One plus one equals three; proactive partnering multiplies CSR benefits

With companies now linking corporate social responsibility to their aggressive business strategies to achieve a competitive market advantage (Porter and Kramer, 2006), non profit organisations should also extract shared value from this strategic corporate social responsibility movement (Eweje and Palakshappa, 2009). Questions arise, however, as to the actual role which should be played by the non profit organisation (Muthuri, Chapple and Moon, 2009). This conceptual paper firstly provides evidence that corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspective of the non profit requires investigation. Secondly, by integrating two existing CSR frameworks, a new CSR framework is proposed which will redefine the role of the non profit organisation in marketing itself and proactively working with business. This collaborative approach is likely to ensure mutual CSR benefits for non profit organisations and small businesses in particular, plus the broader community in which they both operate.