My Dads Church Asked Under Armour To Donate Last Season and Discontinued Clothes To Those Less Fortunate - “We Don’t Want Homeless Wearing Our Brand!”
So my Dad came home from church yesterday really heated and upset. His church is a pretty big and known church specially here in Baltimore, MD. They are hosting a huge event to give back to the homeless and those in need.
The church reached out to Under Armour in hopes they could donate old or discontinued items for the community event. According to my Dad they got back to the church and specifically stated they will not donate because “they do not want the homeless wearing their brand” and I couldn’t really believe it at first. He got in touch with some of his fellow congregates and I heard it directly from the church.
Now I thought really long and hard about this and tried seeing things from both sides. Why would a huge multi-billion dollar company want the homeless walking around in their clothing?
I did some research and found a few plausible reasons why they would deny the churches request.
A few realistic possibilities:
1. Brand Control
2. Legal & Liability Concerns
3. Precedent Problem (Say yes to one church and more will ask)
4. Tax / Accounting Complications
5. Existing Philanthropy Channels (Approved Non-Profits & Tax Documented Partners)
Regardless I believe whoever responded to the initial email could use some “bedside manner” or they need a better PR representative. I can’t believe they would clearly state they don’t want certain demographic or group wearing the UA brand.