Posted on May 15, 2007

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Corporate Foundations Gave a Record $4.2 Billion in 2006, Report Finds

Charitable giving by corporate foundations rose to an estimated $4.2 billion in 2006, and a majority of the foundations surveyed project continued growth in 2007, a new summary report issued by the New York City-based Foundation Center finds.

According to Key Facts on Corporate Foundations, grantmaking by nearly 2,600 corporate foundations increased by an estimated 6 percent in 2006 and accounted for 11 percent of all foundation giving. The increase is remarkable, as it follows an exceptional year in 2005 in which corporate foundation giving reflected strong corporate profits and giving in response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes and South Asian tsunami.

"Corporate foundation giving exceeded $4 billion for the first time in 2006," said Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center. "More importantly, funding continued to grow despite the completion of most giving related to the tsunami and Gulf Coast hurricanes."

In terms of funding priorities, corporate foundations targeted nearly half of their giving to education (25 percent) or public affairs/social benefit (22 percent) — which includes support for community development, federated funds and other philanthropy, public affairs, and civil rights. Moreover, 57 percent of the corporate foundations surveyed expect to increase their giving in 2007, surpassing the share that anticipated higher levels of giving last year.

In a separate development, a handful of pharmaceutical manufacturers continued to ramp up their giving through operating foundations, which are counted separately from corporate foundations. Support from these and other corporate-sponsored operating foundations totaled nearly $3.2 billion in 2005, with most of that giving coming from in-kind donations of medications to patients in need. In fact, four of these pharmaceutical foundations ranked among the top ten U.S. foundations by giving. According to Lawrence, beginning in the late 1990s many pharmaceutical companies set up operating foundations to distribute medications, and at current rates in-kind giving through corporate operating foundations may soon match standard corporate foundation giving.

The report's findings are derived from the Foundation Center's tracking of fiscal and programmatic information on more than 80,000 foundations, corporations, and public charities; annual surveys of leading grantmakers; and analyses of the giving patterns of the nation's nearly 1,200 largest foundations.

To read or download the complete report (7 pages, PDF), visit the Foundation Center's Web site.

“Giving by Corporate Foundations Rises to a Record $4.2 Billion, Foundation Center Report Shows.” Foundation Center Press Release 5/15/07.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Secondary Subject(s): Community Improvement/Development, Civil/Human Rights, Hurricane Relief, Public Affairs
Location(s): National, New York, New York City

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