July 1995
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina
Japan
Continued from page 1
branched out overseas, building
manufacturing plants and creating
corporate conglomerates in small
towns and big cities in the U.S. and
other countries. It was only then that
Japanese companies came face to
face with the foreign concept of cor
porate giving.
Pressure to adapt was felt
sharply by Japanese executives,
who, at home, avoid being different.
In Japan, a widely quoted proverb
says: “The nail that stands out will
be struck down.”
In the U.S., Japanese companies
were beginning to stand out. Not
least of the reasons for the attention
was their lack of “good corporate cit
izenship” or philanthropy.
“I think the Japanese CEO’s want
to do roughly what the American
companies do,” says John Sylvester,
director of the North Carolina Japan
Center, a nonprofit cultural and edu
cation center on the campus of North
Carolina State University in Raleigh.
“Companies, in general, tend to be
nervous about unfavorable publicity -
and the Japanese are even more that
way.”
In the late 1980s, when Japan’s
trade surplus with the U.S. soared
and Americans’ regard for the
Japanese plummeted, Japanese cor
porate philanthropy began in
earnest.
In typical Japanese corporate
style, Japanese executives quickly
and thoroughly studied American
corporate philanthropy and began
adopting some of the practices.
In 1985, for example, the
Foundation Library Center of Japan
was set up by Japanese companies to
collect information on grantmakers
and offer tips to executives.
Today, many large Japanese cor
porations have created their own pri
vate foundations, fashioned after
American foundations, with full-time
staff and milhons of dollars in assets.
In addition, many other Japanese
companies have created their own
on-site corporate giving programs.
Some have charitable funds. Others
hold United Way campaign drives.
Others promote employee volun
tarism.
In North Carolina, there are no
Japanese foundations; most of the
Japanese foundations are in New
York City, Washington, D.C., and
California. But several Japanese
companies in the state - such as
Mitsubishi Semiconductor America
Inc. in Durham, Reichhold Chemicals
Inc. in Research Triangle Park,
Konica Manufacturing USA Inc. in
Greensboro and Okuma Machine
Tools Inc. in Charlotte - have their
own charitable programs.
Reichhold, for example, runs an
annual United Way drive and helps
organize the Triangle Triumph, an
annual charity bike and road race. It
also funds charities recommended by
its employees.
Mitsubishi has a fund that annu
ally grants about $200,000 to non
profits in the Triangle area.
But the Tar Heel operations of the
majority of Japanese companies in
North Carolina - 60 percent, or about
90 firms - consist only of manufactur
ing plants without their own indepen
dent giving program.
Most, however, are connected to
holding companies or headquarters
in other U.S. cities. These parent
offices in the U.S. generally have
philanthropic programs and are open
to funding programs in communities
in which affUiates employ workers.
According to the Japan External
Trade Organization (JETRO) in New
York, more than 70 percent of all
Japanese organizations in the U.S.
have corporate giving programs.
Altruism or public relations?
Some observers - including some
Japanese people - have criticized
Japanese companies for using phil
anthropy to boost their company’s
image in the eyes of wary Americans.
“When the trade friction became
serious, Japanese companies
became more interested in philan
thropic activities,” says Hiroyasu
Higuchi, a Japanese graduate stu
dent at Duke University’s Sanford
Institute for Public Policy. Higuchi
will return to Japan this summer to
work for the Association for
Promotion of International
Cooperation (APIC), which research
es Japanese aid to developing coun
tries.
“I think that [Japanese] philan
thropy is another corporate strate
gy,” he says. “Of course, some com
panies are very generous - like Sony.
So it depends on the company. But
generally speaking, they have a con
cern about the local reaction.”
But others say the past motiva
tion behind giving is not as important
as the present sincerity of giving.
Sadahei Kusumoto, chairman and
chief executive officer of Minolta
Corp., writes in a JETRO report that
the timing of Japanese philanthropy
aroused suspicion but that, funda
mentally, the companies are acting
out of a sense of responsibility.
“A good thing is a good thing, no
matter what people say,” he says.
“We should ignore such criticism and
Hugo
Continued from page 8
says. “Even people in the surround
ing neighborhood were experiencing
a great deal of stress, so we did
debriefings there, too. Since then.
I’ve been hooked” on volunteering,
Volunteer mental health workers
spend about half their time caring
for other Red Cross volunteers.
“We send relief volunteers in for
three weeks, for 18-to-20-hour days,
in absolutely horrendous Uving con
ditions,” says Clayton of the
Washington office. “They’re hstening
to all the stories, seeing the scenes
of the disaster. It’s veiy difficult for
workers.”
In fact. Red Cross volunteers at
major disaster scenes - those where
the federal government declares a
national disaster - now are required
to stop in regularly and speak with a
mental health volunteer. They don’t
have to talk if they don’t want to, but
they must check in while on-site.
“Some just stop in and say every
thing’s fine and leave after two min
utes,” says LiBethe. “But often, we
hear some really sad stories - on top
of what they’re experiencing from
the disaster.”
Clayton, a trained social worker
who has previously volunteered her
mental health services at flood
scenes in Ohio and Texas, says
debriefing and talking about prob
lems makes for more efficient rehef
workers.
