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A second characteristic note of philanthropy is its universal vocation, since it seeks to improve humanity as
a whole, without any particular purpose. This is not to say that philanthropic activities cannot be directed
towards a particular sector of society. On the contrary, it means that philanthropic activity makes no
distinction between people, but considers all people equal in dignity and therefore worthy of assistance.
This aid may, of course, focus on one sector that is more disadvantaged than another, but behind this
apparent specialisation lies the belief that this group has the same dignity as any other human being.
There is, therefore, no social group that could not be the object of philanthropic activity.
3.2 Corporate Phylanthropy vs. Corporate Social Responsibility
The confusion between these two concepts seems to persist in the business world. Corporate Social
Responsibility, CSR, is a particular way in which companies conduct business, characterized by taking into
account the impact that all their activities generate on their customers, employees, shareholders, local
communities, the environment and society in general. This implies mandatory compliance with national
and international legislation in the social, labour, environmental and human rights fields, as well as any
other voluntary action that the company may wish to take to improve the quality of life of its employees,
the communities in which it operates and society as a whole (Expok, 2017).
Source: Philanthropy (Forgacs, 2019)
In the mid-1990s, international organizations and different states accompanied society in an appeal to the
private sector to assume a new model of coexistence and management that would make it possible to
provide solutions and responses to a new, globalized and changing reality. Under this framework, the
requirements were established and have been maintained to date in the form of 5 concrete principles
(ANDBANK Private Bankers, 2013):
- CSR includes compliance with current national legislation and, in particular, with international standards.
- CSR is global in nature: it affects all the business areas of the company and its subsidiaries, as well as all the
geographical areas where they carry out their activities.