Pass the Fish -- and Let's Talk

Large-Scale Philanthropy and Big Brands Need Deeper Collaboration

Posted by Eric Henderson on 06.01.09 @ 10:19 AM

Eric Henderson

Traditionally, corporate charitable efforts have been stereotyped as ribbon-cutting photo ops. While that has its benefits, what's really needed is deeper, long-term partnerships between brands and philanthropic efforts, says Eric Henderson of Living Cities.

I appreciate the sentiment in this proverb, though the tread's nearly worn off:

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Corporate community involvement approaches have been most visibly identified with the "give a fish" model. The teaching part has traditionally been perceived as the domain of philanthropic organizations. Regardless of perception, it's now time for both sectors to join minds and forces to work at a higher, more collaborative level.

Traditionally, corporate charitable efforts have been stereotyped as the cutting of ribbons and photo ops with oversize copies of checks. The vulnerability here lies in the strength of that stereotype. It still lives. And consumers are smart enough to accept the real check that lies behind the facsimile but still suspect a company as an interloper.

Let's stop there for a second. I don't think we should stop all of the ribbon cuttings. Imagine that they're standing in front of your house one day after a terrible disaster. We can go beyond cynicism and agree that there's true value in the charity of meeting immediate needs, regardless of motivation.

In short, it's hard to learn to fish on an empty stomach.

However, from there, let's extend our thinking to consider a different way to be involved, i.e., through a philanthropic lens. For our purpose here, philanthropy is "doing good" but at the level of social change in large and complex systems -- turning a bigger wheel to stop problems before they start, which is much easier said than done.

But what would happen if a brand were consciously identified with creating that level of change? Sales. On the strength of the kind of residual awareness and engagement that do not rely on a given campaign.

Sherman Wright, founding partner of independent agency Commonground, adds another dimension, one that fits the tough times we're living in at the moment: "As budgets become more streamlined, it is only natural that organizations look to bridge their philanthropic investments with their marketing efforts for a more cohesive approach in maximizing the so-called 'working' and 'nonworking' dollars. This 'non-siloed' approach also deepens integration across all consumer touch points by aligning how consumers look at a company."

The upshot? Let's make it personal. If I felt and understood that a brand were truly the force behind significant community development where I live, then I'd buy the toothbrush, the shoes and the fizzy drink -- all in one bundle. We're now good neighbors.

I'm not concerned as much with innovation here; building brand equity and goodwill in this context is not a new thing. Avon (via the Avon Foundation) is an object lesson in the power of long-term commitment, having raised more than $660 million for women's causes while deploying a tightly knit brand-management program encompassing those efforts.

Today, however, we have a critical window to revamp en masse our approach to doing good for the brand while doing good for people. At the latest conference of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, 55 CEOs from many of the world's largest companies recognized the need to "elevate and prioritize the social contract" and to "connect their strengths to the acute needs of the communities in which they do business."

We can take a deeper, more intentional approach at the level of big brands and large-scale philanthropy. We can think and work in terms of fundamental social change while playing squarely on the strengths of both sectors.

I have witnessed campaigns in which the team pounds sand to come up with an intricate strategy -- and then unwittingly agrees to leave the community involvement piece out of that strategy session, not when it comes to defining the consumer target but rather when it comes to allocating dollars. "Oh, yes, let's donate $X to this charity in the neighborhood. It fits the interest of consumer we're trying to reach. And we'll do some good to boot." Despite good intentions, this kind of thinking forsakes a real opportunity to do better by the community and the brand.

What, for example, if we were to take a part of the campaign allocation and use it to raise more money through a more intentional collaboration with the right philanthropic or municipal leaders? By collaborate, I mean executing a strategy that is interwoven with brand objectives and that deliberately looks to a longer term. Further, such collaboration engages the noncorporate actors in the planning process directly on their strengths: their own "good name" brands, their missions, their connection to and knowledge of the people they serve, their facility with the complex issues in a given community.

In this scenario, a facsimile check for a few thousand at a ribbon-cutting can take on a second life as leverage to raise many times that amount and be dedicated to longer-term problem solving. The leading foundations and nonprofits are skilled at this model of leverage. Living Cities, a collaboration of 21 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions, has used investments of $500 million to create more than $16 billion in tangible community systems and assets. That is leverage. The current environment should wake us up quickly to the fact that the types of problems we face can't really be met with less than the force of intelligent collaboration of organizations across multiple sectors.

But what's in it for the brand?

The equation can only begin with doing what's right for the brand -- i.e., putting your oxygen mask on before trying to help others. Doing right for the brand in this case means recognizing the business value of engaging consumers on genuine terms that are also recognized as such.

Be (and be seen as) committed, long-term players in the cities and neighborhoods where you do business.

Agencies have traveled this ground for a long time now, being frequently called on to add a community component to major campaigns. I am proposing in broad stroke that agencies make this part of the offering more explicit and much stronger through collaboration and dedicating the same thought work to this component, even treating philanthropic touches in some instances as another media channel measurable by familiar numbers: goodwill contribution, awareness, reach, frequency, purchase intent and whatever else works for you. You won't find a fit for every client or project, but it should at least be considered in the set.

