Corporate Leaders Tout Philanthropy's Benefits Amid Grim Financial News

The foundation executives also stressed that philanthropy could play a role in helping to maintain some goodwill toward corporations in an era in which hefty bonuses, the near-collapse of many financial institutions, and the Madoff scandal has produced a backlash against big business.

Quoting a friend, Mr. Corcoran, of GE, described philanthropy and corporate social responsibility as “insurance 2.0” on a company’s reputation.

“If you have, as a company, a good, responsible reputation for being part of the community, when something does happen, you get the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “But if you’ve never lifted a finger to do good for any reason, you don’t get the benefit of the doubt.”

He added: “In some organizations today that are under more scrutiny, they’ve practiced this ‘corporate-social detachment,’ or at least they’ve led to detachment, a real detachment from understanding and accepting a commitment toward responsible practices with the environment, the economy, and society.”