Question: should corporations care about helping to solve homelessness? In the United States, corporations are created by the action of each of the 50 States and are subject to hosts of regulations. They also have rights under the US Constitution. With rights, however, come responsibilities ...
Since the creation of the US Constitution, the rights of corporations have been debated. The US Supreme Court has been determining the constitutional rights of corporations on a case-by-case basis. For example, early in the history of this country, the Court determined that corporations could not be citizens in the United States. Insurance Co. v. New Orleans, 13 Fed Cas. 67 (C.C.D.La. 1870). It held that under the 14th Amendment, only natural persons could be citizens. (Ibid.)
However, the Court found that corporations are "persons" within the due process clause of the 14th Amendment and therefore they cannot be deprived of their property without due process of law. (Smyth v. Ames, 169 U.S. 266, 522, 526, 1898). It further decided that corporations are entitled to the protection of the First Amendment (First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U. S. 765, 778 (1978)), including being protected for political speech. (NAACP v. Button, 371 U. S. 415, 428-429.) As recently as January 21, 2010, the Court issued a five-to-four ruling that corporations are protected by the First Amendment from limits on corporate funding of political broadcasts in candidate elections.
Since corporations have been found by the Court to be "persons" with rights under the US Constitution, do corporations recognize any "personal" responsibility to help solve the social issues of the day, including homelessness? In other words, do corporations have hearts?
Answer: Virgin Mobile does.
Recently, I had the good fortune to speak with Dan Schulman, President of Virgin Mobile, one of Sprint's prepaid brands, about corporate philanthropy. During our conversation, Dan said that he recognizes that corporations have "a moral imperative" to help those in need and that "It's not just good to be philanthropic, it's good for business."
In 2006, with the support of Virgin Unite, Virgin's Group's charitable arm, Dan created Re*Generation, a program through which Virgin Mobile's 5 million customers could be empowered to help end homelessness among youth. Dan coined the term Re*Generation so that the youthful customers of Virgin Mobile would be inspired to help members of their own generation -- homeless youth. By choosing to help homeless youth, Dan hoped that "Re-Generation" would increase customer loyalty to Virgin Mobile and, at the same time, help the 2 million youth who are homeless in the United States.
Since it began, Re*Generation has helped raise close to $500,000, plus encouraged volunteers to donate more than 200,000 items of clothing, over 30,000 hours of community service and nearly 10,000 hygiene kits through the following projects:
• 2010 Virgin Mobile Extends the FREE.I.P. Platform Beyond FreeFest to include the sponsorship of "The Monster Ball Tour Starring Lady Gaga." Offering music fans the opportunity to earn a seat at Lady Gaga's sold out music tour, volunteers in more than 20 US markets each gave eight hours of their time to homeless youth organizations. Lady Gaga, moved by the disproportionate number of LGBT youth experiencing homelessness, recorded a PSA urging fans to donate to RE*Generation and pledged to match donations up to $25,000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6RRjrXVmyw&feature=player_embedded
• November 2009: Public Enemy #1. To celebrate the third-year of National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, Virgin Mobile declared youth homelessness as "Public Enemy #1." With the help of rap group Public Enemy, who gave an impromptu performance in the streets of DC before a concert, raised $25,000, more than 300 winter coats for the issue and for Sasha Bruce Youthwork, a local Washington D.C. organization that works with homeless youth.
• August 2009: "2009 FreeFest." For the first time, Virgin Mobile's annual summer music festival became "FreeFest" with free admission for a day long festival that previously cost fans $100/day. FreeFest also introduced a special volunteer platform labeled FREE.I.P. FREE.I.P. provided volunteer opportunities in exchange for VIP access to the FreeFest.
• November 2007: National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. The Re*Generation Task Force, with the help of singer/songwriter Jewel, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) and others, lobbied Congress for the designation of November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month.
• May 2007: TXT2CLOTHE. A partnership with American Eagle Outfitters which provided 200,000 pieces of new clothing to homeless kids throughout local distribution centers and organizations.
