In reading this article in The Jerusalem Post, which talks about the LA Dodgers and their sponsorship of the Maccabiah in Israel this summer, I started thinking about corporate citizenship and why corporations feel the need the sponsor pet projects. Are the corporations expecting a return on this investment or is it altruistic?
Obviously, there are companies that spend their money on lobbying government for items that benefit them: immigrant issues (for cheaper labor), corporate tax issues, emissions enforcement, etc.
Those items are certainly not done only in the interest of the common good. The companies ceratinly can benefit from those issues, when laws are passed or amended.
But, what about corporations that support Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children, Catalyst and others?
There is even a for profit company that offers services on good corporate citizenship. It is called GoodCorporation. They themselves donate 5% of their profits to deserving organizations.
Cisco's CEO, John Chambers, says that the definition of capitalism is changing. The successful companies and individuals need to give back and it is indeed the right thing to do, but is also fundamentally good for business.
In a country, like Israel, where over 21% of the population lives below the poverty line (Source: CIA World Factbook), is enough being done by Israeli businesses to meet the responsibilities of a good corporate citizen?
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