US Corporate Giving Restored

Despite the continued impact of the global recession on businesses, 59 per cent of US companies have recommitted to their communities by giving more to charity in 2012 than they did in 2007, according to a new study.

The Giving in Numbers: 2013 Edition, analyses corporate giving patterns and found that  commitments by companies focused on specific program areas such as education and innovation, and they are relying more on non-cash contributions such as products and skills.

"The world’s largest companies saw that societal investments were a way to help with recovery, not only for their communities, but also for the companies themselves,” CEO of benchmarking organisation CECP, Daryl Brewster, said.

“Fortune 500 companies know how intertwined they are with the communities around them; healthy companies need healthy communities. Even when times were tough for these companies, they understood that it was part of the path to recovery to continue to stand alongside their community partners.”

This year’s Giving in Numbers represents trends drawing on data from a record 240 companies—including 60 of the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500—and reported more than $20 billion in total contributions in 2012.

“Companies are looking deeper into their core strategies and across business units to determine the most strategic ways to invest in addressing societal challenges,” The Conference Board President and CEO Jonathan Spector said.

“The benefit behind companies being a better community partner is that these societal solutions also solve core business challenges, simultaneously. From engaged employees to more efficient use of surplus products, benefits are streaming both ways.”

Key findings include:

Corporate Societal Giving Showed Considerable Growth

• Total giving increased for 59 per cent of companies from 2007 to 2012, with 38 per cent of all companies increasing their giving by 25 per cent or more.

• Aggregate corporate giving rose by 42 per cent ($4.48 billion) from 2007 to 2012 in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Non-Cash Giving Defined Post Recession Contributions

• Of companies that provided non-cash support in 2007, the median percentage change in non-cash contributions was +38 per cent in 2012.

• Non-cash support includes product donations and other in-kind resources, such as excess inventory, pro bono service, use of company facilities, intellectual property, land, and other asset donations.

Education Takes the Top Spot

• For the first time since Giving in Numbers was first released in 2006, giving to higher education and K–12 education combined to become the top program area for all companies, representing 29 per cent of the typical company’s programmatic allocation.

Companies Engaged Employees in New Ways

• Since 2007, the percentage of companies offering Paid-Release-Time volunteer programs increased from 53 per cent to 70 per cent in 2012.

• Matching-gift programs evolved and disaster relief matching-gift programs became more popular from 2007 to 2012.

Modest Increases Expected in 2013 Giving Levels

• Some 40 per cent of companies expect giving to increase from 2012 to 2013, while 18 per cent expect a giving reduction. Some 42 per cent of companies expect no change in giving levels from 2012 to 2013.