Margaret Coady
Director
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

Originally posted on NCOC's website as a featured discussion, http://www.ncoc.net/GivingInNumbers_2012.  Interview betwen Alice Murphy, NCOC and Margaret Coady, CECP

November 27, 2012--Alice Murphy: Looking at the context you provide in this report, it seems like corporate giving is beginning to stabilize after the economic downturn. Could you provide a short narrative illustrating how corporate giving has weathered the economic crisis?

Margaret Coady: You have the headline exactly right: CECP’s data show that corporate giving has regained lost ground and stabilized from a low point in 2009.

Companies had been steadily increasing their giving until 2009 – we saw this in the survey data from 2006, 2007, and 2008. It wasn’t until 2009 that giving levels contracted. Anecdotally, they were doing all they could to keep giving levels high--trimming their administrative budgets and coming up with creative ways to deploy resources. A few companies were able to give more in 2009 largely through increases in non-cash giving (e.g., product, facilities, pro bono service).

Despite uncertainty about the health of U.S. and global markets, companies have been quick to restore their past giving levels. Some were able to do so in 2010 and others in 2011. Our survey data suggests that giving will remain flat in 2012.

Report author Alison Rose reflects on the findings

 

 

Alison P. Rose
Manager, Standards and Measurement
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

October 27, 2011 -- CECP has had the privilege of collecting corporate giving data  since 2001. The last ten years have yielded a storehouse of information that illuminates the relationship between corporate giving and the macroeconomic and cultural factors that influence businesses and their communities.

In 2010, the looming threat of a double-dip recession and widespread unease about the future of global markets significantly affected those factors. With unemployment rates remaining high, many communities in the U.S. and abroad struggled to find their footing. Moreover, the earthquake that devastated Haiti in January was only one of several severe natural disasters that commanded an international response.

As 2010 was the third in a series of strained and uncertain years, this edition of Giving in Numbers not only presents a profile of corporate philanthropy in 2010, but also seeks to answer the pivotal question: How has corporate giving changed since the onset of the economic downturn? The multi-year analysis in the opening section of this report offers a short answer: Companies do not always move in tandem. While some have responded to community need at levels that far exceed their contribution levels in 2007, other companies have cut back.

Corporate Philanthropy is Looking Up
On July 13, CECP was invited to lead a VolunteerMatch Best Practice Network webinar, titled "Giving in Numbers: Emerging Trends in Corporate Giving." In this post, Jesse Fineman of VolunteerMatch provides a recap of the discussion. This post originally appeared on the VolunteerMatch blog. 

Jesse Fineman
Intern, VolunteerMatch
Guest Contributor, CECP Blog

July 21, 2011 -- Even as our economy recovers from a downturn, surveys show that corporate giving levels have risen. Alison Rose, Manager of Standards and Measurement at CECP presented these findings and more in “Giving in Numbers: Emerging Trends in Corporate Philanthropy” on July 13th. This webinar was part of our continuing Best Practice Network series.

Increased Non-Cash Giving and Funding to Basic Needs

 

 

Alison P. Rose
Manager, Standards and Measurement
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

October 28, 2010 -- Each year, CECP looks forward to reviewing The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 400, a ranking and report on the nation’s largest charities based on levels of non-governmental funds raised.  CECP’s release of the annual Giving in Numbers report, a comprehensive analysis of corporate giving, provides a perfect opportunity to highlight how the corporate findings largely support The Chronicle’s primary conclusions, keeping in mind that corporations are only one of the non-governmental donors to charities.

CECP’s Corporate Giving Standard and The Chronicle of Philanthropy Survey

 

 

Alison P. Rose
Manager, Standards and Measurement
Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

August 10, 2010 --Yesterday, The Chronicle of Philanthropy and USA Today released their annual survey on 2009 corporate giving. As CECP mentioned in last year’s Giving in Numbers report, corporate giving professionals can benefit from the research of multiple organizations, provided those professionals are equipped to understand the differences among methods and findings. In the spirit of collaboration, CECP offers this comparison of the high level findings of CECP’s Corporate Giving Standard (CGS) data, which were released in early June, and the new report by The Chronicle/USA Today. CECP’s full analysis of 2009 corporate giving will be available in the Annual Edition of Giving in Numbers, scheduled for release in the fall of 2010.

Download CECP’s first look at 2009 findings » (2 page PDF)