Nonprofit Endorsements Still Controversial

Sierra club.gif With the trends we've touted about corporations and nonprofits working together more closely on products that can bring social change, we should expect some controversy.

The age old question of whether nonprofits with quality brands should provide endorsements to corporate products is alive and well in the era of new Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

Anya Kamenetz for Fast Company reports in its September 2008 issue on a recent deal involving the Sierra Club endorsement of Clorox's new line of environmentally friendly products called Green Works for "an undisclosed fee." Evidently, Clorox is thrilled and the rank and file of the Sierra Club is miffed.

According to the article, "[Executive Director, Carl] Pope had already been pushing for a shift in mind-set at the 116-year-old Sierra Club for some time -- from a mandate to 'stop bad things,' as he puts it, to one about 'making good things happen.'" This is the kind of proactive attitude toward working with corporations that is going to be required of nonprofits if they hope to partner in ways that are relevant to today's economy.

Fast Company reports that "Green has actually grown the overall size on the naturals market by 300% in the categories it competes in, and more products are in the pipeline, all stamped with the Sierra Club seal." Additionally, the Sierra Club is "being exposed to millions of shoppers at Wal-Mart, Target, and elsewhere."

Since I've been in the sector, there has been an unwritten rule that endorsements for money are off-limits due to the risk of sullying the brand. It's not clear what steps the Sierra Club took to mitigate those risks. It will be interesting to see if the game has changed, or the age-old wisdom proves correct even in these changing times.

Carla E. Dearing

Comments

Where is the board on this decision? Hopefully, it was involved and made up of people who understand the organization's mission, vision and values, people who are strategic thinkers, people who understand the risk/opportunity relationship and people who push back until they feel satisfied that they've gotten the answers to their questions and concerns - in other words, a board. Change is not bad, as long as it is well-thought out and in line with the direction the organization is committed to going.