Field Notes: Trends in Corporate Philanthropy

Michael Stroik and the Council Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) have published their annual in-depth analysis of trends in corporate giving. The report highlights growth in consumer confidence and CEO expectations for the economy, increasing corporate giving from most companies (64%), and a larger number of companies reporting social impacts (76%). Additional findings from the report include:

Aggregate giving to Community and Economic Development initiatives increased by 34% from 2010 to 2013, a higher growth rate than in any other program area. For all companies reporting program area breakdowns in 2013, Education (comprising both K-12 and Higher Education) was he most funded program, followed by Health and Social Services and Community and Economic Development.

Companies typically give both from a corporate foundation and directly from a corporate account. While 79% of companies operate a corporate foundation, growth in cash contributions from 2010 to 2013 came predominantly from Corporate Community Affairs (CCA) budgets. The average CCA cash contribution increased by 28% from 2010 to 2013, whereas foundation cash gifts increased by only 2%.

Corporate giving professionals attending the CECP Summit in May 2014 ranked Volunteer Time Off as the most effective socially motivated tactic for increasing employee satisfaction with their company. Employees are taking notice: the median number of hours volunteered on company time increased by 37% from 2010 to 2013.

Though some companies gave less in 2013  than in 2012 due to high levels of giving in response to Hurricane Sandy, corporate giving is expected to continue to see modest growth in 2014. 

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