The Measurable World of Corporate Philanthropy

Last week there was a significant and important article in The New York Times which most will see as bad news. I don’t. It describes how big corporations are cutting back their corporate philanthropy, and at the same time demanding more demonstrable "return on their investment" for their support of the arts. They are asking for arts groups to document how much impact their "philanthropic" gifts are having.

First, let’s be clear. This ain’t philanthropy any more. It’s marketing – in philanthropy clothing.

And, nothing could be better news for e-mail marketing. If you put Altria’s logo at the top of your e-mail newsletter – you can tell them exactly how many people saw their logo, or clicked on it.  You can tell them a "cost-per impression" and measure that against the open market for this kind of targeted audience. You can’t get more measurable than that.

That’s why the bigger your e-mail list, the better of you will be in leveraging your online marketing for "philanthrophic" purposes.

Can you say "philanthropy 2.0?"

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