They Say I Say

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Most people think that any organization needs money to carry out its mission. They say that the money comes from donations by people and businesses. People think that businesses donate a lot of money to foundations because they want to help out different communities and it gives the company a better reputation. They also think that local and corporate businesses donate around the same amount of money to a given organization.

                However, Ken Stern, the author of the article “Why don’t corporations give to charity”, says that the amount that businesses have been donating has decreased over time. He states that “Over the past 30 years, corporate contributions to charities in the U.S. … have fallen precipitously, from a high of 2.1 percent at its peak in 1986 to just around 0.8 percent in 2012” (Stern). By this statement he is showing that over 26 years the amount that corporations have been donating has fallen 1.3 percent. Stern says that the people do not notice this difference because the businesses are donating a sum of money to these organizations. To the general population that sum seems like a lot of money, but in reality most are donating far less than the average percentage that should be given. Stern believes that businesses should invest in their communities because they are not only viewed on their products and stocks are doing. But not everyone thinks this way. Stern wrote about “the old Chicago economist Milton Friedman … argued that ‘corporate social responsibility was a simple taking, without authorization or business purpose, of the money of the company, shareholders, and customers … it bordered on fraud’” (Stern). Stern acknowledges that this is a view that most businesses but he thinks that they need “to accept more of the basic responsibilities of citizens” (Stern).

            Recently I have started an organization called High Schoolers Against Cancer with fellow classmates. We have been emailing and calling different businesses. Some have responded but only one local business was generous enough to donate a sum of money. We been in touch with both local and corporate businesses in Cedar Rapids, but the responses have been roughly the same. They say that we do not have enough experience, they do not donate to school organizations, or that they are no longer donating to any charities. From my experience so far I think that businesses (both local and corporate) do not donate as much money as we think. I say that businesses need to be very clear on the type of organization that they are willing to fund on their donations page on their website. I think that businesses should be required to let the communities know how much percentage of their pre-tax profits are going to organizations. I think that the communities need to know this information because then we will know if they are donating below or at average. I know that not all businesses are concerned with their own profits and are not willing to help out their communities. But I also know that the majority of businesses are less will to help out. I hope that as I continue looking for donors I will have better luck, but I have contacted most of the businesses I know in the community and have gotten a lot of rejection emails. I say that businesses could be donating some money to organizations but not nearly the amount that they should.