Spotlight on a team member - Laura Dosanjh
What or who inspires you to get out of bed every morning?
My work is really important to me. It’s an opportunity to contribute to something beyond myself.
My two children are hugely supportive of my belief in making a lasting change and working with colleagues to take an idea, however difficult, and attempt to make the world a better place. They give me a fresh outlook on the world and help me look at the world from their eyes – their hope and enthusiasm is inspiring.
What is your favourite thing about your role at CAF?
We have a great team of inspiring corporate advisors with a strong sense of purpose. This enables us to create solutions that really work for our clients and help drive positive social change. I feel really rewarded every day that we can take a gem of idea and work it through: creating something that has lasting impact. I have particularly enjoyed getting involved in thought leadership and events. At CAF we work with so many corporate donors and charities and have a very diverse network which enables us to stage some interesting conversations and capture and share insights.
Through my work as an advisor I am able to meet people who are pioneers within their companies, “intrapreneurs” who are passionate about helping others. Many of these people are truly leading edge, and bring strong beliefs and values to make the world a better place. Like much of the charity sector CAF is very entrepreneurial. The team here is professional and diverse and it’s a privilege being able to work with colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds who have such a strong sense of purpose.
Where’s the most interesting place you have travelled to?
Probably Delphi, Greece. It’s a place of ideas and beliefs and was seen as the centre of the world in its heyday. You could say it was a remarkably successful social enterprise! Delphi inspired rulers, poets and musicians and celebrated many of the greatest human achievements in the arts and sports. It’s in ruins today, but the views are spectacular and you can really let your imagination fill in what it might have been like in ancient times. As a place it left a big impression on me.
Who would you invite to a dinner party
All the friends who have supported me throughout my life, to say a massive thank you. My friendships are one of my proudest achievements. I’d have to warn them though, I’m no cook, and so it would be more of a party than a dinner party and could involve some very wide ranging conversation - and even wider taste in music!
What corporate responsibility (CR) trends do you see emerging?
There is more and more scrutiny and challenge – both within companies over tight budgets but also to find schemes that make the most impact. I think this is a good thing. It makes it a challenging and interesting time for people working in the field.
There are all sorts of reasons why I think corporate responsibility is an idea whose time has come and there should be more opportunities than ever before to make the business case for investing companies’ money, time and assets in social change. With the emergence of more purpose-led business models, we are seeing companies bringing CR more into the mainstream of the business and potentially having a wider reach than ever before.
It’s great to see companies bringing a strategic lens to CR, using models such as systems thinking, working out where their business can best make a difference in society at a greater scale than ever before.