In taking on mental health assis
tance, the Red Cross has come face
to face with the stubborn stigma that
trails mental health in the U.S. - the
idea that talking to a counselor is for
“crazy” people, Clayton says.
But American Red Cross officials
seem to be taking it all in stride.
Most speak enthusiastically of the
new mental health service as a
necessity that was neglected for far
too long.
“Mental health is in many ways
as important as physical health,”
says Gisele McAuhffe, spokesperson
for the national office of the
American Red Cross. “It helps pro
vide a more holistic recovery
Charles Chase stands by his collapsed home in Charleston, SC.
Photo by Louro Dorton
involved in disaster - whether vic
tims or volunteer workers.”
In fact, McAuliffe, a former news
broadcaster who covered disasters
overseas, encourages journalists
who cover floods or bombings to
meet with Red Cross mental health
volunteers as well. “I think the
media sometimes overlooks itself in
providing mental health support to
workers covering disasters,” she
says. “Everyone, no matter what
their role, is affected and will experi
ence stress. They should feel free to
use the services.”
Sherry Mitchell, director of volun
teer services and public relations for
the Triangle Area Chapter of the
American Red Cross, says the new
mental health service fulfills recov
ery needs that bandages and new
homes alone cannot.
“Disasters affect the children’s
weU-being - feeling the world isn’t a
safe place,” she says. “Parents are
distraught because they fear they
can’t make the world a safer place.”
Mental health work “has become
a very important part of the recov
ery process, Mitchell says. “We can
help replace the material things
they’ve lost. But now we can [also]
work with them emotionally and psy
chologically.”
7\s part of therapy, mental health
volunteers outline for victims typical
emotions that follow the experience
of a disaster, including denial, shock
and anger.
Along with discussing emotions,
mental health volunteers refer
patients - if needed - to local mental
health workers for further care.
They don’t practice therapy on-site
because they spend less than a
month there.
LiBethe, who when interviewed,
was planning to return to Charlotte
from New Orleans, says the personal
rewards for the work are vast.
“It’s wonderful. You can see the
difference you’re making immediate
ly.”
For information on mental health
volunteer work, call your local
American Red Cross chapter.
continue our efforts.”
Forging ties
Earlier this year, the Durham
Public Education Network, a non
profit that supports Durham schools,
received a half-million-dollar pledge
from Mitsubishi in Durham to be dis
tributed over the next six years.
That’s the largest single pledge
ever by any company to secondary
education in North Carolina, says
Tony Habit, executive director of the
nonprofit.
“The expectation from
[Mitsubishi] is that school change
and quality is incremental and ongo
ing - which is the same philosophy
imbedded in the network,” Habit
says.
The pledge was not simply a mat
ter of luck. Habit says the network
has spent years cultivating its rela
tionship with Mitsubishi, which
moved to Durham in 1983.
“It’s definitely a process,” Habit
says. “Very early on, after the com
pany broke ground in Durham, there
were visits by educators and stu
dents. Out of that grew a cultural
exchange of art work and writing.”
Habit’s experience highlights sev
eral typical characteristics of current
Japanese philanthropy.
First, Japanese companies over
whelmingly give to educational insti
tutions, compared to other nonprofit
ventures.
“It’s something that’s very impor
tant in Japan,” explains Rayna
Aylward, executive director of
Mitsubishi Electric America
Foundation in Washington, D.C.
“And from the point of view of a cer
tain amount of self-interest, it helps
the company to have a well-trained
work force.”
Second, Japanese companies pre
fer to support nonprofits in their
employees’ home communities.
“We feel that it’s being a good cit
izen of the community - for employ
ees and their families as well as the
community as a whole,” says Bill
Clark, who handles corporate giving
for Sumitomo Electric Corp. in
Research Triangle Park.
Third, Japanese grantmakers
give sizable gifts to American non
profits that they know and trust.
Most Japanese companies with
philanthropic programs employ
American human resources man
agers who handle nonprofit solicita
tions. These managers facilitate con-
Look for JAPAN, page 13
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Rising to the Challenge
North Carolina's Nonprofits in Dialogue
1995 Annual Conference
September 20-21 • Winston-Salem • Call 919/571-0811
• Learn about nonprofit sector trends that affect your future.
• Get free help from "Curbside Consultants" on fundraising, strategic
planning, effective boards, accounting, tax and legal issues.
• Exchange ideas and materials with your peers from other groups.
• Meet grantmakers face-to-face in small groups.
• Help shape the future for North Carolina's nonprofit sector.
32 sessions on the themes:
• Creating effective boards
• Raising sustainable funds
• Communicating with fl//
your stakeholders
• Advocating to make a
difference
• Fulfilling the public trust —
legal/tax issues, ethics,
accountability, evaluation
• Challenges we face as non
profits and what we can do
Speakers include:
• Alan Abramson, The Aspen Institute
• Stephanie Clohesy, Kellogg Foundation
• David Dodson, Babcock and Bryan Family
Foundations and MDC
• Marilyn Foote-Hudson, Glaxo Wellcome Inc.
• Ann Mitchell, National Council of
Nonprofit Associations
• Mary Mountcastle, Z.S. Reynolds Founda
tion and Center for Community Self-Help
• Marc Owens, Tax Exempt Director, IRS
• Michael Seltzer, Ford Foundation