New EFG CEO Muneer Panjwani speaking at the 2019 EFG conference
Incoming CEO to Expand Company’s Portfolio and Raise the Bar for Corporate Engagement in Social Causes
Hartford, CT – October 31, 2023 – Engage for Good, the leading company empowering corporate and nonprofit professionals to create mutually beneficial social impact partnerships, announced today that it was acquired by Muneer Panjwani, an expert in corporate-nonprofit partnerships, from Cause Marketing Forum, Inc. Panjwani will serve as the company’s CEO.
“Corporations and nonprofits can play a critical role in addressing society’s biggest challenges, and expanding Engage for Good’s programs is the perfect opportunity to support leaders working in both sectors,” said Panjwani. “I am excited to build on Engage for Good’s loyal community of leaders and empower them to take risks, have hard conversations, and move the needle on national and global issues.”
According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, businesses and NGOs are the most trusted institutions compared to government and media. A 2022 Special Report by Edelman shows that consumers are 4-4.5 times more likely to buy or use a brand if it demonstrates a commitment to social causes. For nonprofits, corporate partnerships present a key opportunity to reach new audiences, and increase funding that sustains their current programs and enables them to invest in new ones.
Engage for Good’s portfolio includes its flagship conference, which is one of the nation’s largest annual gatherings of nonprofit and corporate professionals dedicated to corporate social impact. Each year at the conference the company presents the Halo Awards, the highest honor for corporate social impact initiatives. Throughout the year, the company equips industry experts with tools and resources to succeed, including educational webinars and a podcast featuring topical experts, a monthly newsletter, educational guides, a job board, and more. Engage For Good also fosters a community of thousands of social impact leaders spanning hundreds of organizations via a paid annual membership program.
Through this acquisition, which was supported by Berkshire Bank, Panjwani is committed to equipping social impact leaders with the expertise to build effective corporate-nonprofit partnerships and campaigns in a noisy and evolving landscape. In addition to its national conference, Engage For Good will offer events that bring together focused groups of leaders – such as roundtable discussions, expert panels, and tactical training – to learn from diverse experts from a variety of causes. The company will create more educational content for its members, with a focus on timely and topical issues. Panjwani plans to expand the company’s Halo Awards to celebrate a wider range of social impact activities, and provide strategic guidance to organizations navigating the nuances of social impact partnerships.
David Hessekiel, Founder and Outgoing President of Engage For Good, will serve as an Advisor to Muneer Panjwani through Engage For Good’s May 2024 conference in Minneapolis. Hessekiel will continue to own and operate the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum.
“This exciting transition allows me to pass the torch to an industry expert who is very familiar with Engage For Good’s work and the unique dynamic between corporations and nonprofits,” said Hessekiel. “As our professional paths crossed over the last decade, I got to know Muneer well, and I have every confidence that he will build on Engage For Good’s 22 years of success to take the company to the next level.”
Panjwani continued, “I first attended the Engage for Good conference in 2013 and have gone almost every year since. I credit David and Engage for Good for consistently inspiring me to become a better social impact leader. Over the last decade, Engage For Good offered me access to accomplished leaders who helped me maximize my potential. In many ways, this acquisition is a homecoming.”
**EDITOR’S NOTE**
For editorial purposes, access headshots, bios, and the Engage For Good logo here.