If this sounds too pat, you're on the right trail. I would not underestimate the will and coordination required to execute on this level, and, further, this strategy doesn't apply to every brand. However, if you have a large urban footprint and have ever considered increasing sales based on increasing engagement with specific communities, then there's a good chance I'm talking to you. So please pass the fish, and let's figure out how we can change whole systems for the good of everyone.

6 Comments

  By CINDY | NEW YORK, NY June 2, 2009 08:22:33 am:

Eric - you're talking my language. I am in the process of launching a venture, IfWeRanTheWorld, designed to enable brands and businesses to work together with individuals to do precisely what you're talking about. We were recently blogged by Craig Newmark: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/if-we-ran-the-world-about_b_202894.html - and covered by Wired.com: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/03/yes-we-plan-how/. I would love to meet and talk - please contact me via http://cindygallop.com. I couldn't agree more with everything you say.

Cindy Gallop

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  By ericjhenderson | New York, NY June 2, 2009 10:30:08 am:

Cindy: Most definitely looking forward to moving the conversation forward - will find you at your site. Yes, we're talking the exact same language. Many thanks for the heads-up on your work. I knew there were some critical voices out there already hot on the trail of this topic. All best!

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  By slgrau | KELLER, TX June 2, 2009 05:46:47 pm:

This is great. I do some research in this whole area of CSR and cause marketing. I think that brands need to move beyond simple transactional cause related marketing campaigns and begin to embrace and fully integrate causes into the fabric of their brand. I would also love to talk with both Cindy and Eric. I am on Facebook or you can get me at s.grau@tcu.edu

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  By chuckmay | Dallas, TX June 4, 2009 07:11:00 am:

Well said, Eric!!
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These are exactly the ideas we champion here at Philanthropy World (as Stacy Grau, who commented on this just before us, knows). In fact, about 3 years ago we redefined our own value proposition, and ever since have been telling the world that our primary "product" is NOT a media buy - instead, what we offer is a "Partnership", meant to help any organization (whether for-profit or non-profit) build, strengthen and protect its most valuable relationships, based on a notion of "shared values", values which those being targeted believe they share with those doing the targeting (you cannot MAKE them believe this, nor can you trick them into believing this - this must be "real").
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About 12 months ago, we realized that this offering could be GREATLY enhanced by "pairing" non-profit organizations with very carefully chosen for-profit "Partners", in a comprehensive, multi-touch, multi-modal, multi-media co-branding strategy.
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Believe it or not, at the very moment a friend emailed me the link to Mr. Henderson's comments, I was in a meeting with the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation and the CEO of one of the most respected non-profits in the business of teaching and demonstrating best practices. The purpose of this meeting was to lay out the specific steps as to how those two organizations and we (at Philanthropy World) are going to team, to both teach and demonstrate new "best practices" in corporate philanthropy, all of which are based on this notion of a sustainable and mutually-rewarding "Partnership".
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We are looking forward to helping spread this word, and watching the transformation of this industry happen. These are truly win-win-win ideas.
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Keep up the good work!
.
Charles F. May ("Chuck")
Chairman/CEO
Philanthropy World, Inc.
cmay@philanthropyworld.com

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  By ericjhenderson | New York, NY June 4, 2009 10:29:01 am:

@Chuck. Much obliged for these thoughts. Let's build. (a charge/phrase I shamelessly borrow from Karl Carter of gtm). I see agencies with a distinct opportunity to lead this conversation and convert it to meaningful spend for clients - meaningful on all fronts. Looking forward to keeping in touch. ejh

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  By geetika | Las Vegas, NV August 10, 2009 12:56:30 pm:

"Give a man a fish..." is an oft-heard proverb at our global business and executive coaching firm, ActionCOACH.

Only last week, ActionCOACH officially announced Coaching for a Cause, a global pro bono coaching program that will help charities and non-profits from all walks of life raise donations and better manage their funds.

A positive, personal experience of our CEO and founder, Brad Sugars sparked the idea for this massive, far-reaching program that will be officially launched on October 1, 2009 and run through March 31, 2010. Having coached a charity in the past, Brad was able to see first-hand how coaching can benefit the non-profit sector and the long-term advantage of coaching this sector (adding value) rather than just giving them cash.

For 16 years now, the very foundation of ActionCOACH has been based on the philosophy: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Through Coaching for a Cause, the company will now extend this philosophy to the non-profit sector of the world, so they too can benefit from the tested, proven and systemized methodologies and tools that have helped tens of thousands of businesses around the world generate great results for over a decade and a half now.

This program aims at extending a helping hand to charities and non-profits so they can learn the systems and tools that will enable them to raise funds- even after the coaching contract ends. Instead of just give them cash; the program will coach them on proven and tested systems that will help them raise donations –time and again.

Here's more information on this unique initiative (press release on Fox Business): http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/coaching-cause-launched-largest-gathering-business-coaches-worldwide/

Please also visit the holding site coachingforacause.org, which will show real time results of the coaching program when it starts October 1st.

The goal of Coaching for a Cause is to raise a total of at least $5 million (USD) in additional donations over the six-month period (October, 2009 to March, 2010). In order to accomplish this, our top coaches globally will donate at least 10,000 coaching hours – a value of $2.7 million (USD).

This is a massive program that will teach all types of non-profits and charities to "fish" so they can succeed over and over again.

Please also join us in supporting this far-reaching program on facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/329813/76657323?m=1b2abeb2

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