Do Companies Really Care? Strategic Philanthropy and Imagine Canada’s Caring Company Program

Abstract

First launched in 1988, Imagine Canada’s Caring Company program recognizes Canadian companies that contribute at least one percent of their pre-tax profit to nonprofit organizations within their employees’ communities. Broadly speaking, the program sets a standard for corporate strategic philanthropy. However, the program is vulnerable to the same tensions that underlie the broader practice of strategic philanthropy; namely, a blurring of the line between profit-seeking activity and addressing social need.