A new report has highlighted corporate philanthropy as a key tool in solving some of today’s social problems. The report comes from The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) - a US-based international corporate philanthropy forum - and it emphasises the need for businesses to “bring social and business goals together into one mutually reinforcing business strategy.” The report includes a poll of corporate CEOs which suggests that over the next decade, 50% believe they should drive the solutions to social problems and 42% believe proactive collaboration is needed. Jake Hayman, CEO here at The Social Investment Consultancy commented on the report saying, “In the UK, companies are moving away from the traditional mode of philanthropy, simply writing cheques to charities, and engaging in smarter ways of working with resources they already have to increase the impact of their giving. Smarter working often means working in partnership with charities, finding creative ways to use the core skills a business already has to meet social goals and finding ways of improving brand recognition and customer engagement.”
For many this will come as welcome news at a time when some big corporations have been accused of taking a short-term profit-focused approach to business rather than a long-term sustainable approach to society as well as their bottom line.
Read the full article at PhilanthropyUK.org
