More companies are turning to philanthropy as a means of connecting with communities and markets and meeting consumer expectations. But there are questions whether these programs are hitting the mark.

A new report from consulting firm McKinsey, The state of corporate philanthropy found a massive change with nearly 90 per cent of respondents were seeking business benefits from their philanthropy programs. Giving to the bottom line as it were with 80 per cent saying philanthropy should identify business opportunities, as opposed to 14 per cent who say one has nothing to do with the other, and 70 per cent saying it was about building the corporate reputation and brand.

So how successful are the programs? Not as much as the corporations would hope, according to McKinsey. More than 80 per cent of respondents said they were at best "only somewhat" successful at meeting their goals and one out of five said their companies were very or extremely effective at meeting social goals, addressing stakeholder interests, or both. Furthermore, only just over half said their stakeholders gave their companies the credit they deserved for their philanthropic programs. And one out of four didn't know the answer to that question, which speaks volumes about how seriously they take the program.