With all the money that organizations receive, what do they do with it? Many organizations will do philanthropy. As the book, Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning said, “Giving always occurs within a social context that makes a gift reciprocal in nature. Perhaps corporations that give with some expectation of return are only being more strategic and explicit than predecessors who gave with equal expectations but said less about it – or who gave without planning.

Strategic philanthropy is defined as the long-term socially responsible contribution of dollars, volunteers, products and expertise to a cause aligned with the strategic business goals of an organization.

One example of this would be Home Depot. Home Depot employees and volunteers use materials from their stores to build homes for Habitat for Humanity. This is strategic philanthropy giving because it is a long-term cause that uses their own supplies to help the cause. The cause helps Home Depot because it gets out the word that Home Depot is a helpful organization that uses their own money to help others in need.

One example of an organization that uses philanthropy, but not strategic is Exxon/Mobile. The corporate logo features a Tiger, and the company donates large sums to help protect tigers and their environment. This is considered philanthropy because it is donating to a cause. However, it is not strategic cause it exactly volunteering for the cause and it is not exactly a goal for the company. This organization does their business in oil, not wildlife, the two are not related.

Another example of an organization that uses strategic philanthropy would be Starbucks. Starbucks is one of the most charitable organizations in existence right now. They have donated money to RED (AIDS treatment), and even countries where they get their coffee from. The latter is an example of strategic philanthropy because it is a long term cause that will help the organization in the future.

Home Depot Foundation Award of Excellence Video.

Credit to HFHSL on youtube.