11.12Gathering Data: Target Aiming at a New Charitable Focus

Affectionately known asTar-jay, Minneapolis-based Target Corporation takes corporate social responsibility seriously. The company has been praised for giving back to the community with higher-than-usual charitable contributions. At 3.2 percent of the retailer's profits, Target's annual donations amount to $149 million a year. The retailer ranks No. 8 among Forbes' top ten most generous companies.

In the course of two decades, Target has donated over $432 million to more than 100,000 local schools under its Take Charge of Education program.The company gave away 1 percent of shoppers' REDcard purchases to the education initiative, but it found over time that only 10 percent of REDcard holders enrolled in the program. The retailer also supported library makeovers and other school-based grants. It will continue to fund meal programs for schoolchildren and money for field trips. In all, Target has recently met its goal of giving away $1 billion to education within a mere five years. The new CEO, Brian Cornell, has instituted many changes, including a reorientation in charitable giving. As shoppers have shifted their attention from education to health as their main concern, the retailer has followed suit and is putting its money where its customers are most likely to appreciate it.

Your TaskSelect one of the following tasks.

1. As a summer intern at Walmart, you are asked to an informational memo about Target's charitable practices to send to your boss, Martin Chavez. Walmart is seeking greater community involvement to boost its public image. What types of projects does the Target Corporation fund? What other policies set this company apart from its competitors when it comes to giving back to the community? Need an individual informational e-mail or memo or one collaborative e-mail or memo as a team of summer interns. Alternatively, Martin Chavez could ask you to e-mail or memo describing how Target has handled controversies and what its actions say about the company's management and philosophy.
2. As a team of summer interns for Walmart, research the charitable giving of Target and other major corporations. Need an informational memo comparing and contrasting corporate practices. Target ranks fourth behind Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe's in size. How much of their pretax earnings are these and other big chain stores spending on philanthropy? What types of causes do they embrace, and why? Do their policies seem consistent and purposeful over the long term? How do they justify charitable giving to their shareholders?

In each case, compile a bibliography of sources you used. Whenever appropriate, display numbers visually by creating charts, graphs, and tables.

You may want to start by viewing company mission statements and annual reports for discussions of corporate social responsibility, charitable giving, and worthy causes companies' support. Then, go to independent sources for a more detached, objective perspective.