CSR Corporate Leadership Meeting 2010: What They Said

"What struck me most today was Geoffrey Canada's and others' emphasis on the importance of data," observed Matthew Bishop, U.S. Business Editor of The Economist, and author, Philanthrocapitalism, in reference to today's tenth annual corporate philanthropy summit, conducted by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP). Bishop commented to me that he sees the scarcity of philanthropic dollars driving the demand for measurement.

Patrick Corvington, CEO, Corporation for National & Community Service, also stressed outcome measurement, saying that "service has to be about solving problems," not simply counting volunteers. "If we can get volunteers invested in results, we can change the world. If you tutor a child, you want to see him graduate." Corvington's comments resonated, especially after Canada made a compelling case that the Harlem Children's Zone was on a path to ensuring that 10,000 children within 100 blocks in New York City will get a good education. Canada pointed out that investing in HCZ will yield a great result, especially considering that the alternative is for these same children to wind up in jail -- a human tragedy and an enormous cost to business and society.

In a conversation with Bishop and me, Alan Hassenfeld, Chairman of the Board, Hasbro, and board member of CECP, observed that just like anyone else, he and his company want to know what every charitable dollar is going to do. The Hasbro Foundation, an early investor in HCZ, focuses on children, while his family foundation focuses on empowering women to break the cycle of violence.  In my own experience in working with nonprofit boards and CEOs, a great value of establishing measurement "dashboards" is...

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