Survey Points to Dip in Corporate Giving

Businesses last year were slightly less likely to make donations to charity than they were in 1996, according to a survey of companies by the Boston College Center for Corporate Community Relations.

Ninety-six per cent of the 227 companies surveyed last year reported making charitable gifts directly from the corporation last year, a one-percentage-point decline from 1996.

Other types of contributions were down slightly, too. Last year, 92 per cent of the companies reported donating in-kind services, and 64 per cent said they gave company products. In 1996, those rates were 96 per cent and 65 per cent, respectively.

Fewer companies reported that they provide support for employee volunteering: In 1997, 70 per cent of the companies had a volunteer program for employees, compared with 79 per cent the previous year.

A spokesman for the Boston College center said that some of the differences from year to year may be attributed to the changing sample of companies. For a copy of the report — which costs $15 for members of the center and $30 for non-members — contact the Boston College Center for Corporate Community Relations, Wallace E. Carroll School of Management, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02167-3835; (617) 552-4545.