Government Technology - September 2008 - (Page 36) funding S TAT E | L O C A L | F E D E R A L Synopsis: Corporate leaders are encouraging joint efforts to help communities in times of need. Giving comes in many forms, including in-kind contributions, services, equipment and dollars. Business leaders envision creative ways to offer support to communities. j j BY SUZANE BRICKER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER PHOTO BY ANDREA BOOHER/FEMA Greatest Asset? R egardless of whether it’s a bull or bear market, new trends in corporate philanthropy continue to emerge. One interesting example of this phenomenon is the efforts of IBM and other companies to enhance government services after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. In emergency situations, where the ensuing chaos is more than any one municipal agency can handle, it takes strategic partnerships to fill in the gaps. Corporate leaders are encouraging joint efforts to help communities in times of need by contributing dollars, equipment and services. Corporate philanthropy also is helping to shore up community services, such as libraries through organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For cashstrapped cities and counties, these funding mechanisms may offer vital help for valuable community programs. “Government is a very, very difficult enterprise; you are not just dealing with the complicated problems of delivering services to people, but very often you are doing it in a fishbowl environment, where 90 percent satisfaction is not enough,” said Stanley S. Litow, president of the IBM International Foundation and vice president of IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs. “To contribute into the communities, we want all of our employees to be involved, leveraging their expertise.” That expertise comes from IBM’s 380,000person global work force. Some of these employees are business and software consultants, others are finance and communications professionals. Regardless of their occupations, many give their time to offset the trauma of tragic situations. However, such contributions include more than volunteer hours or monetary donations. “In some cases, donation of the [company’s] product or service is in some ways much more valuable than the modest financial contribution that a corporation could provide, so that municipality would benefit from the absolute best the company has to offer,” Litow said. Government’s Emergency Response Major corporations have played key roles in responding to recent large-scale emergencies. After 9/11, for instance, IBM designed an information system to track services provided to victims by various agencies. The system proved invaluable for guiding the delivery of services to many in need, and SEPT_08 36 http://www.govtech.com
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