2014 has been a great year for recipients of corporate giving, with more than half of the companies surveyed increasing their donations by more than 10%. And those companies that have given more have also experienced improved overall performance. There seems to be a correlation between doing good and doing better. The Conference Board and CECP released the results of an analysis of corporate giving trends that looked at 261 of the world's largest companies and report that since 2010 through 2013 while the number of nonprofit partners declined, sizes of grants increased. One chief difference is that the companies focused on community investments - activities that made differences in the communities they served.
Another difference from what might be expected is that non-cash giving has increased, mainly through pro bono programs. Pro bono donations increased dramatically in 2013 with more than half of companies participating in these non-cash programs compared with 34% in 2010.
Participating companies report that while they are more open to participating they are also monitoring the effects of their contributions. The report shows that 76% of companies actively monitor outcomes or impacts of their efforts, and subsequently use the insights gained from their monitoring to direct future activities.
The Giving in Numbers Brief provides a good overview of just how corporate donation programs are performing for both the communities they serve and the corporations themselves. The overwhelming conclusion is that doing good works for the community pays off for the companies financially.
