How Do Global Companies Compare When It Comes to Corporate Giving?
How does a global company know what counts as a charitable contribution when each country around the world classifies NGOs in differing ways? A new study,Global Guide by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) has sought to answer this very question by providing clear and concise guidance. From no tax deductions in Russia to required giving in Brazil, this report outlines the variety and complexity of the giving guidelines in 17 nations with the highest concentrations of Fortune Global 500 firms. This is CECP's first collection of global corporate contributions data using a newly created framework, developed with pro bono assistance from Deloitte. that can be applied to international giving programs.
This worldwide comparison of corporate giving reveals whether donations in advanced economies are as high as they could be and what countries might learn from each other. The data was collected from 31 companies from diverse industries representing North America, Europe and Latin America, and shows that leading companies designated 44 per cent of their total giving to international recipients. While the overall giving for the Global Guide respondents was US$39 million. Daryl Brewster, CEO at CECP says, "These Global Guide findings gives the public for the first time access to a focused analysis of global corporate giving data, allowing a deeper look at how companies are approaching international societal engagement."
The data collected is insightful, and shows that while setting funding priorities, reporting on data, and budgeting are done at office headquarters, the actual approval process of the grantees was largely done at local community level. Fifty five per cent of survey respondents were headquartered in the U.S., 13 per cent in France, and 10 per cent in Brazil and the U.K. Eleven companies reported their total giving breakdown to specific countries; 114 countries received contributions from at least one company. More specifically, eight companies made contributions to South Africa and seven companies made contributions to Argentina, China, Japan and Mexico.
Click here to continue reading and comment
Sangeeta Haindl is a staff writer for Justmeans on Social Enterprise. When not writing for Justmeans, Sangeeta wears her other hat as a PR professional. Over the years, she has worked with high-profile organizations within the public, not-for-profit and corporate sectors; and won awards from her industry. She now runs her own UK consultancy: Serendipity PR & Media.
