When I was a little girl, my mother (crook in neck from her head long pressed against the glass ceiling) etched a clear mantra into my impressionable mind: “It’s not what’s on the outside, but what’s in your head and in your heart that counts.” So…instead of the normal body image complexes that plague many women, I have spent my life wondering, am I smart enough? Am I GOOD enough? Am I kind enough? Am I learning? Am I teaching? Am I giving back?

Apparently the C-level execs at many successful companies had mothers like mine, too. Along with flexibility and global environmental responsibility, many are working a message about corporate goodness and giving into the stories they tell–to both internal and external customers.

Target is giving a percent of weekly sales to fund community projects. SunTrust recently launched a “My Cause” campaign that lets account openers give $100 to their favorite non-profits. IBM has adopted a new program whereby its employees can, for regular pay, head out on a ”giving back” sabbatical; they have also created a World Community Grid that lets you donate idle computing time to do things like improve weather projections in Africa and research the spread of infectious disease. Barney’s showcased Rudolf the Recycling Reindeer (made of soda cans and pop tops) in its holiday windows. And have you noticed that ”service” is the watchword in the current presidential political campaign?

Check out this article in HBR for more info on companies that count giving back as a key corporate priority: Transforming Giants: What kind of company makes it its business to make the world a better place?