Consumers

As we go to press, news comes of a group of employees from the charity, NCH action for children, protesting at a gift from employee fundraising at British Aerospace. BitC may have been encouraging business involvement for 20 years, but charity partnerships remain as controversial as ever. So the newly published good practice guidance is timely, and especially welcome as it effectively comes from the government, in the shape of the Charity Commission, and from charities themselves, through the Institute, formerly the ICFM. Companies are well advised to get hold of both and review their current practices - even if some people will always object to any commercial tie up, even a straight donation.

The risk of such protests is minimised if companies and those promoting CRM are careful in their claims. Good to see, therefore, the new 'tracker' is distinguishing (albeit only in the small print) between companies' contributions and those of staff and customers. Good also that the benefits gained in terms of notional media coverage are not confused with the companies' own contributions. As the tracker is developed, it needs to include measures of the real impact of CRM, in terms of better educated school children or senior citizens saved from hypothermia.