The top 500 British-based companies contributed ?336 million to charitable and community causes in the UK during 1996/97, equivalent to 0.33% of pre-tax profit, according to the latest figures from the Directory of Social Change. Its annual Guide to Company Giving was published at the start of June. Total giving is up from £252 million last year, then equivalent to 0.29% of profits. The Guide reports that five companies contributed over £10 million in the UK: BT (£16.3m); NatWest (£15m); Lloyds TSB (£13.3m); Boots (£12.8m) and Barclays (£10m).
However the total is a very considerable underestimate: only one in five companies declared a figure for total community contribution, above the statutorily required figure for UK charitable donations; even so, most of these do not include accurate estimates for in-kind and time donations nor contributions made directly by commercial departments.
USA CHARITABLE GIVING
American corporations gave an estimated 68.2 billion to charities in 1997, according to Giving USA, the annual survey of American philanthropy, published in June. An increase of 7.5% on the previous year, this is equivalent to 1.1% of pre-tax profits, down from a recent high of 2.3% in 1986. Total philanthropy is worth 6143.5 billion, with individuals giving three quarters. International causes showed the strongest growth, up 15% on the year, but still only accounting for 1.2% of all beneficiaries. Contact American Association of Fundraising Counsel Trust for Philanthropy on 00 1 212 354 5799 (www.aafrc.org)
USA COMMERCIAL GIVING
American media companies donated air time and print space worth more than 6996 million in commercial terms for public service announcements organised in 1997 by the not-for-profit Advertising Council. This is a 7% increase on the year before, with most growth coming in new media such as world wide web sites, although radio still accounts for nearly 60% of the total. The actual cost to the companies was not estimated but will be only a fraction of the commercial worth figure.
Meanwhile the Chicago-based sponsorship consultancy, IEG, estimates that US charities received 6535 million in 1997 from sponsorship deals, with the arts receiving 6354 million. Together they represent 15% of the total US sponsorship market, which is dominated by sports. Contact Ad Council on xx (www.adcouncil.org) or IEG on 00 1 312 944 1727
Comment
What do companies really contribute? For the British top 500, it is at least £500 – £600 million in the UK alone, with more across their world-wide operations. The current reported totals are, everyone acknowledges, a very considerable underestimate. Thanks to the work of the London Benchmarking Group, we are at last getting a better picture. When Whitbread first applied the model, recorded contributions rose from around £2m to £3.2m. At BT, the effect was more dramatic, with last year’s total rising to £27.6m. As they and others get better at recording and valuing their full contribution, these figures will rise further.
This is not, it must be constantly stressed, because companies are now doing twice as much. We need a concerted effort by companies to dispel that misapprehension and to explain that better recording is vitally important: first for better management of resources, and second, so public and voluntary sector partners understand the full scale and scope of companies’ voluntary community engagement. Individual companies declaring a better, bigger, figure in isolation risk awkward questions internally. Strength in numbers is the watchword, literally and figuratively.
Contrary to impressions, data from US corporations are not much better. Their donation figures rarely include estimates of employee time nor commercial initiatives such as cause-marketing. And in-kind giving is almost always overstated, being valued at market worth, not cost, because of the tax incentives. Even the fact that US corporations give a bigger percentage of pre-tax profit is misleading, as the state assumes fewer direct responsibilities as in Europe. So for international benchmarking, using post-tax profits gives the better measure.
What do companies really contribute? For the British top 500, it is at least £500 – £600 million in the UK alone, with more across their world-wide operations. The current reported totals are, everyone acknowledges, a very considerable underestimate. Thanks to the work of the London Benchmarking Group, we are at last getting a better picture. When Whitbread first applied the model, recorded contributions rose from around £2m to £3.2m. At BT, the effect was more dramatic, with last year’s total rising to £27.6m. As they and others get better at recording and valuing their full contribution, these figures will rise further.
This is not, it must be constantly stressed, because companies are now doing twice as much. We need a concerted effort by companies to dispel that misapprehension and to explain that better recording is vitally important: first for better management of resources, and second, so public and voluntary sector partners understand the full scale and scope of companies’ voluntary community engagement. Individual companies declaring a better, bigger, figure in isolation risk awkward questions internally. Strength in numbers is the watchword, literally and figuratively.
Contrary to impressions, data from US corporations are not much better. Their donation figures rarely include estimates of employee time nor commercial initiatives such as cause-marketing. And in-kind giving is almost always overstated, being valued at market worth, not cost, because of the tax incentives. Even the fact that US corporations give a bigger percentage of pre-tax profit is misleading, as the state assumes fewer direct responsibilities as in Europe. So for international benchmarking, using post-tax profits gives the better measure.
COMMENTS