Nonprofit Literature Blog

New Foundation Center Reports

Take a look at the latest giving statistics released by The Foundation Center this month:

Key Facts on Corporate Foundations
While giving by corporate foundations remained at an estimated $4.4 billion in 2008, the figure represented a 3 percent decline after adjusting for inflation. About half of the survey respondents expected decreases in giving in 2009. Download

Key Facts on Community Foundations
Community foundations increased their giving to a record $4.6 billion in 2008, which translates to a 2.7 percent increase after adjusting for inflation. Nearly 75 percent of the community foundations in the survey indicated that their giving will decline this year. Download

These reports also present trends in giving from 1990 through 2008 and include analyses of giving by subject focus, type of support, and region.

Starting a Corporate Giving Program

Businesses that are interested in corporate philanthropy can ask our librarians for the guide, Corporate Giving: Options and Strategies. Published by the Council on Foundations, the booklet explores several key topics including legal issues, the planning process, administration, grantmaking, and communications.

--You might know about the options for corporate philanthropy, such as company-sponsored foundations and direct-giving programs, but the guide also notes that some businesses may establish donor-advised funds at community foundations. Chapter 1 contains a chart to help you compare the options.

--What would your personal role be in the new corporate giving program? Turn to page 51 for a chart that outlines the different roles chief executives, chief operating officers, senior executives, and other managers may have at the planning, establishment, and implementation phases.

--How do you increase the visibility of your work? Get some quick ideas on page 91 with the sidebar “Tips for Getting Media Interested in Corporate Contributions.”

Note: The guide is an update to Sylvia Clark and Kate Dewey's publication, Organizing Corporate Contributions, and has been revised by Ricky A. Weiss.

Corporate Giving Statistics

If you looking for statistics on corporate philanthropy, there are several resources that may provide the information you need:

Ask our librarians for Giving USA, an annual report written by researchers at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Go directly to the chapter “Giving by Corporations” to get a broad overview of data collected from various sources, including the Conference Board and the Foundation Center.

If you find that you need more specific statistics, such as contributions as a percentage of corporate income or sales, you might need to ask for the Conference Board’s Corporate Contributions Report. The findings are based on an annual survey of nearly 200 major companies.

How about statistics on matching gift programs? Try the Giving in Numbers report from the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. The full report is available online.

For estimates of giving in 2007, as well as forecasts for 2008, download the Foundation Center publication, Key Facts on Corporate Foundations.

Need more information? Search the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature for other statistics related to corporate philanthropy.