• 2006: RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile's Charitable Arm, Launched. RE*Generation began by assembling a group of organizations like StandUp4Kids and Youth Noise as beneficiaries. The program was initially based around giving proceeds from downloads like ringtones to the cause of youth homelessness, and Virgin Mobile's TXT2DONATE program.
On April 23, NAEH honored Dan Schulman, and Virgin Mobile USA with its partner, Virgin Unite, with its 2010 Private Sector Achievement Award. "Virgin Mobile USA has done some commendable work in raising awareness about youth homelessness -- an important and emerging issue in the field," said Steve Berg, Vice President of Programs and Policy at NAEH. "We congratulate Virgin Mobile on their efforts and look forward to seeing the evolution of their innovative Re*Generation campaign.
Despite all that Virgin Mobile and its partners are doing through Re*Generation, Dan assured me, "There is so much more yet to do ... Our goal and objective is to end homelessness. We can't stop until we get there. I truly believe that's our responsibility."
In view of what Virgin Mobile has done and what all corporations could do, I call for a corporation summit on the issues of homelessness, possibly subtitled, "Corporations Care," so all corporations will be encouraged to help those in need. To be sure, I'd be happy to facilitate the conference!
I look forward to your comments.
Thank you,
Christine
George Lakoff: HUD Is Trying to Privatize and Mortgage Off All of America's Public Housing
Alyssa Jung: Terrell Owens--Homeless
Eliezer Sobel: Good News and Bad News... and Woody Allen
Homelessness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fairfax sees decrease in homelessness
Housing plan for chronically homeless 'blindsides' Oak Cliff, Dallas civic ...
Keep up the good work.
Mike P. McKeever
---need far outweighs availability IF we care about homelessness? We have to make it a cultural , national priority , not a corporate one.
It can happen to ANYONE. One major accident or health crisis is all it takes to discover that there are no safety nets. The mythologies surrounding homelessness must be shattered. Todays article here @ HuffPo regarding the 99 % ers who are no longer entitled to unemployment benefits relates re: topic.
It is good however to
Thank for your comment.
You've said it so well. Great insights! I really have nothing to add, except, Thanks!
Please stay in touch,
Christine
It sounds harsh, but those are the facts. Businesses are created to make money, that's it, there is no other function. They are not created to "help people", "build a better tomorrow" or "help you live better". They are designed soley to make the owners or shareholders richer.
Thanks for your email.
Yes, I know the general company/corporate philosophy about philanthropy. But, I also think that there are enough people in those companies/corporations who might just want to change that philosophy, at least for their own businesses, if they wanted to for whatever reason.
Perhaps, the pressure of public boycotts of their products, perhaps their own personal development, perhpas because someone they know is in need or lost in homelessness...
Whatever the reason, I believe that there are some entrapanuers out there who really could help with solving the issues of homelessness.
Thank you for all you do for others, regardless of your company motiviation! In my opinion, it's just good to do good no matter what the reason.
Please stay in touch,
Christine
Like religious apologists who claim God is behind every decent, ethical, or moral choice but that individuals are responsible for the evil done in the name of religion, you're lost in a double standard and missing the point. In theory, a corporation is nothing more than a virtual profit machine. It's as amoral as a kitchen knife, equally handy when making a nutritious meal or committing a murder. The knife itself exists only to cut.
But by assigning the corporation so many of the rights of an individual, we've created something way beyond an amoral tool. We've given authority to an abstraction that's incapable of personal responsibility. Occasionally we scapegoat some individuals for corporate wrongdoing, or laud a few for doing good, but we seldom examine the underlying structure, which is nothing less than a psychosis embodied in law, rather than in a mind.
The crucial distinction is that the corporation exists independently of any individual or group of individuals. "We have a responsibility to our shareholders" translates as "this machine has no purpose other than to create the most profit it can as quickly as possible."
You may ride the tiger for the homeless today, but the long term consequences will be anything but charity.
Thanks for your comment.
I appreciate your thoughts.
How do we get corporations to help? Or can we?
Christine
On an individual basis, I can't think of anything better than the financial cat belling you're already doing. Regardless of how we've allowed our worst impulses to structure our most important institutions, it's still possible for individuals to do a great deal of good.
