I guess I'm just an old grump, but I hate the phrase "giving back to the community." Corporations say this a lot and it just makes me cringe. What did you take from "the community" that requires you to give back. Did you hire people? Provide a product or service that community members bought?

This seems like creeping Marxist cant to me.

Why can't people just say they're making a charitable gift or effort to benefit the community?

Yeah, I wish they'd stop lying. That money "given back" was factored into the price of their goods/services or collected at the register, and given in the name of the company.

And, while we're at it, I'd just as soon companies like (say, AT&T or Wells Fargo) stop charging customers just so they can practice corporate graffiti; naming stadiums.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus Dei:


And, while we're at it, I'd just as soon companies like (say, AT&T or Wells Fargo) stop charging customers just so they can practice corporate graffiti; naming stadiums.

That is just advertising. The intent is the same as putting their name on a billboard. It has nothing to do with supporting sports. They don't charge you any more so that they can put their name on a stadium. If it wasn't there then they would just buy a whole lot more billboards.

"Giving back to the community" means "Patting ourselves on the back for PR while collecting a fat tax deduction."

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:

quote:

Originally posted by Opus Dei:


And, while we're at it, I'd just as soon companies like (say, AT&T or Wells Fargo) stop charging customers just so they can practice corporate graffiti; naming stadiums.

That is just advertising. The intent is the same as putting their name on a billboard. It has nothing to do with supporting sports. They don't charge you any more so that they can put their name on a stadium. If it wasn't there then they would just buy a whole lot more billboards.

It's a form of advertising, and nobody would deny that. But the purpose is brand awareness, something these companies already have.

Of course there's no line-item surcharge for stadium-naming rights. That comes from a corporate budget. But that corporate budget is funded by customer revenue, so the money is imputed within a monthly bill. And how they choose to allocate those funds is what I'm talking about.

The billboards touting free checking or 4 lines for $100/month is what increases revenue. IDK what a generic logo on a stadium does to increase business.

Hy-Vee grocery stores, in E. Iowa is one of the largest contributors to communities.

always on the news ,giving $1,500.00 here $2,500.00 there and $3,000.00 to that charity.

There pricing reflects it , as well.

they are between 20% and 35 % higher on the majority of their groceries.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus Dei:

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:

quote:

Originally posted by Opus Dei:


And, while we're at it, I'd just as soon companies like (say, AT&T or Wells Fargo) stop charging customers just so they can practice corporate graffiti; naming stadiums.

That is just advertising. The intent is the same as putting their name on a billboard. It has nothing to do with supporting sports. They don't charge you any more so that they can put their name on a stadium. If it wasn't there then they would just buy a whole lot more billboards.

It's a form of advertising, and nobody would deny that. But the purpose is brand awareness, something these companies already have.

Of course there's no line-item surcharge for stadium-naming rights. That comes from a corporate budget. But that corporate budget is funded by customer revenue, so the money is imputed within a monthly bill. And how they choose to allocate those funds is what I'm talking about.

The billboards touting free checking or 4 lines for $100/month is what increases revenue. IDK what a generic logo on a stadium does to increase business.

Those four lines on a billboard cost a little more than 100 bucks a month. Depending on the city and location they can go for over 20 grand for 4 weeks. At a minimum for any location any major company would use it's still a few thousand.

Naming rights for a stadium go far beyond a generic logo on the stadium itself. Every single time there is a game there the name of that stadium, and so the name of the company putting their name on it, is mentioned multiple times over TV and radio. When the Braves play at Suntrust park I bet the word Suntrust is said at least a dozen times by every broadcast team in the booth. Not only that but it will be said again when ESPN, Fox, CBS, ABC, MLB Network, NBC and every other channel plays any summary of the game. And when they play those highlights, the Suntrust logo will be visible to millions of people watching. Of course the millions of people watching the game live will see those too, as will the thousands at the Stadium. And it isn't limited to games. Every concert, every event every person will see and hear Suntrust over and over and over. From the second they look for tickets online to see that the band is at Suntrust park to the last second they look in the rearview mirror and see that huge logo on the side of the building. Every baseball fan across the country will have heard of the name Suntrust before that Stadium get torn down. Those are free commercials being broadcast nationwide.

Suntrust Bank paid ten million a year to put their name on the new Braves stadium. According to this site the average cost of a 30 second ad in prime time was 112K in 2014, with shows like The Walking Dead taking up to 400K. The naming rights for the new Braves stadium only cost as much per year as 25 30 second ads during the Walking Dead, which most people probably won't see because they are fast forwarding through them or in the bathroom while it plays.

Naming stadiums is not a ploy by companies to raise fees to their customers. I can't tell you why major companies feel that they need to continually promote brand awareness but if there was no reason for it you would never see another Coke or Pepsi ad again. Everyone knows those companies exist and the products that they sell yet they spend millions a year reminding you about themselves. I don't know the importance of it but if they think it is truly important then I can't think of many better ways than to buy the naming rights to a stadium.

I fail to understand how paid volunteer/charity time is really volunteering or giving charity?

Or why people seek attention for attending events. I say attending because when I go, I get sweaty and work... while others go to talk, bs, and get his/her picture taken...

Then they put it on their resume!

I presume they took profits from the community so they're giving some of that back in the form of money, products, or other services.

Most major companies have a charity unit separate from the business.

Not all contributions come from the company profits. A good number comes from shaking down the employees also during their charity drive. At a previous company, there were "expected" percentages of giving once you're above a certain pay grade.

Some companies also run programs that let their employees in groups contribute their time to charities or education. For example, helping pack stuff at the local food bank or judging science projects at a local school. We also ran a program where the company funded buying the stuff, then employees would spend some hours packing up school backpacks with the stuff, then it would be delivered to some target schools.

Those parts that involve the employee time, I think they benefit the community, the workers, and the company itself. Everyone wins.

Neil Boortz hated the term " giving back" as much as I do.

You support your community, why is giving back necessary?

Neal Boortz
@Talkmaster
"Giving back" and "less-fortunate" are phrases created by leftists to subliminally denigrate self-reliance and personal achievement

Charity is supposed to be anonymous, otherwise its just self glorification. I do agree that phrase is so much bullshit. I don't need to give back a goddamn thing because I'm not a leech. I'm a contributing member of our society.

it a definitive, very specific line , I agree.

giving back, paying it forward, community nourishment , social responsibility, and there are more.

some days it seems like I am bombarded by this charity or that benefit.

I try to remember what Churchill said,

We make a living by what we get,
We make a life by what we give

While i agree with social responsibility to an extent, when I read "giving back" I always ask myself "self, why the hell don't they just lower their prices?"

Screw the tax write off, taxes are just passed to end user anyway.

It's like the saying that "Corporations don't pay taxes!" It's true, they're merely the middleman between the customer and the government.

then there is the whole church thing and taxes