Consumers expect a lot (well, relative to before that is) of corporates these days, and philanthropy is still a big part of the corporate response. McKinsey has published a Global Survey on The state of corporate philanthropy, which tells us that a small group of respondents say their companies are reaching beyond traditional corporate goals for philanthropy programs to pursue more concrete business goals, such as gaining information on potential markets. Based on this survey, here is my breakdown of expectations corporates’ have from their philanthropy programmes:

- 100% expect to meet social impact and stakeholder expectations
- 90% expect to deliver corporate reputation and brand benefits
- 80% expect to find new business opportunities
- 30% expect to build knowledge about potential new markets

Given my usual frustration with corporate philanthropy - that it doesn’t relate enough to core business activities - this is good news! It does seems like things are moving in the right direction. In January I was checking out the Economist CSR Special Report which mentioned a few savvy examples:

1. TNT has an emergency response programme called ‘Moving the World’ which is part of a five-year old partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN agency that fights hunger. The TNT teams are able to respond more quickly to emergencies like the Asian tsunami, as well as helping improve food supply-chains in places. What’s great is that this is what they know best: hunger is in part a logistical problem!

2. Coca-Cola has identified water conservation as critical to its future as the world’s largest drinks company. Last year it announced an ambitious collaboration with a heavy-weight environmental NGO, WWF, to conserve seven major fresh-water river basins.

3. Standard Chartered Bank is working with the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) on microfinance and with other NGOs on a campaign to help 10 million blind people.

One result of corporates looking to integrate philanthropy with their growth strategy is that straightforward ‘cash donations’ have become less important. For example, at IBM (one of the top ‘givers’) cash has gone down from making up 95% of total ‘philanthropic giving’ to now only about 35%. And according to BusinessWeek in Nov 2007, one technological innovation that IBM initially developed to use in its philanthropy program brought in more than $100 million in 2006 revenue, after it was offered to paying customers. Actual revenues from philanthropy?!