Forcing others to participate in philanthropy

Inogenius

This situation is entirely hypothetical. Well, not the entire thing actually ...

Where I work, one of our employee's son has been stricken with Leukemia. We all know the devastating effects of it. He's having a hard time, that's all that needs to be said. Luckily the Cleveland Clinic has a great program, with some wonderful doctors so things are looking good for him. Because of this some employee's have felt motivated to raise money for leukemia awareness. One such program is the "run for leukemia." People sponsor you to run.

My question is, my workplace is one of the largest in our area. Because of this, our employee base supports several surrounding businesses. Would it be ethical for our employee's to go around to the local businesses and say, "hey, we've helped you out a lot. Now how about you help us out by donating some cash?" The goal is to help out the entire world by finding a cure for a horrible disease that thousands of people die from every year.

Suntan Superman

WC's Resident Samoan

It's for a cause, not for the company

Dakstang

WC's Resident Redneck

If they ask them to make a donation, I see no problem with it.

Example: "We have given you a lot of business over the years, would you like to help us out and make a donation for Leukemia Research?"

If they force them to donate by coercion, that is over the line in my opinion.

Example: "If you don't make a donation for Leukemia Research all of the employees will stop shopping here!"

Inogenius

Good call Dak.

I think that is the best move to do.

Yes, I was primarily looking for your opinion on this matter, as I wanted to see if you'd digress from your previous stance on certain matters.