As for the larger issue, I can't even imagine how to get any significant number of people to notice that the dominant institution of our time is intrinsically a compassion-free juggernaut, much less do anything at all about it. When the fox owns the hen house, the chicken media, the elected poultry representatives, the egg incubator, and tells the roosters what to crow every morning... I really don't know.
Grass roots movements always sounds terrific as they get started, but when the goal is to unseat the driver of the lawn mower, the roots don't last long. Historically, violence seems to work, some of the time, for awhile.
there's a difference between why Al Capone was put in jail, and why Skilling was. Al Capone was put in jail for tax fraud as the last ditch effort in a war against the mafia. to end the enormous clout the mafia had, esp over local governing.
Skilling was put in jail to punish him for being part of a Enron that cost people millions. It was not part of an overall effort to either reform or end unregulated Corporate influence and concentrated power. that has not ended. The end of the corporation is the same: as much money at whatever cost. I would argue that taken to an extreme, without oversight and regulation, it becomes treasonous, because the corporation holds greater allegiance to profit and shareholders than the good of the nation. But, again, there can be no trial because corporations are sort of persons, but not really.
Why do I keep on the same point? Because I feel you need to root out the problem. To whitewash corporatehood with giveaways is like whitewashing the fiefdoms in feudal europe, where the power (the feudal lord) made the laws and was answereble only to himself. The real problem is concentration of power and wealth.
Remember what Reagan did to california and then the U.S.? he was the ultimate corporate deregulator/spokesman
Thanks for your email.
I do appreciate your time and thoughts.
But, my question remains, how do we "root out the problem," as you say? How do we get corporations involved?
Christine
Corporations are led by people. and people change.
Other ways Corporations "give" is by encouraging(community service questions on annual review, no pressure) employees to give freely of their down time. The company will even give you a t-shirt with their name on it to wear at the event.
My favorite is when donations are asked for from employees or customers(Walmart does this). You give money and then the company hands it over to the charity, in the company's name! The company gets publicity and praise and you get to raise up the company in public and you get to be your own humble modest private invisible self who is just there after all to serve, mostly the company as it turns out, which is just the way companies like it. Free service in their name! It kind of reminds them of the good old days! You know, slavery, tax free work zones. A lot of companies profited from Hitlers Germany(free labor endeared Hitler to those companies).
So let's not lose sight of the kind of "persons" we speak of here. Exploitative persons. Exploiting charities to raise image and attitudes is just a part of doing business.
Thanks for your comment.
I know that our collective experiences with apparent and actual corporate philanthropy has not always been so pretty.
But, I am not deterred.
I think we can change this. Do you?
Christine
However, it is also necessary to look at the homeless problem in relation to the massive tax cuts of Reagan and Bush II. Hundreds of thousands of individuals who could not care for themselves were forced out onto the streets as a result of the Reagan tax cuts for the mostly-corporate rich. Under Bush, with his immense corporate tax cuts and the doubling of the national debt, homelessness has again become worse.
Thus, it is necessary to look at the interests of corporations as one would a two-edged sword. On the one hand they have many programs to help the homeless and other disadvantaged individuals, but on the other hand the tax policies their lobbyists pushed through under the Republicans have made the homelessness problem in this country much worse than it used to be.
Thanks for your comment.
You always bring up interesting points. Thanks for that!
I guess my thought is that today we need the participation of everyone to solve social concerns, including corporations.
I think that we citizens have ignored the potential help that many corporations could bring to helping to solve social issues, including homelessness.
We need to invite corporations to get more involved and then persuade them through our buying or not-buying power to get more involved.
Homelessness, for one, is such a big issue, I think we all need to do our best to help end it, including corporations.
What do you think?
Christine
your articles are always stimulating and are important. Thank you.
I think that the generally accepted meme is that corporate and individual activism on this and other charitable programs are not likely to ever replace the governmental programs that were cut-back or eliminated in order to reduce government spending during and after Reagan. That the cuts in government spending coincided with the largest tax cuts to the wealthiest in this country in the history of this country, is not a coincidence.
