For members of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce the month of March is highly anticipated because it is usually the month during which we hold our Annual Awards and Installation Dinner. This year however, we have even more to look forward to as we celebrate the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce! At 6 p.m. March 2, 2007, at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara, we will gather to celebrate our 85th anniversary with the theme, "Defining Carlsbad's Past, Present and Future."
It will be a magical evening as we celebrate the work of the 2006 Board of Directors, introduce our 2007 leadership team and celebrate the significant corporate and personal achievements of several of our most distinguished members. New to the award "menu" this year will be an award to a nonprofit member that has distinguished itself in service to our community.
Personally, I am very happy to see the Chamber of Commerce honor this segment of our business community. Peter Drucker referred to nonprofit organizations as the "Third Sector," and chose to spend the majority of his time during the final years of his life encouraging and promoting growth and maturity of the nonprofit community both nationally and internationally. Last week, I met with a thriving global organization that promotes social entrepreneurship around the world. They have chosen to refer to the nonprofit sector as the "Citizen Sector." Regardless of what we might call them, the nonprofit organizations serving our community are an essential component of a healthy and vibrant community. We are so fortunate to have many outstanding organizations in Carlsbad.
I am also proud of our many chamber members who have included corporate philanthropy into their business planning. These companies make charitable donations in order to create goodwill among customers and employees. Nationally, this desire to establish a positive corporate image stems from the recent growth of consumer power. Public demand for socially conscious companies is driving corporations to make positive contributions to society. Marylyn Carrigan noted in her article in the European Business Journal entitled, "The Great Corporate Give-Away," "that companies that do not make charitable donations state that, when competing for customers, they feel they are at a disadvantage compared to organizations with philanthropic interests."
Additional research indicates that corporate philanthropy has an impact on bottom line results. "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" published by Business-Ethics.com shows that the overall financial performance of companies determined to be the best "corporate citizens" perform significantly better than other companies in the S&P 500. The Journal of Business Ethics published an article written by Leland Campbell entitled, "Corporate Giving Behavior and Decision-maker Social Consciousness," noting that "the majority of corporate leaders site corporate philanthropy as beneficial to the organization."
Benefits of corporate philanthropy include the following:
? Marketing, Recently, companies have been tying corporate community involvement with cause-related marketing to improve imaging and promote their corporate product.
? Supply chain and tax management, Corporations use product donations as an effective way to handle excess inventory and receive a tax write-off.
? Altruistic motivations, Companies donate cash, products and employees' time because they enjoy the positive benefits associated with assisting the community.
With all due respect to the chamber members who are philanthropically active but whom are not mentioned in this article, I would like to pay homage and affirm the philanthropic activities of several of our members. We introduced George Fellows president and CEO of Callaway Golf last month to you in the Carlsbad Business Journal. Callaway Golf, along with TaylorMade, Grand Pacific Resorts and Sunset Coast Capital have been active philanthropic supporters of our local Carlsbad Boys and Girls Clubs. NRG West committed approximately $142,000, raised from employees and company funds, to build a new kindergarten and daycare center for children who live around the Tijuana dump. Invitrogen has a community relations office headed by Lisa Peterson that oversaw approximately 1,400 Invitrogen employees worldwide taking part in nearly 50 community and non-profit activities. Invitrogen provided employees with a half day of company time, transportation to each volunteer site and the resources necessary to perform each of the tasks. In Carlsbad, among other activities, teams of Invitrogen employees participated in cleaning and improving the Batiquitos and Hedionda Lagoons.
In our work as business and community leaders, fulfilling possibilities is not simply an exercise in charity, but an alignment of diverse human and financial resources directed in a way that creates the greatest social value. Congratulations to all of our members who understand and implement these values.
It will be a magical evening as we celebrate the work of the 2006 Board of Directors, introduce our 2007 leadership team and celebrate the significant corporate and personal achievements of several of our most distinguished members. New to the award "menu" this year will be an award to a nonprofit member that has distinguished itself in service to our community.
Personally, I am very happy to see the Chamber of Commerce honor this segment of our business community. Peter Drucker referred to nonprofit organizations as the "Third Sector," and chose to spend the majority of his time during the final years of his life encouraging and promoting growth and maturity of the nonprofit community both nationally and internationally. Last week, I met with a thriving global organization that promotes social entrepreneurship around the world. They have chosen to refer to the nonprofit sector as the "Citizen Sector." Regardless of what we might call them, the nonprofit organizations serving our community are an essential component of a healthy and vibrant community. We are so fortunate to have many outstanding organizations in Carlsbad.
I am also proud of our many chamber members who have included corporate philanthropy into their business planning. These companies make charitable donations in order to create goodwill among customers and employees. Nationally, this desire to establish a positive corporate image stems from the recent growth of consumer power. Public demand for socially conscious companies is driving corporations to make positive contributions to society. Marylyn Carrigan noted in her article in the European Business Journal entitled, "The Great Corporate Give-Away," "that companies that do not make charitable donations state that, when competing for customers, they feel they are at a disadvantage compared to organizations with philanthropic interests."
Additional research indicates that corporate philanthropy has an impact on bottom line results. "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" published by Business-Ethics.com shows that the overall financial performance of companies determined to be the best "corporate citizens" perform significantly better than other companies in the S&P 500. The Journal of Business Ethics published an article written by Leland Campbell entitled, "Corporate Giving Behavior and Decision-maker Social Consciousness," noting that "the majority of corporate leaders site corporate philanthropy as beneficial to the organization."
Benefits of corporate philanthropy include the following:
? Marketing, Recently, companies have been tying corporate community involvement with cause-related marketing to improve imaging and promote their corporate product.
? Supply chain and tax management, Corporations use product donations as an effective way to handle excess inventory and receive a tax write-off.
? Altruistic motivations, Companies donate cash, products and employees' time because they enjoy the positive benefits associated with assisting the community.
With all due respect to the chamber members who are philanthropically active but whom are not mentioned in this article, I would like to pay homage and affirm the philanthropic activities of several of our members. We introduced George Fellows president and CEO of Callaway Golf last month to you in the Carlsbad Business Journal. Callaway Golf, along with TaylorMade, Grand Pacific Resorts and Sunset Coast Capital have been active philanthropic supporters of our local Carlsbad Boys and Girls Clubs. NRG West committed approximately $142,000, raised from employees and company funds, to build a new kindergarten and daycare center for children who live around the Tijuana dump. Invitrogen has a community relations office headed by Lisa Peterson that oversaw approximately 1,400 Invitrogen employees worldwide taking part in nearly 50 community and non-profit activities. Invitrogen provided employees with a half day of company time, transportation to each volunteer site and the resources necessary to perform each of the tasks. In Carlsbad, among other activities, teams of Invitrogen employees participated in cleaning and improving the Batiquitos and Hedionda Lagoons.
In our work as business and community leaders, fulfilling possibilities is not simply an exercise in charity, but an alignment of diverse human and financial resources directed in a way that creates the greatest social value. Congratulations to all of our members who understand and implement these values.