Inn from the Cold is a Calgary born charity that provides
shelter and food to those that are struggling with homelessness. They have
several different corporate partners, one of which is Sunterra. Sunterra provides support to Inn from
the Cold through their ROOTS program.
Why do they
think the partnership is a mutually beneficial relationship?
One of the reasons that this partnership is so mutually beneficial is that Sunterra is a family business started in Alberta. On their website, they explain that the reason they created the ROOTS program is because “The stronger our roots, the higher we grow and the further we can reach.” Sunterra values family and community and it is because of this that they partner with organizations that are in Calgary and have similar values. Inn from the Cold provides support to those struggling with homelessness “provide[ing] the instrumental needs for survival including…nutritious food.” This is where their partnership with Sunterra fits.
What are they trying to
accomplish with it?Sunterra can help provide the funding to provide food for Inn from the Cold and in response, Sunterra receives corporate social responsibility that match with their main corporate values. Corporate responsibility can be really important to increase reputation management and it can be difficult to find charities that match well with your organization.
Is it really a
partnership or is one side benefiting more that the other?
I personally believe that the partnership is mutual for both Sunterra and Inn from the Cold. Sunterra provides the material costs for Inn from the Cold and Inn from the Cold provides a relevant CSR partnership for Sunterra. From a donation standpoint, Inn from the Cold is the only beneficiary. Sunterra however, receives a partner that matches with their corporate values to include in their corporate responsibility program. This can increase reputation with their public, which in turn would create more business for the organization. Sunterra also benefits from an ethical standpoint as well. It can be easy to provide support to a charity but by partnering with an organization, which matches with their corporate values, they can rest easy knowing they are partnering ethically.
Charity
partnering can be beneficial to both corporations and their charities but it
can be difficult to put into practice. In my opinion, Inn from the Cold and
Sunterra are positive examples of an ethical and mutually beneficial
partnership.
Carolyn, you provide a lot of critical thought in this post, which I appreciate! I agree whole-heartedly that for a CSR initiative to align well and suit both parties, the values first have to align. I think that so often, corporations see a reputational need to reach out to nonprofits or charities to prove that they care about the community. They run the risk of seeming tone deaf and just simply unaware of the cause they are supporting. It leaves us asking, "Do they really know what they're supporting?"
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate this partnership for a few reasons, but the main reason results from the partnership of two local organizations. It would be so easy for a multinational corporation to come in and fund an entire program, donate a commercial kitchen or volunteer hundreds of employee hours for Inn from the Cold. Considering that Sunterra, an Alberta-built company, is willing and able to provide the same quality of work benefits both them and the Inn from the Cold.
We live in a time today, where some of the harshest and most brutal battles are fought within state or provincial wars (e.g. terrorist attacks). Seeing partnerships like this gives me hope that maybe this world isn't all so bad, and that companies truly are using CSR and community investment as window dressing.