Thanks for your comment.
Although corporations cannot vote, as you point out, the US Supreme Court has found that corporations do have many rights under the US Constitution, including equal protection of the laws under the 14th Amendment.
I agree that the Scotus decision was a terrible mistake, but, as we've learned over the years, the US Supreme Court is not infalliable.
The real question I am suggesting in this article is why don't we as people demand more of corporations to help solve social issues. We have the power of the "purse strings" - we can affect their business by changing our buying habits.
I think its time we woke these corporations up.
What do you think?
Christine
Thanks for your comment.
Based on the name you have chosen, I'm interested to learn your opinion about the controversy regarding the content of school books in Texas. My interest is not on point, but I'd love to know your opinion.
Yup, corporations do care about the bottom line and their stock price.
But, some how, some way, I feel that we've got to get them involved in solving social issues! For example, donations to nonprofits are tax-deductible. Maybe using some kind of tax incentive would help.
I think that we, all of us, should demand social action from corporations and influence them by not buying their products or their stock.
We all learned how to recycle, we can learn how to influence corporate philanthropy.
What do you think?
Christine
There's a lesson there. Sometimes "down ballot" races and obscure offices can be very powerful. Single issue groups are aware of this and can use it to their advantage. That's exactly what happened here.
New subject: Companies really don't have a motivation to "do the right thing". It may briefly elevate the stock price but the bottom line and the overall stock price is still what matters. Today when communities are suffering job losses and fiercely competing for new industry and jobs, a companies "moral reputation" isn't even in the formula. It's how many jobs will it create and how will it increase the tax base.
As much as I hate to say it, money over rides morality every time.
If corporations are granted the same rights as individuals, then they should be held equally accountable and in many cases determining accountability can be difficult. Furthermore, the purchasing power that corporations possess overshadows all but the most wealthy individuals of this country and so granting them this power seems to be handing them democracy's head on a silver platter.
Sure, it may be somewhat profitable to pursue some moderate philanthropy, yet given the amount of money and representation a corporation possesses, they should make much greater strides to improve the welfare of society. After all, without the consumer's dollars the corporation would not exist and if it is to reap the same benefits as people, then it obviously has a vested interest in their well-being.
Thanks for your comment.
I agree with you. I'm trying to think of anything I would add, but all I keep thinking is that I agree with you.
Please stay in touch,
Christine
Thanks for your comment.
The question is how do you get corporations to step up and actually help end homelessness?
That's what I was trying to think about in this article.
Also, as I wrote, I thought that we should have a conference of corporations where they would sign up to help end homelessness, or help any cause, for that matter.
It just seems that we, the public, have not asked or required that corporations help. I think it's time. Past time.
I'm interested in any ideas you might have to get corporations involved. Please let me know what you think.
Christine
Thanks for your comment.
My issue was how do we get corporations involved in helping end homelessness.
I thought that by raising the fact that corporations are persons, have rights and therefore, in my opinion, have responsibilities, we have a legal foundation and, maybe, impetus for corporations to actually do something.
I was hoping that by highlighting the efforts of Virgin Mobile and Lady Gaga to help end youth homelessness, other corporations might be motivated to get involved, too.
Also, I've used the article to call for a conference on corporate philanthropy.
How would you suggest we get corporations to get involved? I'm really open to your thoughts.
It's just time, I think, to get corporations involved. Past time.
Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!
Christine
Homelessness will not be solved by corporations or corporations who are "persons". It will be solved by human beings. Corporations are driven by profit. The people invested in them are detached as shareholders. That is why so many people hold stock in companies that destroy lives here and overseas. IT's easy to look the other way.
It's not corporations that help the homeless. It is people. You are just giving them a whitewash.
Thanks for your comment.
Virgin Mobile is doing good things, I agree. I also think that it was wonderful that they got Lady Gaga involved, or at least connected with her, since she appears to have a real passion for helping homeless youth. Lady Gaga is a great spokesperson for homeless youth.
It seems to me to be a good thing all around.
Now, do you think we can get more and more corporations involved?
I hope so.
Best to you,
Christine