Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is typically described as self-regulation that is part of a corporation's

business model and strategic plan. In a perfect world, CSR means that a business monitors itself to make sure
it adheres to legal, ethical, environmental, and international standards across its operations.
he more visible aspect of CSR is a corporation's willingness to promote and support community,
national, and global causes. Corporations do this through corporate philanthropy, cause-related marketing, and
sponsorships. CSR aspires to honor people, planet, profits...in that order.
WAYS TO PROMOTE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
I CORPORATE P!ILANT!ROPY
Corporate philanthropy or corporate giving is the act of corporations donating some of their profits, or
their resources, to non-profit organi!ations.
Corporate giving is often handled by the corporation, directly, or it may be done through a company
foundation.
Corporations most commonly donate cash, but they also donate the use of their facilities, property,
services, or advertising support. hey may also set up employee volunteer groups that then donate
their time.
Corporations give to all kinds of non-profit groups, from education and the arts to human services and
the environment.
II CA"SE RELATE# MAR$ETIN%
Cause-related marketing, or CR", has e#ploded in recent years even though it is a relatively young concept. It
began, on a national scale, in the early $%&'s when (merican )#press *oined with the non-profit group that
was raising funds to restore the Statue of +iberty.
(merican )#press gave a portion of every purchase through their credit card to the endeavor and an additional
amount for every new application that resulted in a new credit card customer. he company also launched a ,-
million advertising campaign.
he results are now legendary. the Restoration /und raised over ,$.0 million and (merican )#press card use
rose 102. 3ew card applications increased -42 over the previous year. (ll this was accomplished with a
three-month campaign.
)veryone involved was a winner...the non-profit cause received needed funds, (merican )#press increased
sales of its product and achieved a reputation for social responsibility. (merican )#press even trademarked
the term 5cause-related marketing.5
3ow, companies are fully embracing what is called 5doing well while doing good.5 Cause-related marketing
may becoming the principal way that businesses e#press their social responsibility. 6ne industry group
estimates that in 1''4 cause-related marketing spending was ,$.'& billion. 7ack in $%%', when the group
started keeping figures, that spending was only ,$14 million.
!o& 'oes it &or()
here are now many versions of cause-related marketing, but basically it is an agreement between a business
entity and a non-profit to raise money for a particular cause. he business entity e#pects to profit by this
arrangement by selling more products and by en*oying the 5halo5 affect of being associated with a respected
non-profit or cause.
( cause-related marketing program is not an anonymous or low-key donation to a non-profit but one that lets
the public know that this corporation is socially responsible and interested in the same causes that its
consumers are. he non-profit benefits both financially and through a higher public profile as a result of its
partner's marketing efforts.
Cause-related marketing campaigns have blossomed over the last few years and can appear in a variety of
interesting forms. 8ocelyne 9aw, in her book Cause Marketing for Non-profits, lists some of the more popular.
Pro'*ct sales. hink of the :Red; campaign which has brought together many companies to sell
specially branded products :a red <ap -shirt or a red i=od for instance;with a portion of the selling
price going to the <lobal /und for >I?@(I9S prevention.
P*rc+ase Pl*s. his is a campaign waged at the checkout line at grocery stores or other retail venues.
ypically a customer is asked if he would like to add a donation to his bill. he amounts are usually low
enough for most people to say yes. he store processes the money and gives it to the non-profit with
which it has partnered. =romotion of the cause is usually pretty low-key but that makes these programs
easy to set up and they are Auick so a business can respond to, say, a natural disaster in a timely way.
Licensin, o- t+e non.pro-it/s lo,o0 bran'0 an' assets. +icensing runs the gamut from products that
are e#tensions of the non-profit's mission to using its logo on promotional items such as -shirts, mugs,
and credit cards to having the non-profit provide a certification or commendation of particular products.
(n e#ample of the latter is the (merican >eart (ssociation which provides recognition for products that
meet their standards for heart health.
Cobran'e' e1ents an' pro,ra2s. =robably the best known e#ample of a cobranded event is the
Susan <. Bomen 5race for the cure.5 ( cobranded program is e#emplified by a +ondon Children's
"useum that teamed up with the C" company to build and outfit a science gallery for children. he
involvement of the corporation in this program is deeper than the usual 5sponsorship5 with scientists
from the company involved in helping with the e#hibits to the company's employees serving as
volunteers.
Social or p*blic ser1ice 2ar(etin, pro,ra2s. Social marketing involves the use of marketing
principles and techniAues to encourage behavior change in a particular audience. (n e#ample is the
partnership of the (merican Cancer Society and 3ovartis, on their <reat (merican Smokeout.
!o& is ca*se.relate' 2ar(etin, 'i--erent -ro2 corporate p+ilant+ropy an' corporate sponsors+ips)
Corporate philanthropy takes place through direct monetary gifts to a non-profit. It is often made through the
corporation's own foundation. hese donations are usually for a particular program that the non-profit will run
and can be of short or long duration.
Corporate sponsorship is a bit closer to cause marketing since the corporation gives the non-profit money to
hold an event, run an art e#hibit, or other time-limited activity. he funds may come from the community
relations budget of the corporation or the marketing budget and the corporation e#pects a certain amount of
publicity in the way of signage, =S(s, promotional materials etc.
W+at are t+e a'1anta,es o- ca*se.relate' 2ar(etin,)
here are advantages for both non-profit and business. /or business, cause-related marketing proves that it is
socially responsible, and provides great public awareness of its values and willingness to support good causes.
/or the non-profit, the contributions from a cause-related marketing pro*ect can be significant, and those funds
are usually unrestricted so even overhead costs can be supported by them. 7esides actual monetary benefit is
the intangible value of the publicity and advertising that usually accompanies a cause-related marketing
program, which is often done by the corporation's public relations and marketing departments.
W+at are t+e ne,ati1es o- ca*se.relate' 2ar(etin,)
here is always the possibility that one of the entities involved :non-profit or corporation; will do something that
hurts its reputation. In that case, the other party may be perceived negatively as well. /or that reason,
corporations and non-profits should choose their partners wisely.
In addition there has been considerable concern about non-profits lending their good names to for-profit
activities. 9oes it weaken the trustworthiness of a non-profitD 9oes it blur the lines between business and
philanthropyD Could a non-profit 5sell out5 by lending its support to products that are less than benign for the
publicD hese Auestions continue to be debated by both fundraising and marketing professionals.
oday, there is also a potential problem given that there are so many cause-related marketing programs. The
Chronicle of Philanthropy made these caveats about the Auestion.
"erchandising deals are not appropriate for *ust any charity. he ones that do well have significant
name recognition or e#pertise in a particular topic.
It can take up to two years of research, negotiation, and product development before an organi!ation
reali!es any profit.
oo many charities pursuing high profile deals can result in 5cause clutter.5 Consumers may grow tired
of the constant appeals to buy things to support good causes.
( recent survey by the leading cause marketing firm, Cone, found that while C' percent of surveyed
consumers in 1''- said they would pay more for a product if it supports a good cause, a follow-up
survey more recently showed that only $- percent of consumers say they would do so.
III SPONSORS!IPS
)very year, corporations spend millions of dollars on cause-related marketing and event sponsorships.
Enfortunately, many non-profits don't have a clue about how to approach a potential sponsor, prepare the
information needed, and persuade a sponsor to *oin them in a mutually beneficial pro*ect.
6rgani!ations that become good corporate sponsorship partners reali!e that sponsorship is a business deal,
not a donation. hey also learn that the skills involved in securing good corporate sponsorships are different
from those that work in everyday fundraising.