Pro bono work and charity: should it be used for marketing?

Businesses are important to the community: part of their profits should go to charities (either in cash, time or in kind).

But should those contributions be used to promote the business? Would those contributions have even greater merit if they were kept private?

Setting up alliances between charities and business has itself become a big business and businesses proudly promote their good works.

Evelyn Rodriguez talks about companies who publicise their tsunami relief efforts to promote their branding.

She describes her trip with the managing director and business development manager of a multinational company on a site visit.

• "We've turned down media attention."
• "We haven't ever advertised this project."
• "Our company isn't unique, really, hundreds of businesses pitched in after the tsunami. That's the story."

Judaism has a concept called tzedakah. Maimonides ranked charity in 8 descending levels (with 1 at the top):

1. Giving a poor person work (or loaning him money to start a business) so he will not have to depend on charity. This is because the person is now free from having to rely on charity. The giver has not just helped the recipient for the short while, but instead for the rest of their life. There are four sublevels to this:
   1. Giving a poor person work.
   2. Making a partnership with them (this is lower than work, as the recipient might feel he doesn't put enough into the partnership).
   3. Giving a loan.
   4. Giving a gift.
2. Giving charity anonymously to an unknown recipient.
3. Giving charity anonymously to a known recipient.
4. Giving charity publicly to an unknown recipient.
5. Giving charity before being asked.
6. Giving adequately after being asked.
7. Giving willingly, but inadequately.
8. Giving unwillingly.

Is charity something that businesses need to account for in their annual financial statements?

Comments

[ToddD]

Interesting article,good point
ToddDiroberto
http://www.newsguide.us/art-entertainment/movies/Todd-DiRoberto-of-American-Satellite-Hosts-Independence-Day-Charity-Event-for-Operation-Bigs/