Charity-Washing And How To Develop The Right Corporate Charity Partnerships In The Gulf – Valutrics

Over the past 12 months, I’ve seen a remarkable rise in engagements between businesses and charities in the Gulf. I don’t know the reasons for the recent change (it could be partly due to the Year of Giving, or a realization Whilst some have been a hit (I’ve loved Omo’s work with the Red Crescent to collect used clothing for those in need), others have fallen far short of what I believe marks a real, sustainable partnership where both the charity and the corporate benefit.

Because of my concern that corporates may seek to charity-wash their brands, in other words, leverage off the reputation of charities to promote brands without giving much back in return, I’ve laid out some basic pointers which should be part of any partnership between a corporation, its brands, and charities.

Shared values

There must be a common thread between brand and the charity. The more relevant the charity and the cause is to the business and its consumers, the more engagement there’ll be. An example is a brand owned It may seem obvious, but the clearer and simpler the message is, the easier it is for consumers (and other stakeholders) to understand get involved. A great example is Toms Shoes, which promises to donate one pair of shoes to children in need for every pair purchased in store. The simpler and clearer the message, the more successful the partnership could and should be.

Make engagement easy

The simpler the engagement is, the more likely you’ll see engagement from both consumers, customers and also employees. What I love about Omo’s Share a Touch of Love this Ramadan is that they’ve made it so easy to donate used clothes, going so far as to set up clothes bins at malls and agreeing on a deal with Uber to enable consumers to donate their clothes from home.

Corporates need to give back

It goes without saying that the corporate partner needs to donate in some shape or form to the charity and the campaign. The simpler the giving mechanism is, the easier and more credible it becomes. For example, for several years Starbucks has teamed up with (RED) to raise funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS on World AIDS Day. As part of the campaign, Starbucks has committed to donating 10 cents for every handcrafted beverage sold in participating stores, raising millions in donations.

Be in for the long haul

The more sustainable the idea is, both for the charity and the corporate in terms of donations and product sales, the more likely the partnership will be to last months and years. The longer the partnership lasts for, the more will be known There’s much that the corporate and charity sectors can achieve if they work together, in a spirit of cooperation. Let’s find a way to make these partnerships as beneficial and transparent as we can do, to ensure that we raise awareness of key challenges throughout the region among consumers, as well as raise money to tackle these issues. If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them and help where I can.