2007 Corporate Philanthropy Institute
Program Summary
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May 17, 2007
9am to 4pm
Kaiser Permanente Headquarters
One Kaiser Plaza
Oakland, CA |
On May 17th, the Kaiser Permanente headquarters conference center in Oakland was packed with corporate philanthropy leaders from Northern California and beyond, eager to learn and share strategies at the 2007 Corporate Philanthropy Institute. This year's theme, identified by a Steering Committee of NCG's corporate members, was: Integrated Corporate Philanthropy: Leveraging All Your Company's Assets.
After welcomes by NCG CEO Colin Lacon and Corporate Contributions Roundtable Chair Carrie Varoquiers of McKesson Foundation, host Ray Baxter of Kaiser Permanente, gave an overview of Kaiser's Community Benefit Program. He emphasized the many ways that Kaiser is integrating their efforts, including expanded health coverage, safety net partnerships, community grants, and community health initiatives to slow obesity and reduce preventable disease. Baxter also noted Kaiser's organizational practices of a strong labor management partnership, environmental responsibility through recycling of obsolete technology, and championing diversity.
Blended Value
Jed Emerson, Senior Fellow, Generation Foundation/Generation Investment Management, set the stage for the day with an energetic keynote introducing the concept of "blended value."According to Emerson, unlike the traditional business value proposition, the blended value proposition interweaves financial return on investment with social return on investment. Emerson wryly noted that asset owners and corporate managers should avoid, "the rape, pillage, philanthropy syndrome," where return to community follows perceived damage to the community by the business. Instead, they should seek to draw upon all forms of capital (human, social, financial, environmental) and a broader array of investment instruments to generate multiple returns on their investment and maximize overall blended value. Financial tools include traditional grants, recoverable grants, program-related investing, private equity investing, asset alignment of corpus with mission, proxy voting and corporate engagement. Emerson shared examples of companies using this wider toolkit. Current metrics for assessing impact focus upon economic value…what is on or off the balance sheet. He noted new metrics seeking to track and capture not only traditional economic value, but also social and environmental value.
Panel Discussion: Integration Live
Emerson then facilitated an "Integration Live" Panel Discussion with several corporate practitioners. Suzanne DiBianca, noted how Salesforce.com has expanded their integrated approach of 1% equity, 1% profit, and 1% time to include new initiatives providing incentives to their suppliers to implement the 1% formula and a commitment to make the company "carbon neutral." Salesforce also uses their product to support microfinance and shares business practices with non-profits. Their integration challenges include engaging the time-squeezed middle managers. Aaron Hunt described Home Depot's program and its four focus areas: play spaces, gathering places, affordable and transitional housing, and disaster relief---all related to their core business of building homes and communities. He noted the rewards and challenges of their three-year partnership with Kaboom, a non-profit working to build 1000 playgrounds in 1000 days in communities across America where Home Depot employees live and work. Their approach engages children, parents, neighborhood leaders, and employees in designing, delivering and maintaining the playgrounds. Managing community expectations can be a formidable challenge. Larry Goldzband highlighted Pacific Gas and Electric Company's screens to achieve an integrated approach, including: Assessing community needs, reaching the underserved, leveraging company employees, operational capacity, and advertising/marketing capacity. He described how these screens were used to produce their Solar Schools Program providing grants, equipment, and curriculum to public schools in underserved communities He noted the policy challenges of setting aside resources for community engagement as a state-regulated company.
After an enjoyable stretch break led by a Kaiser fitness instructor and a lunch of sustainable, locally-grown food, the group was engaged by Mark Kramer, Founder and Managing Director of FSG Social-Impact Advisors, who addressed the link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility, taking extensive questions from participants. Kramer explained that competitive advantage depends on lowering cost or better serving a particular customer niche. Social dimensions represent a new frontier in competitive strategy. He advised companies to lead from their corporate strengths, avoid proscribing community answers, and to choose issues they have the resources to successfully address. Finally, Kramer encouraged corporate leaders to utilize their lobbying muscle in advancing social change in areas they care about.
Integration Case Studies
In the afternoon, participants were given three choices of Integration Case Studies presented by company leaders:
- Kaiser Permanente Case Study "The Food Revolution and Corporate America"
Loel Solomon and Jan Sanders shared Kaiser's vision for a health food system and addressed how Kaiser is using corporate purchasing power and supply chain management to place them on the front lines of changing people's access to fresh, health, and local food. Strategies include holding farmers markets at medical centers, providing locally-sourced fruits and vegetables in cafeterias and patient food trays, stocking vending machines with 100% healthy foods, and working to create a low-cost local food purchasing network in underserved communities. Facilitator Mark Kramer pointed out the advantages Kaiser experienced with a "start small and grow" approach to the development of this important initiative.
- IBM Case Study
Gwyneth Borden gave an overview of IBM's strongly integrated corporate philanthropy approach, which includes various technical toolkits and software applications that are available to employees to use in their volunteer activities and match with IBM grants, She then shared more information on IBMs brand new Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Toolkit, aiming at helping entrepreneurs (especially women and minorities) around the world start businesses. She pointed out how IBM's core competency in technology and technical skills is utilized philanthropically here in a way that also reaches out to a potential new market which may be able to buy IBM products in the future. As a result, the business side (market development) saw the value and has been very supportive, and the IBM sales team is actively aware of it.
- Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Case Study
Sperry Van Ness co-founder and CEO Mark Van Ness presented a case that enabled participants to see how a small or medium-sized business can use corporate social responsibility to fuel its growth. Van Ness identified three important questions CEO's will most likely need answered before they start a corporate social responsibility program:
- What is the economic driver?
- How can you indirectly show that it will make the company look good?
- What is the benefit to the employees?
Through session discussion it was noted that employee participation in corporate philanthropy is increased by "meeting employees where they are with giving" and by inviting groups served to meet with staff and share their stories.
From Ideas to Action: Making Change Happen in your Organization
The next session was led by Steve Rochlin, head of AccountAbility North America. In the day's wrap-up Rochlin noted how integrated community investment enables a business to continuously improve and innovate its performance as a corporate citizen, minimize risks and maximize opportunities to society and to the business and also demonstrate how to make values real. Engaging in dialogue with participants, Rochlin brainstormed over the role that senior executives should play, to whom corporate community investment councils should report, and how to determine strategic priorities. Rochlin's sage advice: Don't wait for permission. Take some risks. Realize that whom you report to will determine the breath and depth of what you can accomplish. Lead both internally and externally. Steer; don't row, but conduct due diligence. Finally, build an accountable network.
Prepared by Judy Berger, Principal, Judy Berger & Associates. Ms. Berger organized the Corporate Philanthropy Institute and is the former Director of Member Services for Northern California Grantmakers.
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Program Information
Conference Materials
- Program Summary
- Agenda
- Resource Guide
- Speaker Biographies
Jed Emerson
Mark Kramer
Steve Rochin
- Presentations
- "Integrated Philanthropy: Maximizing Corporate Philanthropic Impact through a Blended Value Approach"
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- "Strategy & Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Responsibility"
[ PPT ]
- "From Ideas to Action: Making Change Happen in Your Organization"
[ PPT ]
Program Sponsors
NCG acknowledges the generous support of the following sponsors:
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