Strategic Philanthropy in Financial Marketing Blog

There was a time when marketing and philanthropy sat at opposite ends of the hallway at the world's major financial institutions.  Today, many will agree that philanthropic endeavors have dual objectives: 1) Doing good for the world--and 2) Doing well for the institution.  In other words, many agree that today the functions of philanthropy and of marketing have moved closer together such that "strategic philanthropy" is now the norm for most financial institutions.
If you agree that this is happening, is it a good thing for financial institutions?  Is it a good thing for our charities, our communities and the world?  What's your opinion?