mail addresses would still allow you to communicate with your customers, even if they moved, as did many residents after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes.

Make sure customers can find you. Today, having a website and being listed on local online sites is a must for businesses whose customers want to be able to research them online.

Learn More
Learn more at http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com and http://SilkRoadCollection.com.