Global Corporate Giving Initiative Answers Question, “What Counts?”
Stands to Change the Way Companies Report on Giving Internationally; Identifies Areas of Consensus on “Societal Benefit” and Streamlines Measurement Process
(3BL Media) New York, NY - June 6, 2012 - Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) today released The Global Guide to What Counts: A Defining Moment for Corporate Giving (Global Guide), which will enable a major shift away from corporations’ reliance on various country tax codes to determine what counts as a contribution that benefits society—a reliance that has complicated the practice of tracking international giving. The Global Guide provides corporations with a much needed tool to allow more efficient measurement of corporate giving on a global scale.
CECP, with pro bono assistance from Deloitte, created a Global Corporate Giving Initiative (Global Initiative) to review giving standards in 17 countries—those with the greatest concentrations of headquarters of the largest companies in the world--and establish a single, precise characterization of the types of organizations that can be counted within corporate contributions programs. The results of the Global Initiative, contained in the Global Guide, summarize eligible organizations in a markedly more user-friendly and inclusive way to be:1) formally organized; 2) existing for charitable purpose; and 3) never distributing profits. Findings also provide specific details on all three criteria including the activities and purposes of eligible organizations. An overview of the range of organizations included is available on the CECP website.
“The Global Guide is vital as it will allow companies in the Global 2000—the world’s biggest companies--to better measure and think more strategically about the societal engagement work they are doing all over the world,” stated Charles Moore, Executive Director, CECP. “We seek to unlock the potential of corporations to further engage with the global communities that benefit from their talent and resources by establishing a single, accessible standard.”
More information on the Global Guide criteria and a complete snapshot of the rigorous process undertaken to arrive at this definition will be available in a full report due out in the fall of 2012. The Global Initiative will also develop a survey, which will complement the work established by CECP’s Corporate Giving Standard (CGS) survey. These global survey questions will first be released in January 2013 and will create the first-ever repository of global corporate contributions data that can be compared and analyzed to advance the corporate giving field.
“Professionals from the Deloitte U.S. Firms and other member firms in the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) global network are proud to have contributed, on a pro bono basis, the skills and knowledge to help CECP in this international philanthropic effort,” stated Barry Salzberg, chief executive officer, DTTL and board member of CECP. “Providing a standard measurement for companies to more accurately account for their global commitments is an exciting step forward that we hope will encourage an increased focus on philanthropy in the corporate community.”
CECP engaged the corporate giving community in a public comment period from March to April 2012 to solicit feedback on the initial research findings found in the Global Guide. CECP thanks the members of the public and a Global Initiative Advisory Group for their contributions to this effort.
Capturing the sentiment from the global giving community, Georg Kell, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact, stated that, “CECP’s global efforts to advance transparency around reporting and benchmarking of corporate social investment are crucial to mount an effective response to the challenges facing business and society. The Global Compact strongly supports CECP's work, which is fully aligned with our universal principles."
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The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP)
The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) is the only international forum of business CEOs and chairpersons focused on raising the level and quality of corporate philanthropy. Membership includes more than 180 CEOs and chairpersons representing companies that account for more than 40 percent of reported corporate giving in the United States. For more information visit CorporatePhilanthropy.org. Follow us on twitter, facebook and LinkedIn.
