January 08, 2008
Are Corporate-Nonprofit Partnerships Doomed?
Intel and the nonprofit project, One Laptop Per Child, have officially parted ways, ending a collaboration that was marked by controversy almost from the start. And now some nonprofit observers are wondering whether this is a sign that charities should be more cautious in how they work with business.
The Wall Street Journal last week reported that Intel was frustrated by constraints the nonprofit organization put on the company when it was devising its own approach to selling laptops in developing countries and decided to stop working with One Laptop.
Jack Siegel, the Chicago author of Charity Governance, writes that Intel was right to put its business needs first. But more important, he says, the failed alliance is a sign that the “so-called new philanthropy” that encourages partnerships between “innovative” nonprofit groups and businesses is unrealistic and unwise.
Mr. Siegel says such partnerships are typically viewed by businesses as “nothing but marketing campaigns to build goodwill with the public.” When pushed, companies will seek to advance their edge in the marketplace and “managers are always going to choose profits, abandoning charity.”
He says he wonders whether even “innovative” nonprofit groups “might be better off following the traditional route of seeking grants from corporate foundations” rather than looking to create alliances that may pit the goals of a business against the goals of a nonprofit cause.
What do you think? Are corporate partnerships effective for charities? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.
—Sonya Behnke
Comments
Commenting is closed for this article.
Previous: Talk Online With Philanthropy Experts
Next: Is Graduate School Worthwhile?
Before we condem corporate partnerships based on the example of the One Lap Top situation, it is important to look at the role of ego (on both sides of the table) when these partnerships are developed. It is clear the stated goals didn’t really live up to their intention. It isn’t really provide one lap top for every child, it’s provide my lap to to every child.
Take a look at the amazing work that Nike is doing with Doernbecher Children’s Hospital: http://www.nikebiz.com/media/pr/2007/11/09_Doernbeccher.html/ The goals are totally clear.
Or the very innovative work of nau: http://nau.com/. Deep, rich partnerships there too.
Corporations and Nonprofits absolutely will thrive when they work to a common social profit with clear goals.
Egos, egos are another story.
— Sean Cooxle Jan 8, 05:19 PM #
This case isn’t dispositive either way. The main contributor to failure here was direct competition: OLPC & Intel were providing substantially similar goods to the same market, which is not typical of a successful FP/NFP partnership.
For OLPC to be a harbinger of partnerships’ doom it would have to have lost more than just the partner against whom it is competing. OLPC continues to have a positive working relationship with other businesses, such as eBay, Amazon and News Corp. More than anything, IMHO, this story is an example of what can happen with untempered optimism in strategic planning.
— Jeff Trexler Jan 9, 12:04 AM #
There’s a swell documentary out there called “The Corporation.” One of its most salient points is that publicly held corporations have a legal obligation to create profit for shareholders, and that the boards of said companies are liable for any activity that cannot ultimately lead to increasing profit. Seems like maybe the time and place to participate in partnerships is when goals and values align well, and get out when they don’t. The corporation will always value money and have profit as its primary motive, so NPOs are looking for alignment of their mission with what will be a secondary value/goal system within the corporation. I’m reasonably sure that good can come of it, and that generalizations are not particularly useful. Insurance companies increase profits when they increase they safety and stability in a community, reduce crime, and encourage safe driving and healthy lifestyles. They also increase profit by denying legitimate claims. Whether to partner with them depends on what your mission is, your core values, and who you serve.
— Chris Casquilho Jan 11, 10:15 AM #
Corporate partnerships are not doomed at all. I am impressed every day with the kinds of gifts that I see businesses giving to the organization I work for every day. I think especially at the mid-size business and private ownership level there are a lot of businesses out there that give a lot of money outside of marketing dollars
http://www.asmallchange.net/?p=21
— Jason Jan 12, 02:36 AM #