Marketing-driven philanthropy: the case of PlayPumps

• Published in: European business review Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 321 - 335
• Main Authors: Graham Saunders, Stephen, Borland, Ralph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 21.06.2013; Emerald
• Subjects: 1980-2011; Business; Business models; Cause-Related Marketing; Celebrities; Charities; Consumerism; Consumption; Corporate planning; Dependency theory; Design engineering; Developing countries; Donations; Drinking water; Fund raising; Funding; Fundraising; Government spending; Historical analysis; Human rights; Impact analysis; Interest groups; Joining; LDCs; Marketing; Nonprofit-Marketing; Philanthropie; Philanthropy; Poverty; Pumpe; Pumps; Sanitation; Studies; Südliches Afrika; Trinkwasser; Africa; Cause-related marketing; Philanthropy; Marketing-driven philanthropy; Fundraising; Charity; Marketing
• ISSN: 0955-534X; 1758-7107
• DOI: 10.1108/EBR-02-2013-0011

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate, through a comparative historical analysis, the impact of a shift to a marketing-driven (business-oriented) philanthropic funding structure on NGOs, international businesses that fund charities, and the recipients of the funding for a water pump system in southern Africa.Design methodology approach - The study deconstructs and dissects the introduction and acceptance of the PlayPumps water pump system by generating four historical funding-structure models that typified the philanthropic funding at the time. Each time period is critically examined to investigate how changes toward marketing-driven philanthropy affected the viability of the project.Findings - The key finding is that by shifting to a marketing-driven (business-oriented) philanthropic funding structure, NGOs risk fundamentally disconnecting the funders and the recipients of the funding. Serious concerns arise regarding the role of businesses in driving the "overcommercialisation" of marketing-driven philanthropy.Research limitations implications - The funding-structure models highlight some of the hidden costs of marketing-driven philanthropic funding, but do not show what funding structure would be most efficient in better connecting international businesses and consumers with the charities they are supporting.Originality value - This analysis examines the underexplored intersection of business, marketing, consumerism and philanthropy.