Week 3 EOC 1: For Profit Organizations That Give Back

When most of us think of “for profit” companies we picture companies that are run by a CEO corrupted by greed. It is easy to think of these companies having a sole purpose of raking in as much money as possible. However, there are several “for profit” companies out there that give away a tremendous amount of their profits to charities and people that are in need. There are many companies out there such as Tom’s that give away one product to someone in need, for every product purchased; but what about companies that aren’t built on that similar form of mission statement? One example of a company that wasn’t brought up on the “Tom’s” style mission statement but still is known for giving back is Kroger’s. According to www.forbes.com “Example: In 2010 Kroger, the Cincinnati supermarket operator, gave away 10.9% of its $589 million in 2009 pre-tax profits, amounting to $64 million”. That is a lot of money! I personally was shocked to see that Kroger would give 1/10^th of their profits for the year to charity and people in need. “Forbes put together two lists. The one we think is most meaningful: The companies that are most generous in their cash donations as a percentage of pre-tax profits. Kroger tops that list.” According to Kroger’s vice president of corporate affairs, “Lynn Marmer, $40 million of Kroger’s cash giving flows through a 15-year-old community rewards program, where shoppers who carry Kroger’s loyalty cards name a local charity they want to support. Kroger then gives 2%-5% (determined by local stores) of each shopper’s bill as a cash contribution to the school, church, or community group chosen by the customer.” I think this is a very generous way that Kroger chooses to benefit society. The money goes to charities and non-profits that the customer chooses.