THE QUESTION
Dead philanthropy?
In an era when business leaders are retooling their mission and methods to be more socially responsible, and social entrepreneurs are using market mechanisms to solve social problems, is corporate philanthropy still relevant?
Posted by Steve Pearlstein and Raju Narisetti on November 17, 2009 5:48 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Venture capital over charity
Would the funds that go to philanthropy be better spent as venture capital to create new products and jobs? When it comes to creating public goods, the greatest corporate contributions are employment and good products.
Posted by Michael Maccoby, on November 19, 2009 3:22 PM
The best of corporate philanthropy
As is the case with most leadership challenges, marshaling support in corporate philanthropy for investments that may not pay off until the long-term is the toughest task of all.
Posted by Bill Shore, on November 19, 2009 10:52 AM
Big cities, corporate solutions
The philanthropy that has served cities well in recent years is that which helps bring together government agencies, local charities and other groups to address hard-to-solve problems.
Posted by Kurt Schmoke, on November 18, 2009 3:26 PM
Defining corporate citizenship
One of the obligations of corporate citizenship is to provide philanthropic support for important "social goods" where neither the market nor the government do an adequate job.
Posted by Benjamin W. Heineman, Jr., on November 18, 2009 12:24 PM
Dividends of giving
Stock price mostly indicates past performance; it might not indicate where a company is going. Philanthropy, on the other hand, is very much about the future.
Posted by Yash Gupta, on November 17, 2009 10:20 AM
Getting our hands dirty
Today, employees and leaders want to be engaged--humanly engaged, peer-to-peer, with those whom we are helping.
Posted by Barry Salzberg, on November 17, 2009 10:15 AM
What profit can't solve
Making social problems a business focus is great, but what happens when addressing social issues is no longer seen as profitable? We still need corporate philanthropy.
Posted by Coro Fellows, on November 17, 2009 7:02 AM
The biggest dollars
Rather than focusing a small percentage of revenue toward philanthropy, companies should be examining the impact of their product and how they spend the bigger dollars.
Posted by Seth Goldman, on November 17, 2009 6:50 AM
Too many chicken dinners
For corporations to be relevant in promoting social good, they should start with this question: "What would it look like for our company to exercise civic leadership?"
Posted by Ed O'Malley, on November 17, 2009 6:44 AM
'So long, sucker'
The behaviors of many big banks portends a return to an economy of risky behavior, where companies seem to salute no flag but their own corporate logo and worship no God but the almighty dollar.
Posted by Andy Stern, on November 17, 2009 6:33 AM
Milton Friedman's mistake
Thoughtful corporate philanthropy, like that practiced by Target, Wal Mart, Merck, Novartis, Exxon, Goldman Sachs and many other companies is capitalism at its best.
Posted by Bill George, on November 17, 2009 6:30 AM
Acid test of strategy
Sharp distinctions between how you do business and how you serve society, how you make money and how you make a contribution, are irrelevant.
Posted by William C. Taylor, on November 17, 2009 6:11 AM
Lending talent
Corporate philanthropy is not just about money, but about lending human talent and organizational capabilities not available elsewhere.
Posted by Angel Cabrera, on November 17, 2009 6:06 AM
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billwald: A business CEO takes money from the stockholders and gives it to a professional do-gooder? How many American jobs did he send to China in t...
pest07: It is quite pleasing to see this discussion today. I just finished spending a few hours online over the last few days reviewing the George ...
