26
2013Philanthropy as Corporate R&D
A Posting by James V. Toscano In the current issue of McKinsey’s Voices on Society, Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company and current chair of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, writes that corporate philanthropy, in addition to helping individuals, “can help reduce business risk, open up new markets, engage employees, build the brand, reduce costs, advance technology and deliver competitive returns.” To Conant, philanthropy is a “discovery phase in investment in a social issue….Much like R&D, philanthropy allows companies to make thoughtful investments in sectors where the return profile is typically more speculative.” In his thinking, philanthropy is…
01
2013
Guest Post – Flaws in the Social Impact Bond Craze
A Post from Jon Pratt, Executive Director, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Social Impact Bonds is a concept that is definitely at a taking-off point, with some big money and very well-known supporters (Rockefeller Foundation, Kennedy School of Government, McKinsey, New York Mayor Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, etc.). However fast growing the Social Impact Bond promotion, there are several reasons to closely examine and question the claims made for SIBs: First, it’s easy to see why this idea is attractive — if it could deliver more resources and better results, what public official or taxpayer wouldn’t be for it? It is also…