Big-Time Funding, But At What Cost?

“While many companies jockey for the naming rights to large sports stadiums, General Motors Corp. during the past few years has set its sights on cultural institutions. And this fall, the company is partnering with the mother of them all. When the General Motors Hall of Transportation opens at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on Nov. 22, it will be the largest one-time financial contribution the company has ever made to a cultural institution. It will also add fuel to the ongoing controversy of the Smithsonian’s acceptance of corporate gifts in exchange for naming rights.”