July 15, 1999 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Giving by Industry: A Reference Guide to the New Corporate Philanthropy, 1999-2000 Edition
By Craig Smith
Mr. Smith, a consultant and the former editor and publisher of Corporate Philanthropy Report, finds corporate giving in a state of distress at the century’s end. Despite a strong economy, corporate grant makers face uphill battles defending their budgets and keeping up with increasing numbers of proposals, he says.
Since the mid-1980s, companies have given dwindling portions of their pre-tax income to philanthropy, Mr. Smith writes. “Whereas 10 years ago, the generous companies joined ‘Five Per-Cent Clubs’ for proudly giving 5 per cent of pre-tax profit, one can now imagine the old boys patting themselves on the back for joining the ranks of ‘one per-centers.’”
One reason he cites: More companies are using philanthropy to show off their technology — giving away computer software or providing services over the Internet, for example. Such gifts do not dip into companies’ real costs as much as cash donations.
The challenge, then, for the fund raiser looking to snag a cash donation is to understand the bind of corporate-giving officers, who he says must defend their existence to skeptical executives.
To that end, Mr. Smith analyzes giving trends in 20 industries and examines how charities can match their solicitations to a company’s marketing goals.
Each chapter assesses the financial health of the score of industries, from accounting to utilities, and focuses on what benefits companies seek from an alliance with a non-profit group. (For example, Mr. Smith writes, pharmaceutical companies focus half their giving on university science programs.) He also has in-depth information on a few companies from each industry and provides contact information for grant seekers.
Indexes list more than 300 businesses and the causes they support.
Despite what he sees as the complex nature of corporate giving, Mr. Smith urges charities to continue to go after business support. “Without help from corporations,” he writes, “non-profits will surely find themselves increasingly irrelevant to the 21st century.”
Publisher: Aspen Publishers, P.O. Box 990, Frederick, Md. 21705-9727; (301) 417-7500 or (800) 638-8437; World-Wide Web http://www.aspenpublishers.com; 439 pages; $149; I.S.B.N. 0-8342-1658-2.
