In chapter 3 of Forces for Good, Crutchfield and Grant write about the opportunities of partnering with corporations. Organizations can greatly increase their impact, as long as the accompanying challenges of corporate partnerships are also addressed. One of these challenges, the possibility of a conflict of interest between the political advocacy of the organization and that of the corporation, made me think of the conflict between Target and Best Buy and some of their customers that began last summer.
Last July, the public became aware of Target's donation of $150,000 to MN Forward, a political expendature group that ran advertising to promote the Republican gubernatorial candidate who had a track-record of opposing gay rights. Best Buy also donated $100,000 to MN Forward. Both corporations noted that they supported MN Forward's policies directed toward creating jobs, and not necessarily all other policies. Nonetheless, various gay rights groups and customers called for a boycott of Target, leading the organizations to re-evaluate their political giving policies. Here are some articles that detail the situation.
Although I could not find articles dealing with Target and Best Buy's nonprofit partners and their reactions to the corporation's actions, I know that both companies do work with organizations quite a bit. Both Target's partners and Best Buy's partners include organizations (such as United Way) that are careful to remain bipartisan so as to not to alienate their stakeholders, who are oftentimes from varied backgrounds. Although the partner organizations did not seem to be affected much by this particular case, it does illustrate the challenges that could be present in partnering with corporations.
Do you think this sort of situation could present difficulties for organizations that have partnered with the corporations?
Hi Hayley. I see where this is a clear example of not being bipartisan and stake holders took a real issue with them. It also shows that consumers have alot of influence over policy as well because both companies rethought their giving policies. These challenges are going to be interesting to navigate once we are in these arenas.
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate that beneficiaries of large corporations like Target and Best Buy support causes are that discriminatory. Hopefully the negative press and the ethics of supporting groups like MN Forward will make corporations think twice.
ReplyDeleteHonestly though, I do not think that that would stop me from soliciting Target or Best buy for donations if I were a nonprofit. Actually getting donations from the big “box mart” stores is difficult for small nonprofits though. When my undergraduate Exhibition Planning Class met with Bill Gorman from the Broome County United Cultural Fund (which donates money to local cultural organizations) a couple of years ago, he mentioned how hard it was to get donations from many of the “local” businesses because they weren’t really local: so many are owned by people or (mainly) parent companies that are out of town. NYSEG for example stopped donating to the United Cultural Fund after Iberdrola, a Spanish company, purchased them.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/state_oks_46b_purchase_of_nyse.html
If you want to take a look at the United Cultural Fund’s donor list, you can see that none of the big box mart stores have donated, which is too bad.
http://www.bcartscouncil.com/donors.htm
Hi Haley, I also see how this is problematic like the rest of you. Like Andrea, I would have to agree that nonprofits are unlikely to stop soliciting these large chains. Do nonprofits have the power and means to say "no thanks" to big donors? I'm not sure they do. In somewhat related news, there is a story on yahoo news this morning that predicts Best Buy has tough times ahead.
ReplyDeleteAlthough corporations like Best Buy and Target can get themselves into trouble by openly supporting controversial issues, I'm not so sure this is the case. Haley's post stated that MN Forward donated money, but not necessarily for anti-gay rights. It was to support a candidate who has certain views on gay rights, but by no means are these companies openly supporting the exact beliefs as the conservative politician.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that events like this may cause non-profits to think twice before tapping into for profit organizations like Best Buy and Target. As I stated in a previous post, the non-profits should heavily rely on these businesses for support. I agree with Andrea and Robin that it's almost impossible to turn down money from such donors, especially in economic times like this.
Chapter 3 illustrates too many examples of successful partnerships between non-profits and corporate donors. The positives outweigh the negatives I would think. To me the most prime example is the The City Year and T-Mobile partnership, (p. 69) where the donation of Black Berries and free Internet services for the local non-profits and schools to better serve the community.
Hayley, This was an interesting post. I have been aware of the community giving of both Best Buy and Target, but had not heard about this story. I think the challenge nonprofits will face when partnering with business is that, even if a business supports the mission of a nonprofit, that mission is not the sole purpose of the business. At the end of the day, a business exists to make a profit, so while it may provide funding, support, and work for nonprofits, businesses cannot neccessarily be trusted to act in ways that always honor the missions and goals of the nonprofits with whom they partner.
ReplyDelete