Top program areas for corporate giving

• Date: 01 December 2019
• Published date: 01 December 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30688

DECEMBER 2019 NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

5

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Industry News

Latest data shows corporate giving

hit all-time high in 2018

The latest research from Chief Executives for Cor-

porate Purpose—formerly the Committee Encourag-

ing Corporate Philanthropy—shows that corporate

giving in the United States hit an all-time high of $26

billion in 2018, capping a three-year run that saw total

corporate contributions rise by double digits.

The research—included in CECP’s Giving in Num-

bers: 2019 Edition—offers a benchmark look at the

philanthropic strategies of the U.S. business sector,

and details the many ways in which companies are

stepping up efforts to meet key societal needs around

the world.

Key ndings from this year’s survey include:

• Total giving increased. Almost 60% of companies

included in the survey increased giving in a three-year

matched set between 2016 and 2018. Median total

giving increased by 11%, led by a surge in giving in

the health care industry.

• The top 25% of companies—when measuring total

giving—gave at least $60 million in 2018, or 1.94% of

pretax prot. Median total giving in 2018 among all

250 respondents was $20.7 million (0.94% of pretax

prot).

• Funds used to match employee donations de-

creased. The overall median dollar value of matching

gifts decreased by 7% between 2016 and 2018. About

20% of respondents reported matching gifts budget

decreases as a leading cause of the decline. However,

Dollars-for-Doers and disaster relief match programs

saw increases over the last three years, indicating

that companies are more frequently offering these

programs and/or encouraging their use.

• International giving is on the rise. The research

showed a nearly 10% increase in international giv-

ing, and seven out of 10 companies gave to groups

and causes outside of their home country, signaling

greater impact across the scale of their operations,

CECP said.

• Volunteer participation remains strong, driven by

time exibility. According to the report, the average

volunteer participation rate has remained steady at

just over 33% in the last three years. This number

can be improved upon, the report found, when em-

ployees have access to more exible volunteering

opportunities. The data shows an increasing trend of

companies offering both paid-release time and ex-

ible scheduling, so that employees can decide whether

they volunteer on or outside company time—a de-

velopment that could precede a boost in volunteer

participation rates in coming years.

• Volunteered hours increased, driven by access to

hours away from work to volunteer. For the rst time,

the Giving in Numbers report asked for data on the

amount of paid volunteer time companies are offer-

ing employees on an annual basis, which in 2018 was

20 hours on average. This helps explain a growth in

(See GIVING on page 8)

Top program areas for

corporate giving

According to Chief Executives for Corporate

Purpose’s most recent Giving in Numbers report,

the top recipients of corporate cash giving in terms

of program area are as follows:

• Health and Social Services

• Community and Economic Development

• Education: Higher

• Education: K–12

• Culture and Arts

• Civic and Public Affairs

• Environment

• Disaster Relief

Per the report, the following program areas

saw the biggest gains in cash giving from U.S.

corporations:

• Disaster Relief—69% increase

• Community and Economic Develop-

ment—42% increase

• Environment—26% increase

• Education: K–12—4% increase

• Education: Higher—2% increase

Meanwhile, the following programs are falling

out of favor:

• Health and Social Services—10% decrease

• Civic and Public Affairs—12% decrease

• Culture and Arts—14% decrease

Source: Giving in Numbers: 2019 Edition. ■