Linking Companies and Communities

Linking Companies and Communities: "Linking Companies and Communities
That's what corporate philanthropy does, says expert Cari Parsons, who cites IBM, Novartis, and GE for leading the way

The Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) is a national forum of CEOs and chairmen that promotes corporate philanthropy, corporate reputations, and the natural alignment of corporate giving with business objectives. CECP member companies contributed 45% of the $13.5 billion in U.S. corporate gifts reported in 2003. BusinessWeek's Jessi Hempel recently asked CECP Director Cari Parsons to weigh in on what smart companies should consider when designing their corporate contributions programs. Edited excerpts of their e-mail exchange follow: "