How Corporations Can Help Charities.
November 17, 2008

RADIO 2CBA FOCAL POINT COMMENTARY BROADCAST ON FRIDAY MAY 19th, 2000 ON RADIO 2CBA FM.

The traditional view of how corporations can help charities is now beginning to change. There is a need to create a better opportunity for partnership between companies and charities.

The Rev Nic Frances, the new Director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence in Melbourne, spoke at last week’s national conference of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. I chaired his session.

The following three points emerged from his presentation and the subsequent discussion. First, it is important that corporations recognize that unemployed people want to work. He gave various examples – as indeed so could Wesley Mission – of the struggles that people make to undertake training so as to get out of their cycle of unemployment and so to get a job. These people are among the heroes of our society. They are taking steps to avoid that their exclusion from society.

The tragedy is that it is too easy for the rest of society to focus on a few people who are content to remain as unemployed and exploit the system. Most people are not in that category. Therefore, business leaders ought to lay off the comments about “dole bludgers”. They could also say to people like the Treasurer Peter Costello, that they want to hear from him a recognition that people are battling to be included in society – rather than his comments about what the Government is doing to crack down on social welfare cheats, which implies that everyone is a welfare cheat.

Second, donations from corporations are important. This is particularly so in an era when governments are cutting back on their expenditure.

Third, the directors of corporations ought to engage with charities to better understand their community. Charities know a lot about the local community.

Nic Frances explained the work he had done in Liverpool, which is one of the most depressed areas in England. His Anglican Church got involved in an innovative system to supply new furniture to people living in council houses (the equivalent of the NSW Housing Commission properties). New furniture makes a “house” more of a “home” and this has encouraged people to stay longer in their new homes and to try harder to make a success of their family life.

The supply of new furniture became a very big business, given the number of council house tenants. His charity was then able to negotiate with the furniture supplier just what was need by the customers. The company had never before had such a close relationship with its customers. Nic Frances’ organization could then advise the supplier on what was wanted and this boosted sales generally.

The furniture company moved beyond being just a donor to the charity and instead became a partner. It was able to use its partnership as a source of publicity. The Rev Nic Frances is well known in England and he was visited by the prime minister. The furniture supplier was also invited to attend the meeting, which also gave him some publicity.

Part of the new era of charities is that companies do not just want to write cheques any more. They want to get involved in other ways. The challenge for charities is to find innovative ways of getting the business sector involved.