Corporate Charity Escalates In 2001
Attributed to after September 11 giving, the Conference Board found contributions rose to $4.5 billion in 2001, an increase from the $3.9 billion the previous year.
The escalation was continued in the median ratio of total US contributions to the number of US corporate employees coming in at $448, an increase of 33.3% from 2000. Additionally, the average gift rose from $19 million in 2000 to $20.7 million in 2001, an increase of 8.9%. Overall, the Conference Board found that the majority of the donated corporate money going to support for education.
Continuing on a trend begun in 1992, the study also showed the share of non-cash contributions increasing in 2001.
However, the post September 11 rush to give took its toll on corporate foundation donations. Among the 127 surveyed companies that maintained corporate foundations, 41% made gifts to their foundations in 2001, down from 62% in 2000. Individual gifts varied widely in size, from $543 million to $600 million, with 2001’s median value of these gifts at $3.6 million, down from $5.0 million in 2000.
Excluding September 11 giving, the Conference Board study found no real change in corporate giving, with the percentage of domestic pretax income remaining unchanged from 2000, at 1%.
The new study, which involved 187 large US firms, covers about 50% of the overall $9 billion corporate charitable giving in the US in 2001.