John Burnside was recently awarded the T.S. Eliot prize for poetry but this was overshadowed by controversy after two of the shortlisted poets pulled out earlier in the process. This was due to their reservations about new corporate sponsor Aurum, a specialist investment manager that focuses on hedge funds. This event has cast the spotlight on companies Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and best practice.

CSR, and in particular sponsorship, is a growing trend amongst businesses and as can be seen from the T.S. Eliot issue, both organisations and sponsors must be very careful when choosing who to align themselves with.  The T.S. Eliot controversy was attributed to the provenance of the funding – some people do not like the idea of arms manufacturers, oil companies, or in this case financial institutions, sponsoring arts or charity organisations. Although, Aurum may have benefited from extra column inches gained in this case, there are procedures to follow to ensure such situations do not occur.

From the point of view of the corporate sponsor, in order to make CSR programmes as effective as possible, companies should choose a corporate partner based on fundamental company values. If CSR is practised along those guidelines it will have a lasting impact on reputation, sales and hopefully the organisations client base. At the heart of the motivation should be both enhancing the company’s reputation, but also making a real difference to society.

An organisation must also fully integrate the sponsorship into company activities. Press releases can be written around the partnership, events can be held in conjunction with the organisation being sponsored and employees should be able to see the benefits internally. This could include tickets and discounted entry for an arts organisation or employee participation in charity events in the case of a charity. It should be clear to stakeholders that the partnership makes economic, social and reputational sense.

So, while CSR must make good business sense in terms of helping a company’s financial position, recruitment and reputation, it must also act as a powerful investment for long-term sustainability.  This means companies who understand CSR must do so because the organisation they sponsor fundamentally concurs with the company’s own values and the company genuinely wants to make a positive impact on society.