"Opinion research conducted by APCO Worldwide concluded that Americans look to businesses to embrace and address the social issues for which they care most. In fact, no matter if the cause is improving health, preventing violence or eliminating poverty, Americans believe this responsibility belongs to companies even more than it belongs to governments.
Despite these high standards, most Americans remain skeptical that companies implement effective corporate social responsibility programs on their own. Only nine percent of Americans report they have a "great deal" of confidence in businesses to solve these challenges. So what can a company do when customers demand it address societal ills, yet remain skeptical when that company wants to address them?
For some firms, the answer is simple: find a leader outside the company, form a partnership and embrace a cause that serves the community while serving a strategic corporate purpose. Of course, to achieve this goal, the community must produce a critical mass of leaders.
For many area businesses, Coach Tubby Smith represented a great partner in this regard — philanthropy magnet, community leader and recognized "brand." The community in Minneapolis is about to discover this. The good news for Lexington is Coach Mickie DeMoss has the potential to be even better.
Everyone knows Coach DeMoss became the talk of Lexington last year as she quickly built the University of Kentucky's women's basketball team into a winning program. Fewer people realize she moved just as quickly to become one of the strongest and most important centers of philanthropy in the Bluegrass.
Coach DeMoss has established Mickie's Team, a charitable foundation designed to assist disadvantaged persons as well as other organizations. "I've always thought it was important to give back to the community and the people that give so much to me," DeMoss said in a statement on the Mickie's Team Web site. However, she's doing more than giving back — she's addressing the issues consumers care about while supplying the credibility businesses need.
Of course, there's much more to it than assembling the usual suspects for a charity golf scramble. The cause you embrace matters. Coach DeMoss showed Kentucky the kind of leader she is with the first cause she chose for Mickie's Team — fighting domestic violence.
While everyone understands the terrible impact violence has on families, it remains an uncomfortable topic to discuss and a relatively risky cause for a business to adopt. Dr. Jennifer Swanberg contributed an important column for Business Lexington on this topic last year. She reported that domestic violence costs businesses more than $727 million annually in health costs, lost productivity and other factors. But because affected families have to summon great courage even to discuss the topic, the issue often lacks the attention it desperately needs. It's not the kind of thing one chats about in the break room, let alone the boardroom. Since businesses can bring important resources to bear in addressing any number of issues, this is a cause that demands a true leader — someone who can create an environment where business leaders can raise awareness without raising tension.
The University of Kentucky has established America's first interdisciplinary Center for Research on Violence Against Women. Coach DeMoss' first charity event helped raise money to fund one of five endowed chairs from different areas of study, all dedicated to the issue of preventing violence against women. The research conducted at the center will translate into practice that will protect the safety and well being of women everywhere.
To help the center, Coach DeMoss immediately reached out to members of the business community, with special understanding of the cause. Businesses were quick to respond. "I'm a fan of Coach DeMoss, and this was a natural fit for our organization," said Dr. Anne Marshall, president of Pathology & Cytology Laboratories in Lexington. Marshall is a gold sponsor of the UK women's basketball team and a supporter of the event. "Our business is a lab, and we have a lot of women clients. This event gave us the ability to put some money back in the women's community here. It also gave us a chance to put our name out in front of a lot of people who support what she supports."
"To me, Mickie's Team and the cause she chose is really appropriate for her style and personality and what she's all about," said Kelley Sloane, vice president of marketing for Exstream Software. Exstream is a global company, and the vast majority of its customers reside outside the Bluegrass, but company leaders still thought this was a cause — and a leader — worth supporting. "As a woman, I'm naturally supportive of the center, and many of the leaders of this company are men with college-age or high school-age daughters. Everyone immediately thought it was a very good cause and it was very important to us," Sloane said. "Lexington isn't our target market, but it's nice to put some funds back in the community and let people know we're here."
The presence of leaders like Coach DeMoss helps our community beyond even addressing important issues. Leaders help economies grow and thrive. In this case, Lexington demonstrates that it is a community where companies can build effective corporate responsibility programs by partnering with strong and strategic leaders nearby. Businesses may not come here simply because they know Coach DeMoss is here, but her presence is an asset other cities can't claim.
Oh, and she's a pretty good basketball coach, too.
Mickie's Team will hold its next golf tournament on June 12. Business people who want to learn more about how to help — or just to see what leadership really looks like — can visit Mickie's Team online at www.mickiesteam.com.
David Wescott is a Lexington-based senior associate for APCO Worldwide, a global public affairs firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.