Friday, July 25, 2008

How I See It

Tech citizenship is good for business in Massachusetts

Tony used to be a homeless vet. Now he owns an online importing business. That’s good for Tony. But it’s also good for the Boston business community that can now count him as a consumer.

Tony’s story is instructive in light of a recent Boston Foundation report that greater competition for fewer philanthropic dollars is forcing budget cutbacks at area charities.

The foundation gave nonprofit organizations some strong advice, including that they consolidate. But the business community, which makes up a significant portion of charitable giving in Massachusetts, could use a little tough love itself.

Tony’s success began with a course in office software run by the Timothy Smith Network and funded by Microsoft Corp. Named for a wealthy merchant who bequeathed most of his estate to the city of Boston in 1918, the Timothy Smith Network supports 39 centers that provide technology-related services, educational programs and support to people from the Roxbury area.

Philanthropy is an easy thing for corporations to cut when revenue drops. But it’s also unwise. Would business like to see government cut funding for education — the lifeblood of our economic competitiveness — in an economic downtown? We need to look at charitable giving in the same way that we view education — as an investment.

 Businesspeople pride themselves on making decisions based on hard evidence. The evidence shows that philanthropy is a wise investment. In a 2007 survey of 751 corporate executives by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, 61 percent said corporate citizenship makes a “tangible contribution to their company’s bottom line.” An academic study presented at the 2004 meeting of the International Communication Association found that in nine out of 10 industrial sectors, corporate philanthropy produced a positive impact on corporate revenue. The impact lasted at least six years in six of those industrial sectors.

The reasons go beyond good will and branding. Philanthropy creates skilled workers and new consumers — people like Tony.

At the same time, corporations need to be smart and strategic in handing out charitable contributions, just as they do with any other investment. Cash never hurts, but philanthropic programs that are integrated and aligned with the corporation’s mission and values can pay longer-lasting dividends for everyone involved.

For example, people with technology skills are important to the future of Microsoft, which contributes $7 million annually to Massachusetts charities. Most of that money is targeted at workforce development — organizations like the Timothy Smith Network — and it will soon constitute 100 percent of our charitable giving.

 In order to bring strategic order and greater weight to its philanthropy, Microsoft instituted its “Unlimited Potential” program, an initiative that brings together many of the company’s corporate citizenship efforts. The company also created a web-based application that allows citizenship teams all over the world to develop, manage and evaluate their citizenship goals in a way that keeps them aligned.

Our national economic competitiveness is based on people. That is especially true of the Boston area. Charitable giving is really an investment in our economic competitiveness. Seen that way, it’s a no-brainer.

 
 

Ted MacLean is the Northeast General Manager of the Microsoft Corp. and was a panel member at Mass High Tech’s Tech Citizenship awards event in November 2006. For more information on MHT’s Tech Citizenship program, visit www.masshightech.com.