Corporate charities

[mikeg]

Of course, the Railways have the Railway Children and McDonalds has Ronald McDonald houses. Does anyone know how many similar charities exist and what exactly the motivations are behind them, and whether they actually do much good work?
Just a thought that crossed my mind randomly...

Is the cynic in me right for thinking they're there for tax purposes?

 

[Gloster]

Of course, the Railways have the Railway Children and McDonalds has Ronald McDonald houses. Does anyone know how many similar charities exist and what exactly the motivations are behind them, and whether they actually do much good work?
Just a thought that crossed my mind randomly...

Is the cynic in me right for thinking they're there for tax purposes?

No, they are there for PR purposes.

 

[mikeg]

No, they are there for PR purposes.

Would also make sense and decrease my cynicism by one basis point.

 

[Iskra]

No, they are there for PR purposes.

And cost purposes; it means they can say ‘we have our own charity that we support,’ to all the people that write/email asking for free stuff for charitable purposes.

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To answer the OP’s question: The company I work for does do genuinely great things with its charitable arm on a large scale, across the world.

 

[Gloster]

To be slightly less cynical, something I have great difficulty in being, some company charities, possibly most, do some good. However, they are good PR and the ethos and ethics of managers and owners of the businesses will affect how they prioritise good deeds v. good publicity. I certainly believe there are many where the money could be spent a lot more usefully than it is, but company PR is given too high a priority. I feel that those that do the most good are often going to be the ones you hear the least about.

The Railway Children is a bit of an oddity. I think it was set up by a few railwaymen and then got the backing of the industry because senior railwaymen were personally involved, rather than being a corporate PR vehicle.

 

[birchesgreen]

My company gets involved in charity work for the PR but also because some of the senior people like attending those fancy dinners and dos. As long as some dosh and help goes the way of the needy then who cares really?

Many of us do charity work or make donations to feel good about ourselves. Does that make the actions not worthy? It is an interesting question.

 

[Broucek]

My company gets involved in charity work for the PR but also because some of the senior people like attending those fancy dinners and dos. As long as some dosh and help goes the way of the needy then who cares really?

Many of us do charity work or make donations to feel good about ourselves. Does that make the actions not worthy? It is an interesting question.

Increasingly, it’s also something that younger staff EXPECT of their employers