Customers Want Corporate Social Responsibility
/Businesses are learning how complex the relationship with the contemporary customer really is. It’s not enough to provide a customer with whatever service or product they want anymore—customers also need to believe in the company.
UBS Art Collection (Courtesy of Widewalls)
Today, a growing number of companies view their corporate philanthropy as only one piece of their overall corporate social responsibility. This approach recognizes that in an era of increasingly complex corporate relationships and operations, no company's philanthropy can overcome other highly visible irregularities in the company's business. Corporate philanthropy can enhance a company's reputation, but it can't substitute for good old-fashioned trustworthiness and integrity.
—Timothy McClimon, Grantmakers in the Arts
These companies view corporate responsibility as more than an occasional gesture or PR activity. They codify their philanthropic efforts with comprehensive policies and practices supported from the top down.
Deutche Bank Art Collection (Courtesy of Widewalls)
UBS, for one, has loaned out a lot of art to museums, according to Forbes, while also trying to elevate new artists. Of the bank’s 35,000 pieces of art, most are by “relatively unknown (a.k.a., less expensive) emerging and mid-career artists.” The bank’s approach is to support “living artists at integral stages of their career,” according to UBS Americas curator Jacqueline Lewis.
It's a modern truism that the ability to adapt to an ever-changing environment is the hallmark of a good manager. However, the values that ground corporate responsibility remain true in every era…It is unlikely that the days of pure corporate altruism are going to return. It is also unlikely that the trend toward more and more focused giving, and more integration of corporate philanthropy into holistic social responsibility efforts, is going to abate anytime soon.
—McClimon
JPMorgan Chase Art Collection (Courtesy of Widewalls)
Chase is another corporation dedicated to art collecting. The company began collecting in 1959 when it was still Chase Manhattan Bank under then-President David Rockefeller. It has amassed a collection of over 30,000 pieces in some 450 offices worldwide.
In addition, the program administers an active museum loan program, originates traveling exhibitions, provides educational programming for internal and external audiences, and supports the firm’s global philanthropic and sponsorship activities.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. believes that arts and culture are the lifeblood of vibrant communities. We support a range of programs and events that foster creativity, provide access to the arts to underserved audiences, promote self expression and celebrate diversity.
The relationship of customers to businesses is changing. Customers want more than a product or service—they want a positive feeling about the companies they buy from. If customers have social issues top of mind, it’s important for companies to have them top of mind as well. Art collecting is one way to do that.