The Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide [Hardcover]

Doris Rubenstein (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is highly recommended." (Tulsa Business Journal, 4/15/2004)

"This book is highly recommended." -- Tulsa Business Journal, 4/15/2004

Review

"Doris Rubenstein's book makes sound financial sense and should be a must-read for executives of all businesses, small and large alike. She exhibits an intimate understanding of the fiscal demands and corporate concerns of business owners when first establishing relationships with charities. Rubenstein presents a sensible, ethical, and effective approach to corporate philanthropy that is much needed in today's world. If (small) businesses are the lifeblood of a community, her book is an important guide to how they can forge a partnership to achieve civic and cultural improvement and success." —Russell Rothman, Executive Vice President M. Rothman & Co, Inc.

"Organizations have a tendency to underestimate the value of incorporating a systematic, focused approach to practicing good corporate citizenship within their management system. This text offers a compelling philosophy, along with a practical approach to manage this important part of your management system." —Gary D. Floss, Managing Director, BlueFire Partners, Board Member of American Society for Quality

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471475653
• ISBN-13: 978-0471475651
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #508,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every executive and business owner should read this book!, July 4, 2004

By	Rebecca St Martin "rbccstmrtn" (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide (Hardcover)

Every executive and business owner should read this book! It's important for today's leaders to recognize the vital role that business plays not only in our community but how it's relationship with community affects the bottom line. This author's words have inspired me to start a giving program for my own business.

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing like It!, March 28, 2005

By	Ames Sheldon (St. Paul, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide (Hardcover)

The Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide is a very detailed and complete handbook on corporate philanthropy for those corporations that that wish to make a meaningful contribution to the improvement of their communities, but it is extremely useful for individuals and family foundations that want to make a difference as well. Ms. Rubenstein has done an excellent job of raising the questions that donors must answer in this extremely complex area of philanthropy. And the book is just what the title says - it's an extremely practical guide with lots of examples and helpful detail.

Ames Sheldon, Director of Development, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota

5.0 out of 5 stars A Handbook to Keep, September 25, 2004

By	Gary L. Garriott (Panama City, Panama) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What I appreciate about "The Good Corporate Citizen" is that it is an engaging blend of the very practical ("Why Conduct a Corporate Citizenship Program?" because among other things, customers "are likely to continue doing business with the company") as well as the ethical and near spiritual. In the latter category, eight steps on the ladder of charity are identified from the work of a medieval Jewish wiseman, Rabbi Maimonides. At the bottom level you can do charity with the zeal of Scrooge; at the top, you can help set up conditions such that people can avoid charity in the first place. Author Rubenstein deftly weaves modern-day parallels to all steps. The book is really a handbook in that it provides straightforward information on difficult subjects such as evaluating nonprofits on how they have made use of grants to providing a lot of useful sample forms on budgets, grant approval and "regret" letters as well as letters of agreement with recipient organizations and the basic elements of a corporate giving plan. Rubenstein also introduces new concepts, such as "social entrepreneurism" which is modestly revolutionizing approaches to making higher education more accessible to underprivileged groups in the US (www.collegesummit.org). She tantalizes with brief but insightful discussions on "quality of life" matters such as international and environmental philanthropy. One has a sense that she has much more to say on such subjects and, given the increasingly interdependence of the world in which we live, hopefully her next volume will treat these in greater depth.