Unprecedented corporate charity.

AuthorRock, Robert H.
PositionLETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

AT OUR Sept. 1 board meeting, the first item on the agenda was how the company could help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Though we have only limited operations in the stricken region, the chairman wanted "to get out in front in lending a hand." He asked for suggestions on how we could help not only our own employees but also our neighbors along the Gulf Coast. Some governmental agencies at the local, state, and federal levels had been slow to respond to the natural disaster, but many corporations, such as the one on whose board I serve, responded quickly and generously.

Soon after images of the human tragedy appeared on television, chairmen throughout the country began asking their boards to authorize substantial corporate support for the hurricane victims. With their boards' encouragement, companies launched campaigns to raise contributions, including innovative programs such as allowing employees to donate their unused vacation and sick days to the Katrina relief effort.

Corporate America has always been called on to help nonprofit organizations provide for a wide range of societal needs. Managements and their boards have assumed that they would and should donate a portion of their profits to philanthropic causes. This longstanding relationship has helped charities offset the loss of some traditional funding sources--government support in particular.

According to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, corporate contributions, which totaled about $12 billion last year, constituted about 5 percent of total charitable giving, down from about 6 percent a decade ago...

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