Donating that Benefits the Donor
“In almost any gift-giving situation, there is some expectation of return, whether is it a tax deduction, a named building, or an enhanced reputation. That’s why anonymous gift giving is so rare. 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. For a gift to be genuinely altruistic in nature, that is, for it to demonstrate other-centered love, it must have benefit to the recipient as its primary motive and purpose, but not necessarily its only motivation or purpose. Therefore, strategic or “smart” giving may be regarded as ethical.”
from: Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning. Christians, Clifford. 2001.
The above quote explains that those who donate often do so with intentions of receiving something in return. Anonnymous gift giving is not very common because the donator must do so with only the recepients benefit in mind. The quote also explains that gift giving with the donors interest in mind is not a bad thing, in fact, it is considered ethical.
I believe the quote posted above is completely true. No matter what the intention, donations are always going to be positive. The recipient benefits because they are gaining something at no cost, but the donor benefits as well.The donor benefits by gaining respect from the public. Donors can also promote there product threw donating, which is called strategic giving. Below are several examples of strategic giving.
- The Home Depot uses there employees and products to help build houses for Habitat for Humanity. I believe this is strategic giving that benefits the Home Depot because people will view the company as ethical and caring. Once people have this positive image of the company embedded in there mind, they are more likely to visit Home Depot instead of its competitors.
- Exxon/Mobile uses a tiger as there corporate logo and donates large amounts to help protect tigers. This is also strategic giving because it creates something memorable in the consumers mind. Donating always puts a positive image in the consumers mind, so every time they see the tiger logo, they will incorporate it with the donations the company has made.
- The Sony Corporation uses strategic giving as well. They are very focused on spreading art and education to less fortunate communities. They also encourage there employees to volunteer in these communities. This is strategic giving because people will view Sony as an ethical company amongst its competition.
Below is a video example of strategic giving. It shows how the Ronald McDonald Foundation benefits the company as well as the people of Nepal.
If you would like to learn more about strategic giving, check out the three links posted below.
- Companies that Use Strategic Giving
- Charitable Giving at Major Corporations
- Benefits of Corporate Philanthropy
