Sarah Cooke, Sigma Kappa – Ohio State, is living great in her community of Austin, Texas. Sarah didn’t find it hard to buy into the philosophy of Net Impact, an international NPO based out of San Francisco. Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to make a positive impact on society by growing and strengthening a community of leaders who use business to improve the world. The organization offers a portfolio of programs to educate, equip, and inspire more than 10,000 members to make a tangible difference in their universities, organizations, and communities.

“I had been an online member of the organization for many years, but had not had an opportunity to participate in their student or professional chapters,” Sarah explains. “I did not have direct, first-hand knowledge so when Net Impact approached me about starting a chapter in Austin, Texas, I didn’t say no - but I didn’t say yes immediately.”

Based on her limited knowledge of Net Impact, Sarah believed a chapter could be successful in Austin but was not ready to commit to leading the charge until after she attended the Net Impact Annual Conference. “The breadth and depth of the membership knowledge and their passion was what inspired me to take action,” she says. “This organization, focused on encouraging professionals to use their knowledge and businesses to improve the sustainability of our social and environmental infrastructures, is a natural fit for my personal values.” As founder and president of Net Impact Austin, Sarah is accountable for all Net Impact Austin strategies, operations, and public interface. “We define our own structure and objectives and operate independently from Net Impact, having filed for our own 501c3 status,” she states.

“Through monthly events and consulting engagements, we empower and mobilize individuals who desire to apply their professional skills to further local social, environmental, and economic change,” Sarah explains. “Results are measured, tracked, and reported to ensure that contributions are tangible and meaningful for both members and clients.”

To find out what the people of Austin might want in the Austin chapter of Net Impact, Sarah sent out a membership interest survey that revealed the population was most interested in:

• having a tangible impact on the local community
• sharing knowledge and raising awareness of socio-environmental issues
• expanding professional networks

Based on this information, the leadership team of Net Impact Austin designed a rotating activity model consisting of three types of events: challenge workshops, issue awareness events and networking events. The Challenge Workshop series is a rubber-meets-the-road venue for Net Impact Austin members to apply their professional skills for the improvement of social, environmental and economic conditions in the community. Workshops include group consulting activities to address the current challenges faced by local non-profit and small business clients.

“Our most significant community impact activity, the Challenge Workshop is a custom program developed for Net Impact Austin by its leadership team,” Sarah explains. “Workshop clients are executive leaders of their organizations and engaged with the chapter for 3-4 months. In order to attract clients and set expectations, a client guidebook was created that includes an overview of program objectives, costs, selection criteria, and process maps.”

Issue Awareness events explore socio-environmental issues. The first event was a speaker panel titled Being Green: The Rewards and Challenges of Pursuing Sustainability. According to Sarah, the panel was specially selected to represent the diversity of the ‘green’ movement. “It included an independent consultant with over 30 years of experience, a young fashion designer and non-profit founder, and a Fortune 50 corporate CSR leader.”

Networking events provide for social interaction between members and raise awareness of major NI-C initiatives and programs. “For example,” Sarah says, “in June 2008 we held an event called ‘City-wide Impact at Work Social Hour’ engaging all Net Impact chapters in our region around this important initiative.” A similar event was held this past September to raise awareness and encourage discussion around volunteerism. “I feel it is important to engage directly with others of varying passions and life experiences to develop a more sophisticated frame of reference for your view of the world and the events that occur each day,” Sarah states. “This encourages empathy and understanding in daily interactions and can be achieved through volunteer work, employment, or other life choices.”

Sarah believes leaders who manage volunteers must encourage them to be realistic about their volunteer capacity. “It is important to ‘give back’ but it is not worth sacrificing your sanity, health, or the needs of your loved ones,” she notes. “In addition, it is our obligation to help individuals seek out opportunities that engage their passions. This personal commitment will most enhance the lives of your volunteers and inspire life-long volunteerism, while also maximize return on investment for your organization and its clients.”

Sarah’s hard work with Net Impact Austin has been noticed and rewarded by the Net Impact organization. “In its first year, Net Impact Austin captured every award for which we were eligible to apply,” she says proudly. They were:

• 2008 Rookie Chapter of the Year
• 2008 Professional Member Achievement Award (awarded to member, Shari Carle)
• 2008 Distinguished Member Award (awarded to member, Sarah Cooke)

In addition to leading the startup and operations of Net Impact Austin, Sarah is also on the co-chair of Community Outreach for the women’s networking group at Dell; a participant in the Catalyzing Conscious Capitalism movement; and a Blog Action Day activist (including a 24-hour immersion into the local homeless community), in addition to numerous past volunteer positions and experiences.

For Sarah, Kappa Delta provided a training ground for leadership and networking. “While I was naïve in my role as president of the chapter (as many of us are at 20), that experience provided a foundation for strategy, operations, and leadership which I applied immediately as president of other student groups, in managerial employment roles, and on which I continue to build on today,” she explains. “Everything from recruitment conversation skills to annual scholarship and awards applications directly influenced how I continue to manage myself as a brand, personally and professionally, at 35.”