September 24, 1998 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Americans are not very impressed by companies that just give money to charities, according to a new survey. They look more favorably upon corporations that donate products and give their employees opportunities to volunteer.
The survey of about 1,000 people was commissioned by Hill and Knowlton’s strategic-philanthropy unit, which advises companies on giving, and was conducted by Yankelovich Partners, a polling company, as part of a broader study looking at Americans’ opinions of corporations.
The survey found that when respondents were asked what philanthropic work they found “most impressive,” only 12 per cent chose companies’ “giving a large sum of money.” In contrast, 43 per cent said that “donating products and services” impressed them the most, while 37 per cent cited “volunteering employees to help” at charitable organizations.
Harlan Teller, executive managing director of Hill and Knowlton’s U.S. Corporate Communications Practice, says that the findings point to a wider trend in corpo rate philanthropy: “Companies are more and more going to be trying to develop relationships with non-profits that go beyond writing checks.”
Respondents also had clear ideas about which types of charitable organizations they would like to see corporations support. Thirty per cent named education as the philanthropic area most likely to give them a favorable impression of a corporation, while 21 per cent cited health and social-services groups. Environmental, arts, youth, and crime- and drug-prevention groups were each named by less than 15 per cent of those surveyed.
Respondents were also asked to name specific companies that they believed to be model corporate citizens. The one most commonly cited was I.B.M. Corporation, followed by Wal-Mart Stores and AT&T.
The survey results are avail able on Hill and Knowlton’s World-Wide Web site, http://www.hillandknowlton.com/news/new_index.htm. Click on the section that contains news and press releases.
Free copies are also available from Hill and Knowlton, 1100 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite 2150, Atlanta 30309; (404) 249-8550.
