A Call for Cross-Sector Partnership




Charles H.  Moore
Executive Director
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

February 28, 2011-- Today, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) is leading the celebration of International Corporate Philanthropy Day, a global advocacy day created to mobilize the business community and others with a stake in the positive role that companies play in helping to address pressing societal problems.   It’s a day of sharing best practices, communicating progress on established programs, forging new partnerships, and recognizing the importance of collectively addressing the pressing challenges of today—and tomorrow.

Celebrating International Corporate Philanthropy Day

 

 

Jean Case
CEO
The Case Foundation
Guest Contributor, CECP Blog

February 28, 2011 -- I’ve long been a believer that the corporate sector has the potential to play a key—indeed, essential—role in addressing complex social problems. As creators of new products and markets, companies play a vital role in our nation’s success, creating jobs and ensuring our competitiveness. But the corporate role doesn’t stop there. Companies also play a critical role in the development of communities, and in tackling social challenges.

Stephanie Strom of The New York Times Analyzes the Social Innovation Efforts of Google and PepsiCo




Charles H.  Moore
Executive Director
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

February 24, 2011-- As a fervent believer in the power of corporations to advance progress on societal issues, I read with great interest the sharp critique of Google DotOrg’s philanthropic track record that Stephanie Strom of The New York Times co-authored with Miguel Helft in late January of this year.  That piece enumerated the implementation challenges faced by the DotOrg business unit of Google in its quest to flex the company’s creativity and innovation toward solutions to climate change, global poverty, and global pandemics, among other pressing issues.  Those challenges ranged from a reported lack of executive leadership, difficulty integrating philanthropic staff into cross functional teams within the firm, and frustration with the long timeframe required for achieving change on societal issues.  As someone who has worked directly with the CEOs of leading companies on their philanthropic endeavors for the past ten years, I felt some sympathy for Google as I made my way through the timeline of disappointments (Google is not a member company): I know from experience that selecting the right societal issues on which to focus is deceptively hard for companies, and implementing the best of intentions related to those issues is much harder still.