Philanthropy is fast becoming one of the hottest business strategies of the decade. Hung over from drinking too much CSR KoolAid (and wary from writing fancy reports that no one reads), companies are finding that philanthropy is a more strategic instrument. While CSR at best disproves a negative ("honestly, we're not bad, look, we're complying with all the rules..."), philanthropy is more pro-active and controllable. The subject is getting surprisingly high billing in the mainstream business press. Here are the latest headlines and research that we've seen in recent weeks:

Wall Street Journal

When Corporate Donors Split - January 12, 2007 - When companies merge or restructure, they often redirect their charitable budgets, which can hurt groups large and small. Right now, the nonprofit world is fretting over changes at Altria, one of the country's biggest corporate givers.

Charity Has its Rewards - January 7, 2007 - Ask most sophisticated investors what they think of the ever-increasing sums U.S. corporations donate to charity, and many will probably call it a waste of shareholder money. But what if corporate charity enhances the bottom line? (Download the research report behind this article).

BusinessWeek

Beyond the Green Corporation - January 29, 2007 - Imagine a world in which eco-friendly and socially responsible practices actually help a company's bottom line. It's closer than you think.

Harvard Business Review

Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility - December 2006 - "If corporations were to analyze their opportunities for social responsibility using the same frameworks that guide their core business choices, they would discover, as Whole Foods Market, Toyota, and Volvo have done, that CSR can be much more than a cost, a constraint, or a charitable deed--it can be a potent source of innovation and competitive advantage."

We'll keep you updated.