When the motto “Boston Strong” rose from the ashes of the Boston Marathon bombing, it became a rallying cry for the city.
"Boston Strong" has been printed on everything from shirts and bumper stickers to candles and coffee. Much of this merchandise comes with a familiar pitch: a promise that a percentage of their proceeds will go to the One Fund Boston. But, is that net proceeds? Net profit? Percentage of sales? It's vague. Which made us, here on Boston Public Radio, wonder... how can you be sure that your money is actually going to The One Fund?
Companies that step into this philanthropic landscape have no more than a moral obligation to tell their customers and consumers exactly how much of the money they raised is going to where, Harvard Business School historian Nancy Keohn told Boston Public Radio. Because "humanitarian merchandising" is a new phenomenon, there is little regulation in place keeping companies honest.
“People get very interested and want to reach out and connect after tragedy strikes,” she said. “To not report, or to send the money somewhere else, or to send the money late and collect interest on it on your balance sheet, all of that adds a kind of toxicity and dilution to a very important humanitarian impulse."
This type of cause marketing is aimed at people who are interested in the social footprint of a company, Koehn said. It offers companies a chance to make a statement about their brand and who they are, and it offers consumers the chance to feel like they've done something productive for a good cause.
We're defaulting to 'ca-ching, ca-ching' and that means we may be giving short shrift to the very human, very powerful, very good inclination to serve and help and reach out.
Koehn recommended the RED Global Fund as an example of the level of transparency and responsibility that consumers should demand from companies involved in cause marketing. RED, which fights the spread of AIDS and Malaria, created partnerships with Apple, Starbucks and Gap, among other companies and regularly reports to consumers how much money they’ve raised and what the money will go to.
“Everything is muddied unless [a company is] going to be really diligent and really eloquent and frequent about what is going on with the company as a conduit,” Koehn said.
Companies should think beyond monetary fundraising when it comes to connecting with consumers over tragedy other than fundraising. Consider other ways to give -- from volunteering time, to donating food or clothes.
"I'm not sure money is the only way people want to help," Koehn said. "We're defaulting to 'ca-ching, ca-ching,' and that means we may be giving short shrift to the very human, very powerful, very good inclination to serve and help and reach out."
Hear the full interview with Nancy Koehn here:
