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| Path: Main Street : NewsWeek : Archive : Funder Focus : Article |
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Funder Focus: Karen Chow and the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation
June 5, 2006
By Elisa Birnbaum
This month in our Funder Focus we feature the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation. Established in 1996 and national in scope, the foundation supports and works with many organizations, primarily in the areas of health, science education, and hospice palliative care. GSK has consistently been among one of Canada's top corporate donors and was designated as a caring company by Imagine Canada. CharityVillage spoke with vice president Karen M. Chow about the foundation's ongoing commitment to the health and well-being of Canadians, the unique challenges of a being a corporate funder, and some of their impressive projects.
Charity Village: The foundation's focus is on promoting and improving the health and wellness of individuals and communities. Explain how that goal fits with the company's overall mission.
Karen Chow: The GSK mission is to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better, and live longer. And this is manifested through our community investment program, which is dedicated to making a positive difference to the quality of life in Canada. At the heart of this community investment program is the GSK Foundation.
CV: What type of organizations do you fund?
KC: The foundation supports and works with national organizations, primarily in the areas of health care and health promotion. But we also support science education because in our minds future health innovation depends on creating opportunities for young Canadians in science.
The foundation also supports community-based care in HIV/AIDS, hospice palliative care, and charities in communities in which GSK has a physical presence, specifically Mississauga, Oakville, and St. Laurent, Quebec.
We are also a leading contributor to Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC), a charitable organization that provides free medicine, medical supplies and vaccines, donated by Canada's pharmaceutical companies, to the world's impoverished countries and disaster areas. We've been a longstanding partner with HPIC and have donated approximately $20 million in pharmaceutical aid to needy countries around the world.
Some of our community partners include: the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA), the Asthma Society of Canada, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Lung Association, the Canadian Breast Cancer Network, the Lymphoma Foundation, United Way/Centraide, and the National Ovarian Cancer Association.
CV: What type of funding relationships do you establish?
KC: In the past, there used to be multi-year grants. Because issues are evolving so quickly these days, we are now looking at year to year. Some donees are consistently there because they have compelling issues to address. The CHPCA, for example, has been a recipient for a number of years since it's part of our long term commitment to hospice palliative care as the cause of choice among GSK employees.
CV: What do you look for in a grantee?
KC: There's a range of things, as long as they are compatible with the foundation's goal and areas of focus. I think what's really important is that we see projects that are innovative and have direct, significant, and sustained benefits for Canadians, and also that can involve the employees, resources and expertise of GSK.
CV: What are some of the specific challenges associated with being a corporate funder?
KC: I think the biggest challenge is maintaining focus on our selective causes because there are so many compelling issues to address, and yet there are limitations in time and resources to do so. It's unfortunate that we can't support all causes but we are proud that the commitments we do make are for causes that our employees believe in.
CV: The GSK Foundation places an emphasis on employee involvement. What are the participation rates like and how have the employees influenced the foundation in its work?
KC: Many GSK employees dedicate energy, time, and money to the communities and we want to support their involvement. The GSK Foundation Employee Charitable Giving Program matches their charitable contributions and/or makes grants to eligible charities with which they volunteer. Our employee giving program also includes our annual United Way campaign, which last year saw 75% of employees participate by giving a donation. In fact, in 2005, the GSK Foundation received the highest honour among 400 local companies for its employee-supported United Way campaign.
Another program is our commitment to the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation. Employees give toys and other gifts to children who are seriously ill to help make Christmas more festive for them and their families. There were approximately 500 gifts given by employees to the Starlight Foundation last year.
CV: GSK provides more than just financial aid to organizations. What other type of support are you involved in?
KC: We give to communities in various way, including providing in-kind gifts and contributions of management expertise. For example, our commitment to hospice palliative care involves not only our financial support but also an active engagement in a number of communities working together in policy advocacy. We also host the Hospice of Peel's annual volunteer awards event, which recognizes people for their volunteer work.
CV: Aside from the regular grantees, you also support programs such as Living Lessons® and the AIDS Community Innovative Program? How did they come about and what role does the foundation play in these programs?
KC: In 1997, GSK employees voted to make hospice palliative care the company's cause of choice. It was selected from among several societal issues and met GSK's criteria of being a cause that affects Canadians from coast to coast and one in which GSK can make a valuable and sustainable impact. From there, Living Lessons was launched in 1998 as a partnership initiative between the GSK Foundation and Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. So, originally, Living Lessons began as a public awareness campaign and has now evolved to consist of a number of resources for caregivers and healthcare professionals. There's a toll free number, a web site, and some printed publications to provide guidance and practical tips in dealing with the issues associated with end-of-life care.
The HIV/AIDS Community Innovative Program is supported by GSK in partnership with Shire BioChem. It provides grants to support community projects that address the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS who face particular difficulties in obtaining care and high retroviral drug treatments.
CV: How has your funding criteria or funding decisions evolved over the past 10 years?
KC: There's been an evolution over the past 10 years, such that community investment at GSK goes beyond just writing cheques. What it's about now is working with organizations that share our goals, forging partnerships to achieve positive outcomes, and supporting causes that we also feel passionate about. GSK stays committed, becomes directly involved, and offers our expertise in addition to financial resources.
CV: How do you see corporate social responsibility evolving within your own company and beyond? How do you respond to critics who say that CSR is really just about public relations and not about substance?
KC: AT GSK, we believe the relationship between corporations and charitable-based organizations is changing. It's an evolution that has occurred and continues to occur in response to a change in values, perspectives, and needs in our society. The old practice of CEO-directed cash donations to key charities is now being replaced by corporations becoming strategically involved in philanthropic activity. We are now seeing corporations very proactively investing in their community. I can't speak for other corporations, but at GSK we believe it's the right thing to do.
Being a socially responsible corporation means that, beyond the innovative medications we develop, we need to give back to our communities. This is very important for us and partnering with key stakeholders to address mutual objectives is critical to our role. I think GSK and other corporations have the potential to really help bring about tremendous social change. So whether you call it CSR or something else, it's our obligation and our need to do that.
I think the future of private-voluntary sector partnership is alive and well. At GSK, we are innovative in forging partnerships and investing in the community, and we've made leadership a defining characteristic of our approach to social responsibility.
CV: Do you anticipate any changes to your philanthropic activities in the future?
KC: Innovative and fully interactive collaborations between GSK and community organizations dealing with key health care issues will continue to be our focus. And we will continue to support employees who personally commit to improving their community through our gift and volunteer match programs. In fact, we are continually implementing new enhancements to this program to ensure optimal employee engagement.
I think there is a real opportunity to continue to provide expertise and skills that can help address an unmet need and effect positive change to provide patients, Canadians, and communities with a better tomorrow.
Karen Chow started working at GSK in 2003, managing both the foundation and a number of strategic relationships involving key patient groups in the community. Chow's prior experience working in patient advocacy within the pharmaceutical industry has definitely helped her make the transition from the for-profit sector to the world of philanthropy. For more information about the foundation, visit: www.gsk.ca/en/community/gsk_foundation.
Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance print and broadcast journalist living in Toronto.
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