What Money Can't Buy

One of our customers in Scandinavia recently asked about our commitment to CSR as part of their evaluation of different vendors. I serve as executive sponsor for our CSR program worldwide and was given the opportunity to share insight into our work (those who know me will know that I never get bored talking about CSR, so I was delighted to assist). I talked about our staff Volunteer Day, education programs including university scholarships, and of course the IFS Foundation.

As you may already know, IFS has established a charitable trust to help break the poverty cycle in remote and rural Sri Lanka. We chose Sri Lanka as 1/3 of our workforce is based there, and our customers rely on our team in Colombo each and every day for R&D, global support, offshore delivery and much more besides. It feels right to give something back to that particular community that serves us so well, and the Foundation also serves as a way of saying thank you to our staff there. It is a fund-raising project that can unite the IFS community worldwide, including staff, customers and partners.

Naturally the IFS Foundation was a big part of the discussion. The conversation was wide-ranging, and I was asked at one point why we have insisted on the Foundation being supported by funds raised by staff around the world, rather than IFS simply cutting a big cheque. I shared a story with the client that helps explain our reasoning.

In the early 1990s Switzerland was preparing for a national referendum about where it would site nuclear waste dumps. Comprehensive geological surveys and relevant reports were made available as part of the public debate. Citizens had strong views on the issue, as you can imagine, but they were also well-informed.

During this period, two social scientists set up an interesting project that produced unique insights into our collective sense of community and the limits of free market economics. They went door-to-door, asking people whether they would be willing to have a waste dump in their community. 50% of respondents said yes, despite the fact that people generally thought such a dump was potentially dangerous and would lower the value of their property. The dumps had to go somewhere, and like it or not, people had obligations as citizens.

Those same citizens were then asked a slightly different question. People were asked whether, if given an annual payment equivalent to six weeks’ worth of an average Swiss salary, they would be willing to have the dumps in their communities. Yet only 25% of respondents agreed. Adding the financial incentive cut acceptance in half.

Cut a long explanatory story short, the offer of money undermined the moral force of people’s sense of obligation to the wider community as citizens (for those who are interested in this concept, please grab a copy of Michael Sandel’s book What Money Can’t Buy).

This thinking had a profound effect on our views and attitudes when it came to setting up the IFS Foundation. Rather than have IFS simply donate a chunk of money, we have decided to harness the fund-raising potential of staff worldwide. The story I just shared demonstrates that economics can sometimes have a corrupting effect on civic duty and is one of the reasons why I personally am so adamant about self funding all CSR activity wherever possible, that is to uphold the sense of public spirit through this project, not to mention moral and civic worth.

I want the Foundation to be OUR foundation as a community of like-minded people, rather than an example of corporate virtue-signaling. Sure, if staff want to donate, that’s cool. And for sure IFS has found ways to support the Foundation, notably through allowing staff time off to volunteer on projects associated with the Foundation, and also donating money through activities like our recent #purplechallenge.

But fundamentally the intent is to raise the $200,000 per annum through staff participating in fund-raising activities because they want to do so. Such activity is entirely opt-in.

I am incredibly proud to see the response from my colleagues in many countries around the world, giving up their time to run car boot sales, sausage sizzles, car wash days and other fun activities to promote the aims of the IFS Foundation and raise some much-needed dollars along the way. I am overwhelmed by the generosity of our customers and partners who have donated time, materials or money. This approach creates a much stronger sense of engagement, and on a personal level creates real meaning and purpose to the work I do at IFS.

It goes to what economist Fred Hirsch referred to as the “commercialisation effect” ... the effects on the characteristics of an activity by supplying it on commercial terms rather than on some other basis such as informal exchange, mutual obligation, altruism or feelings of service. I feel we must do all we can to avoid such an effect on the work we do, in case we cheapen it or dilute its impact. In other words, we do these things on behalf of the Foundation because we believe it to be the right thing to do, and for no other reason.

Now, if this idea appeals to you, and if you want to get involved, I have four simple suggestions:

1. Engage: reach out to me. Let’s start a conversation. Maybe you have some ideas on how you or your business can help advance our work, or maybe you have some lived experience that I can learn from.
2. Promote: re-share my posts. Get the message out there. Make some noise! It will help raise awareness and, hopefully, more funds to do more stuff.
3. Connect: you may know some people or businesses who would be willing to lend a hand or who can donate materials. School supplies especially. Please connect me to them.
4. Donate: yes OK I will rattle the tin, just once. Go visit ifs.com/foundation and you will find a PayPal link.

In return I offer my gratitude, and the intrinsic value of knowing that you were here, and I was here, and together we made the world a slightly better place. Thanks for reading.

#ProudlyIFS