Corporations make money.Non-profits make the world better. Sun comes up, sun goes down. Right?

Not so much anymore. A new wave of doing good is rising in corporations – one that moves well beyond writing cheques to actually taking action. One that focuses on actually making a difference, not just giving donations as an “add-on” to the business agenda.

In short, passive philanthropy is no longer an acceptable form of ‘doing good’.

Can you think of any companies that are NOT involved in some sort of philanthropy; who do not support a cause financially at least to some degree? It’s difficult. Most big businesses have been participating in philanthropy for many years. But what has been the true purpose of their philanthropy? Our good friends at Wikipedia tell us that philanthropy etymologically means “the love of humanity” – would you say that many businesses have been philanthropic because they love humanity?

Increasingly corporations and non-profits(or more appropriately the individuals who work inside these organizations) are realizing that although money may be changing hands there really isn’t much else happening. That corporate philanthropy is lacking soul.

Fast Co Exist recently featured a post by Katherine Pickus, Divisional VP, Global Citizenship and Policy at Abbott, where she opined about the disappearing barriers between business and non-profits and how it’s driving innovation.

The programs she describes in her article point out how businesses are becoming more involved in the non-profitsand projects that they would have otherwise just funded. They are now offering the expertise of their employees (and giving their employees a chance to engage in order to make a difference) and creating lasting value.

These programs create shared value between the business and non-profit.

For the business, it builds the skills and abilities of their employees while enabling them to be more engaged in the business. For the non-profit, it provides a boost to their usually stretched human resources to tackle projects that may involve specific expertise; and where managed properly, actually builds capacity among the non-profit’s employees.

I recently heard an executive from IBM Canada speak about their corporate volunteering program, and he said that employees often return from their volunteer role saying that it was the best thing they have done as a part of the company – as impressive as it could be upsetting considering these are 10 year IBM veterans.

THE CHALLENGE
Giving is good, right? Philanthropy can’t be bad, though some of it does have a “doing good to do bad” sense about it. So let’s make 2012 the year to look deeper, discover the corporate soul of the givers, and reveal opportunities for engaging with non-profits in a way that helps build capacity for all in order to achieve sustainable success. Let’s embrace the new rules for business success and move from “best practice” to “next practice.”