When for-profit companies donate to charity it can have benefits for the company as well as the community, said Mark Pietrowski, external programming coordinator of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Companies like TOMS, Venice, Calif., and Flex Watches, San Diego, Calif., are for-profit organizations that donate in some way to charities as a core principle of their companies.

Flex Watches donates 10 percent of its earnings on the year equally to ten different charities and TOMS donates a pair of shoes or glasses to a child in need every time someone buys a pair of shoes or glasses from the company.

For-profit companies that donate to charitable causes may do so for a variety of reasons, said Timothy Aurand, associate professor of marketing.

“It can be in a firm’s best interest to be viewed by its existing and potential customers as a caring, charitable entity and thereby deserving of a customer’s business,” Aurand said.

Shahzaad Raja, senior marketing major and campus representative for Flex Watches, said she wants to be associated with Flex Watches because of its charitable nature and hopes Flex Watches will catch on at NIU.

“I think a lot of people want to help out the community but don’t know what to do or where to start,” Raja said. “By wearing the Flex Watch, you already start to raise awareness for the charity that is linked to that color.”

Trevor Jones, CEO and founder of Flex Watches, said the company’s main mission is to raise awareness for the 10 charities it represents.

“For us it is not about the money we raise; it is about raising awareness for these different charities,” Jones said.

Blake Mycoskie, CEO and founder of TOMS, said TOMS is a for-profit organization only because it allows the company to be charitable.

“TOMS is a for-profit company in order to give in a sustainable way,” Mycoskie said.

Pietrowski said charitable work can benefit a company in a number of ways such as creating a positive image for that company and using charitable donations as tax write-offs.

“There is always the opportunity to say that a company is doing charitable things for their own benefit,” Pietrowski said. “What the company needs to do is show that through their corporate identity they are fighting for the same kinds of things as the non-profits they represent.”

Mark Rosenbaum, assistant marketing professor, said while for-profit companies doing charity work is definitely a good thing, it is almost always driven by the bottom line.

“We have to realize that the organizational intent of a for-profit firm is to maximize shareholder wealth,” Rosenbaum said. “Therefore, although charitable donations show the altruistic side of a company, the goal of for-profit donations is to better align with a firm’s target market.”