Is Corporate Philanthropy Dead as We Know It? Senay Ataselim-Yilmaz - The Huffington Post
go to original October 27, 2013

The value of corporate philanthropy is a topic of ongoing and vigorous discussion. That was especially the case at this year's Independent Sector conference. One of the most intriguing panels titled: "Beyond Checkbook Philanthropy" debated whether corporations should lead social progress directly by engaging their enormous capacity rather than just doing plain corporate philanthropy. The attendees of the panel agreed with my premise that shared value ventures would be a better fit for corporations rather than just writing a check as it encompasses core strengths such as talent and infrastructure. However, philanthropy needs to maintain its role in development as it's a response to social problems that cannot be always addressed within markets.

From the early on at the panel, it was noted that shared value initiative is not philanthropy. Yet, philanthropy can be an incubator in the process. Through shared value initiatives corporations do not only socially invest towards societal needs but they also make profit out of it. Harvard Business Review of Jan/Feb 2011 cover story, "How to Fix Capitalism," which made the term, creating shared value, popular, defines it as a wave of innovation and growth to fix capitalism. As I listened to the panelists, I struggled with the question of, "What if the market cannot provide a solution to the social problem?" Then, the question that was obviously in the minds of many others in the room was asked, followed by a round table applause: "Should corporations abandon philanthropy all together and address social issues only through 'shared value' initiatives? What if the markets cannot provide a solution? Is corporate philanthropy, as we know it, dead?"

Read the rest at The Huffington Post

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