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The median amount corporations gave to charity from 2021 to 2023 increased just 2 percent after adjusting for inflation, according to a new report by Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, a nonprofit that focuses on social responsibility at corporations. That’s despite the fact that 87 percent of companies now have corporate-purpose statements that often guide their giving.
The annual report, “Giving in Numbers: 2024 Edition,” surveyed 219 large corporations about their giving habits and social practices. The report measures giving as “total community investment,” which includes cash, gifts through corporate foundations, and noncash donations, such as products. The small overall increase in giving was tempered by the fact that 53 percent of the companies surveyed gave less during the period.
Kate Stobbe, director of corporate insights at CECP, says the more important metric is the overall upward trend in the giving number. “When you look at giving as a percentage of pretax profits, it actually increased,” Stobbe says. “The median total community investment as a percentage of pretax profit, it’s right at 0.93 percent. The gold standard is 1 percent pretax profit. So we’re seeing companies getting really close to that gold standard.”
That more companies have corporate-purpose statements doesn’t surprise Dana Brakman Reiser, a professor at Brooklyn Law School and author of the book For-Profit Philanthropy. She says many have been leaning into such statements, with some closing associated foundations and bringing giving in-house so they can give with fewer restrictions.
In recent years, corporations have jumped into some areas like racial justice with their corporate giving but now are rethinking.
“When they get reactions saying that they should pull back, firms, especially ones that are consumer-facing, seem to be responding” by doing so, Brakman Reiser says.
Companies increased their giving to racial-equity and inclusion efforts after the murder of George Floyd, but some have pulled back. There was a 3 percentage-point decrease in such giving from 2022 to 2023 in the CEPC survey data. “They’re feeling a lot of external pressure to pull back from [these] initiatives,” Stobbe says.
Even though some companies are doing that, Stobbe thinks they are still supporting projects that align with corporate purpose and giving goals, even if there aren’t the same diversity elements. “They might not necessarily call it DEI-related or call out girls versus boys in their program titles, but they’re still doing the work,” Stobbe says.
The CECP report says the two most popular causes for funding are “health and social services” and “community and economic development.”
The report noted that 94 percent of companies offer to match employees’ charitable gifts, but only 20 percent of workers actually participate in those programs. “So there’s a huge discrepancy,” Stobbe says.
The trend toward employee matching has been a long one, says Brakman Reiser, who notes that many companies see it as “a valuable benefit in a tight labor market.” She says corporations are happy to offer matching gifts because it’s expected at big companies and because they know few employees will take advantage.
Stobbe says corporations can do a better job educating their employees about the match so they don’t leave money on the table. She encouraged nonprofits to ask donors if their company offers a match, either at the time they are giving the gift or when the charity sends an acknowledgment letter.
Other highlights from the report:
Volunteering. Employees giving back to the community through volunteerism took a hit during the pandemic, but in a post-Covid world with both hybrid and remote work, many employees crave team volunteer efforts and volunteer days, Stobbe says. From 2021 to 2023, average volunteer participation was up 8 percent, and the median number of volunteer hours grew by 75 percent.
Climate Change Giving. “Community investments in climate change initiatives and efforts has doubled between 2021 and 2023,” Stobbe says. “That shows that companies are really paying attention to what’s happening in the environment and funding efforts to help address the issues.”
International Giving. From 2021 to 2023, international giving grew by 46 percent. Stobbe says this is due in part to companies wanting to support causes near their global workers, and also in response to international disasters and emergencies.
