Following on from last week’s article about having a social conscience and the ethical dilemmas associated with misaligned values of our clients, this article takes this idea a step further: should your business actively seek to support social causes? Make sure you consider the following as you seek to answer this question:
Most social causes are intrinsically linked to political, religious or other value-laden foundations. You need to consider that your link to a particular social cause may alienate you from potential clients. This may not be an issue, as you might prefer to only work with clients who share your values (or are sympathetic to them). But it is a question worth considering before choosing a social cause to align your business with.
Consider that some causes create a culture of dependency rather than truly empowering underprivileged communities. While the vast majority of charities and social causes are motivated by a deep-seated desire to help others, some do this better than others. Have you heard the proverb “Giveamanafishandyoufeedhimforaday; teachamantofishandyoufeedhimforalifetime”? Aim to support social causes that empower people rather than make them dependent – it is far more worthwhile and has far-reaching effects.
It is also important to pursue social causes only if you are truly passionate about them. If you are doing it just to ‘look good’ or because all your business friends are doing it, you are likely to cause harm to your business reputation and possibly enter into arrangements that harm the charity as well (e.g. if you end your support, it can affect the long term effectiveness of that charity).
An important note: do not ever use tragedies, disasters or crisis situations to promote your business. You need to be extremely careful about offers that benefit you far more than the charity and that look like you are being opportunistic. By all means, if you are genuinely assisting a social cause, do so. But be very careful about your motivations and consider whether your support is better done quietly so as to be a genuine response.
Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender