Product Donations Research Articles

Corporate giving continued post‐pandemic drop in 2022, study shows

During the COVID‐19 pandemic, the nonprofit sector saw dramatic changes in the types and levels of support from all quarters, especially the corporate sector, which responded to the pandemic with a surge in cash and product donations. But in 2021 and 2022, new research shows, corporate philanthropic giving has dropped off considerably, with 2022 total community investment—which includes cash, product and pro bono giving—down 14% from 2020. That's according to the latest Giving in Numbers report from Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, formerly the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. The report looks at the full spectrum of corporate community investments, including cash, in‐kind and employee volunteerism for 2022.

Company/team partnerships spotlight product donations

Company/team partnerships spotlight product donations

Patterns of pharmaceutical supplies and medicines donations received during a natural disaster

BackgroundIn response to emergencies, such as wildfires, donations of pharmaceuticals often occur. These donations can be given directly by governments, to non-governmental organizations as corporate donations, or by private entities that donate to individual health institutions. ObjectiveThis paper aimed to collect, review and analyze pharmaceutical product donations received during the natural disaster caused by wildfires in the San Luis province, Argentina, in September and October 2020. MethodsA descriptive, cross-sectional, and retrospective study was performed. An introductory approach to good donation practices was also carried out. Medicines were classified and in the case of products that were not suitable for administration, these were discarded. ResultsA total of 15,593 units were segregated, of which 52.8% were over-the-counter products and 47.2% were prescription drugs. 86.3% (13,467 units) were accepted, while 13.7% (2126 units) had to be destroyed. The value of donations totaled USD 16,544. The analysis of the results showed that an important part of the donations was irrelevant in the emergency context. Donations were also received in incorrect amounts, which generated a large stock of medicines that couldn’t be used. In emergencies, inappropriate donations create additional work during sorting, storage, and distribution, increasing the time professionals need to complete tasks. This extra work can easily overwhelm limited human and logistical resources. ConclusionsIt is important to previously evaluate the real need for donations. In addition, the distribution of donations must be done through pre-established systems and policies. Otherwise, unsolicited and unnecessary drug donations become wasteful and should therefore be avoided.

Marketing of commercial milk formula during COVID-19 in Indonesia.

Baby food marketing poses a substantial barrier to breastfeeding, which adversely affects mothers' and children's health. Over the last decade, the baby food industry has utilised various marketing tactics in Indonesia, including direct marketing to mothers and promoting products in public spaces and within the healthcare system. This study examined the marketing of commercial milk formula (CMF) and other breast-milk substitute products during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Using a local, community-based reporting platform, information on publicly reported violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions (the Code) was collected. It was found that a total of 889 reported cases of unethical marketing of such products were recorded primarily through social media from May 20 through December 31, 2021. Our results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided more opportunities for the baby food industry in Indonesia to attempt to circumvent the Code aggressively through online marketing strategies. These aggressive marketing activities include online advertisements, maternal child health and nutrition webinars, Instagram sessions with experts, and heavy engagement of health professionals and social media influencers. Moreover, product donations and assistance with COVID-19 vaccination services were commonly used to create a positive image of the baby food industry in violation of the Code. Therefore, there is an urgent need to regulate the online marketing of milk formula and all food and beverage products for children under the age of 3.

How the Luxury Fashion Brands Adjust to Deal with the COVID-19

Although, the luxury industry has been considered immune to uncertainty and crisis, the luxury industry is currently facing another crisis which is the COVID-19 crisis. People begin to isolate themselves and face-to-face contact becomes less and less in the hopes of stemming the spread of the virus. The COVID-19 has affected people’s daily life and the economy. In order to handle the crisis, the luxury brands implement the special marketing strategies. The aim of this study is to investigate how the luxury fashion brands do in order to overcome the COVID-19. The research conducts the inductive contents analysis. We analyze the marketing actions of top 10 luxury fashion brands in the period of coronavirus crisis. The marketing strategies are summarized as 1) the product donations, 2) the monetary donations, 3) the price adjustment strategies, 4) turning to e-retailing, 5) trustworthy communication, and 6) the fashion shows strategies. The luxury fashion brands promptly and actively conveyed the brand image and deployed the correct brand communication. They improved brand affinity through cause marketing and maintained business through online retailing and online marketing strategies.

Use of SARS-CoV-2-infected deceased organ donors: Should we always "just say no?"

In the context of a rapidly evolving pandemic, multiple organizations have released guidelines stating that all organs from potential deceased donors with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection should be deferred, including from otherwise medically eligible donors found to have mild or asymptomatic SARS‐CoV‐2 discovered on routine donor screening. In this article, we critically examine the available data on the risk of transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 through organ transplantation. The isolation of SARS‐CoV‐2 from nonlung clinical specimens, the detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 in autopsy specimens, previous experience with the related coronaviruses SARS‐CoV and MERS‐CoV, and the vast experience with other common RNA respiratory viruses are all addressed. Taken together, these data provide little evidence to suggest the presence of intact transmissible SARS‐CoV in organs that can potentially be transplanted, specifically liver and heart. Other considerations including ethical, financial, societal, and logistical concerns are also addressed. We conclude that, for selected patients with high waitlist mortality, transplant programs should consider accepting heart or liver transplants from deceased donors with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.

Charity flea markets \u2013 an amalgamation of product philanthropy and volunteering

This paper offers one of the first efforts at exploring the role of charity flea markets as a fundraising practice used by nonprofits to mobilize various resources like individual and corporate in-kind giving and volunteering in an unique event setting. With the support of volunteers, nonprofits generate cash by reselling product donations and by catering. As an innovative contribution to the so far limited research on flea markets and in-kind giving, our study uses an explorative case study approach based on guided interviews with Austrian flea market operators. The purpose of the case studies is to examine the specifics, benefits, challenges, and prospects of this underexplored funding instrument. Our findings contribute to an enhanced understanding of both charity flea markets and nonprofits̕ resource management and can assist charities in processing in-kind donations effectively and sustainably.

Which maximizes donations: Charitable giving as an incentive or incentives for charitable giving?

With charitable donations becoming a conventional norm, companies may choose to donate their products to improve public image and increase product visibility. Using two donation types (donation-for-gift/charity sale) and two product types (hedonic/utilitarian), this research discusses how charities should frame product-for-money activities toward enhancing compliance and re-donation intentions upon receiving product donations. Two 2 (donation types) by 2 (product types) between-subject experiments are conducted in college campus cafeterias. The first study uses an inspiring cause while the second study provides a scenario designed to evoke sympathy. Results show that donation-for-gift garners higher donation intentions compared to charity sale, as explained by the dual-process model. It is also revealed that product type moderates the influence of donation type on donation intention only when a sympathetic appeal is used. The fitting issue between product type and cause appeal, along with the licensing effect are presented to explain this finding.

One-for-One Companies: Helpful or Harmful?

One-for-one companies, such as TOMS and Warby Parker, have become a common occurrence in the marketplace. These companies promise to donate a good or service for every product purchased. To date, millions of products have been donated worldwide. This paper seeks to analyze the positive and negative impacts of the one-for-one model on both the one-for-one company and the people receiving product donations. A specific focus of the paper is to determine whether the one-for-one model is helpful or harmful to companies and beneficiaries. To gather information, I contacted sixteen one-for-one companies and asked for reports, gathered preliminary research completed by news outlets such as Forbes and the New York Times, and analyzed academic research. The study finds that the one-for-one model can be both helpful and harmful, depending on the conditions in which the giving is done. For example, if there is an immediate need for a good that cannot be produced in the beneficiary country, then a donation would be beneficial. However, if a donation such as shoes ultimately takes away jobs and reduces the market in the beneficiary country, then it causes more harm and long-term damage than it prevents. As this model becomes more common, it is important that consumers know the impact of their purchases on the beneficiaries and the companies know the benefits and repercussions of their actions.

A global initiative on local preparation of virus inactivated cryoprecipitate in developing countries

In developing countries, treatment of patients with bleeding disorders is inadequate or absent and the dramatic situation has not changed significantly during the past 20 to 30 years despite several initiatives set up by different national and international organizations. Past experience has shown that industrially manufactured clotting factor concentrates cannot solve these problems in developing countries, if they are used as the sole means in the treatment of patients with bleeding disorders. Recently, significant developments have occurred which have the potential to change the disastrous situation in therapy delivery to “hemophiliacs” in developing countries: blood systems (with blood services and blood centers) in many resource limited countries have tangibly improved and novel technologies for viral inactivation of blood components have been developed and are marketed [amotosalen, riboflavin, solvent-detergent (SD), etc.]. In a few developing countries, local preparation of viral inactivated cryoprecipitate (Cryo-VI) has been introduced and Cryo-VI has proven to be a safe, effective therapeutic for patients with bleeding disorders, at an affordable cost. But the use of VI-technology to render cryoprecipitate safe remains very limited; therefore, major coordinated actions are needed to promote Cryo-VI in developing countries and to facilitate implementation of local preparation of safe cryoprecipitate. Therefore, a Global Initiative on “local preparation of viral inactivated cryoprecipitate in developing countries” (“Local Cryo-VI in l-HDI”) has been launched to improve treatment of patients with bleeding disorders: it is based on collaboration with international partnering organizations (like WHO, ISBT and others) and national stakeholders (e.g., competent authorities, blood suppliers, patient associations). The Global Initiative consists of six core interventions, flanked by additional activities: revise and update existing standards and guidelines on “anti-hemophilic” treatment; give high priority in policies and strategies to “Local Cryo-VI in l-HDI”; organize strong advocacy; run a Pilot Project (PP) in several pilot sites; establish an expansion programme; support activities for implementation and sustainability of “Local Cryo-VI in l-HDI”. It is complementary to existing relief activities (e.g., product donations) and will result in additional supply of safe and effective haemostatic products to treat patients with bleeding disorders in developing countries. It will also contribute to significantly lower the incidence of inhibitors in previously untreated patients with hemophilia A.

Waste-to-Hope: Measuring Sustainability Benefits of Product Philanthropy Partnership

This study investigates the sustainability-related impacts of the Framing Hope program, an innovative private and nonprofit sector partnership between the nonprofit Good360 and The Home Depot. Specifically, this paper estimates the energy savings, landfill space not filled, and the energy- and landfill-related cost savings associated with the Good360 product philanthropy program with The Home Depot, illustrating that benefits accrue to both company and communities by linkages between environmental, socioeconomic, and energy dimensions. Findings suggest that by redirecting products from the waste stream into usable community resources, considerable landfill space, costs, and energy savings were realized. Product donations can serve as an important platform for sustainable community development and capacity building. This research adds to the growing body of knowledge on environmental performance, corporate giving, and cross-sector partnerships in sustainable and social entrepreneurship.

End‐of‐year timing is good for excess product donations

End‐of‐year timing is good for excess product donations

A Case Study on Motivation and Constraints of Corporate Product Philanthropy

Due to the limited public resources in comparison to the growing need for social welfare, it has increasingly been concerned to develop resources in the private sector. However, it has been less discussed about product donations comparing with cash giving. Product donations, popularly known as gifts-in kind, are a form of non-cash philanthropic contributions. Recently, product giving have increasingly become both a form of corporate philanthropy and a source for nonprofit organizations. This study is to explore perceptions on motivation and constraints of corporate product philanthropy for more effective management of product donations. Data were collected by interview in-depth with four corporate managers and two NPOs staff in charge for product donation in South Korea. As the result, three categories were identified as motivation of corporate product donation: ‘charitable and altruistic cause’, ‘effective use of excess inventory’ and ‘strategic corporate philanthropy’. Also, the staff of corporations and NPOs perceived three categories as constraints on product philanthropy: ‘tax benefits less than disposal and liquidation’, ‘ambiguity of the calculating of value of donated products’, ‘lack of intermediary service and recognition’ and ‘weak partnership among government, corporations and NPOs’. Based on the findings of study, suggestions are discussed for policy implications and effective intermediary systems such as the on-line catalog of Good 360.

Establishing a surgical skills laboratory and dissection curriculum for neurosurgical residency training.

Surgical education has been forced to evolve from the principles of its initial inception, in part due to external pressures brought about through changes in modern health care. Despite these pressures that can limit the surgical training experience, training programs are being held to higher standards of education to demonstrate and document trainee competency through core competencies and milestones. One of the methods used to augment the surgical training experience and to demonstrate trainee proficiency in technical skills is through a surgical skills laboratory. The authors have established a surgical skills laboratory by acquiring equipment and funding from nondepartmental resources, through institutional and private educational grants, along with product donations from industry. A separate educational curriculum for junior- and senior-level residents was devised and incorporated into the neurosurgical residency curriculum. The initial dissection curriculum focused on cranial approaches, with spine and peripheral nerve approaches added in subsequent years. The dissections were scheduled to maximize the use of cadaveric specimens, experimenting with techniques to best preserve the tissue for repeated uses. A survey of residents who participated in at least 1 year of the curriculum indicated that participation in the surgical skills laboratory translated into improved understanding of anatomical relationships and the development of technical skills that can be applied in the operating room. In addition to supplementing the technical training of surgical residents, a surgical skills laboratory with a dissection curriculum may be able to help provide uniformity of education across different neurosurgical training programs, as well as provide a tool to assess the progression of skills in surgical trainees.

A novel approach to increasing inventory with the current panel: increasing donation frequency by asking for a different blood product.

Ongoing shortages of blood products may be addressed through additional donations. However, donation frequency rates are typically lower than medically possible. This preliminary study aims to determine voluntary nonremunerated whole blood (WB) and plasmapheresis donors' willingness, and subsequent facilitators and barriers, to make additional donations of a different type. Forty individual telephone interviews were conducted posing two additional donation pattern scenarios: first, making a single and, second, making multiple plasmapheresis donations between WB donations. Stratified purposive sampling was conducted for four samples varying in donation experience: no-plasma, new-to-both-WB-and-plasma, new-to-plasma, and plasma donors. Interviews were analyzed yielding excellent (κ values > 0.81) inter-rater reliability. Facilitators were more endorsed than barriers for a single but not multiple plasmapheresis donation. More new-to-both donors (n = 5) were willing to make multiple plasma donations between WB donations than others (n = 1 each) and identified fewer barriers (n = 3) than those more experienced in donation (n = 8 no plasma, n = 10 new to both, n = 11 plasma). Donors in the plasma sample were concerned about the subsequent reduced time between plasma donations by adding WB donations (n = 3). The no-plasma and new-to-plasma donors were concerned about the time commitment required (n = 3). Current donors are willing to add different product donations but donation history influences their willingness to change. Early introduction of multiple donation types, variation in inventory levels, and addressing barriers will provide blood collection agencies with a novel and cost-effective inventory management strategy.

Acknowledgments and LMIC

We appreciate the help of the individuals, organizations, and firms that have contributed to the beef research program through financial support, product donations, or services. The Livestock and Meat Industry Council also helps support animal agriculture research, teaching, and education. Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports: http://newprairiepress.org/kaesrr/vol1/iss1/18 Cattlemen's Day 2015 KA NSA S STATE UNRSITY CTTLEMEN’S DAY 2 015 Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service 1 Acknowledgements We appreciate the help of the individuals, organizations, and firms that have contributed to the beef research program through financial support, product donations, or services. Alltech, Nicholasville, Kentucky American Angus Association, St. Joseph, Missouri American Hereford Association, Kansas City, Missouri Archer Daniels Midland, Decatur, Illinois Bayer Animal Health, Shawnee Mission, Kansas Lee Borck, Larned, Kansas Cargill Corn Milling (Sweet Bran), Blair, Nebraska Cattlemen’s Beef Board, Centennial, Colorado Elanco Animal Health, Indianapolis, Indiana Electrostatic Spraying Systems, Inc., Watkinsville, Georgia Gardiner Angus Ranch, Ashland, Kansas Innovative Livestock Services, LLC, Great Bend, Kansas Iowa Limestone Company, Des Moines, Iowa Kansas Artificial Breeding Service Unit, Manhattan, Kansas Kansas Beef Council, Topeka, Kansas Kansas Livestock Association, Topeka, Kansas Kenny Knight, Lyons, Kansas Kent Nutrition Group, Muscatine, Iowa Lhoist North America, Fort Worth, Texas Livestock and Meat Industry Council (LMIC), Manhattan, Kansas Merck Animal Health, Summit, New Jersey Merial, Duluth, Georgia MS-Biotec, Wamego, Kansas National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Centennial, Colorado NBO3 Technologies, Manhattan, Kansas New Generation Feeds, Belle Fourche, South Dakota Porter Farms, Reading, Kansas Pratt Feeders, Pratt, Kansas R&R Machine Works, Inc., Dalhart, Texas R.W. Leighton, Quinter, Kansas Roto-Mix, Scott City, Kansas Select Sires, Inc., Plain City, Ohio Top Dollar Angus, Brighton, Colorado U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Nebraska USDA, Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service, Washington, DC USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Washington, DC Zoetis Animal Health, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey

Cause-Related Marketing: Factors Promoting Campaign Evaluations

Advertisers have long been interested in the persuasiveness of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns, and the authors extend this stream of research using two separate experiments that considers the effectiveness of the company's product versus cash donations. Findings from Study 1 indicate consumers perceive sponsoring companies of CRM campaigns less favorably when these companies make product rather than cash donations to their nonprofit CRM partners, and the level of consumer participation effort required in these campaigns does not moderate this effect. However, Study 2 introduces congruency as a potential explanation for these adverse effects and extends Study 1 by demonstrating that more (as compared to less) congruent product donations can eliminate the negative effects of product donations. Further, it confirms prior findings concerning the importance of sponsoring company–cause congruency. Campaigns designed with higher levels of both types of congruency (product donation–cause and company–cause) promote favorable campaign outcomes. Further, both studies demonstrate that the effects of product donations on campaign outcomes are mediated by company motive. Implications for advertising theorists and practitioners are offered.

Evaluating a Product Donation Program: Challenges for Charitable Capacity

AbstractThis article offers one of the first efforts at describing the impact of a national product donation program. Despite the importance of in‐kind giving to the corporate and charitable sectors, little research has explained how in‐kind gifts are used effectively once they leave the donor's hands. In this study we examine outcomes and impacts associated with a product donation program, including numbers served, a faith‐based mission, the ability to process product donations effectively, the extent of performance measurement, and the effect of program experience on continued participation. Data come from Good360's Framing Hope program, a partnership between The Home Depot stores and local charities across the United States. Our findings support the organizational capacity literature in suggesting that experience with this program only partly mitigates the challenges of participation and that success may be due to how central the program is to organizational objectives.

Preparation and Pathogen Inactivation of Double Dose Buffy Coat Platelet Products using the INTERCEPT Blood System

Blood centers are faced with many challenges including maximizing production yield from the blood product donations they receive as well as ensuring the highest possible level of safety for transfusion patients, including protection from transfusion transmitted diseases. This must be accomplished in a fiscally responsible manner which minimizes operating expenses including consumables, equipment, waste, and personnel costs, among others. Several methods are available to produce platelet concentrates for transfusion. One of the most common is the buffy coat method in which a single therapeutic platelet unit (≥ 2.0 x10(11) platelets per unit or per local regulations) is prepared by pooling the buffy coat layer from up to six whole blood donations. A procedure for producing "double dose" whole blood derived platelets has only recently been developed. Presented here is a novel method for preparing double dose whole blood derived platelet concentrates from pools of 7 buffy coats and subsequently treating the double dose units with the INTERCEPT Blood System for pathogen inactivation. INTERCEPT was developed to inactivate viruses, bacteria, parasites, and contaminating donor white cells which may be present in donated blood. Pairing INTERCEPT with the double dose buffy coat method by utilizing the INTERCEPT Processing Set with Dual Storage Containers (the "DS set"), allows blood centers to treat each of their double dose units in a single pathogen inactivation processing set, thereby maximizing patient safety while minimizing costs. The double dose buffy coat method requires fewer buffy coats and reduces the use of consumables by up to 50% (e.g. pooling sets, filter sets, platelet additive solution, and sterile connection wafers) compared to preparation and treatment of single dose buffy coat platelet units. Other cost savings include less waste, less equipment maintenance, lower power requirements, reduced personnel time, and lower collection cost compared to the apheresis technique.

Preparation and Pathogen Inactivation of Double Dose Buffy Coat Platelet Products using the INTERCEPT Blood System

Blood centers are faced with many challenges including maximizing production yield from the blood product donations they receive as well as ensuring the highest possible level of safety for transfusion patients, including protection from transfusion transmitted diseases. This must be accomplished in a fiscally responsible manner which minimizes operating expenses including consumables, equipment, waste, and personnel costs, among others. Several methods are available to produce platelet concentrates for transfusion. One of the most common is the buffy coat method in which a single therapeutic platelet unit (≥ 2.0 x1011 platelets per unit or per local regulations) is prepared by pooling the buffy coat layer from up to six whole blood donations. A procedure for producing "double dose" whole blood derived platelets has only recently been developed. Presented here is a novel method for preparing double dose whole blood derived platelet concentrates from pools of 7 buffy coats and subsequently treating the double dose units with the INTERCEPT Blood System for pathogen inactivation. INTERCEPT was developed to inactivate viruses, bacteria, parasites, and contaminating donor white cells which may be present in donated blood. Pairing INTERCEPT with the double dose buffy coat method by utilizing the INTERCEPT Processing Set with Dual Storage Containers (the "DS set"), allows blood centers to treat each of their double dose units in a single pathogen inactivation processing set, thereby maximizing patient safety while minimizing costs. The double dose buffy coat method requires fewer buffy coats and reduces the use of consumables by up to 50% (e.g. pooling sets, filter sets, platelet additive solution, and sterile connection wafers) compared to preparation and treatment of single dose buffy coat platelet units. Other cost savings include less waste, less equipment maintenance, lower power requirements, reduced personnel time, and lower collection cost compared to the apheresis technique.