Why companies give
This page contains information about why companies give.
The main reason for company giving is often said to be enlightened self-interest, rather than pure philanthropy, and firms see their giving as ‘community involvement’ or ‘community investment’ the following are some of the reasons why companies give.
- To create goodwill. Companies like to be seen as good citizens and good neighbours, so they support local charities. They also like to create goodwill amongst employees.
- To be associated with certain causes that relate to their business. Landfill companies often like to support environmental projects; pharmaceutical companies health projects, banks economic development projects and so on.
- Because they are asked and it is expected of them. They receive appeals, and they know that other companies also receive appeals and give their support. They will often support trade charities such as a benevolent fund or an industry research organisation; beyond that they will probably pitch their level of giving more or less at that of their rivals.
- Because the chairman or other senior managers have personal interest in that cause – this is particularly the case for smaller companies. Even where a company has well-established criteria for giving, if you can get a friend of the managing director to ask on your behalf, you are more likely to get a donation, even when your cause does not fit the criteria.
Generally it is worth emphasising the sheer chaos of company giving. Few companies have any real policy for their charitable giving. Mostly they cover a wide range of good causes or attempt to deal with each appeal on its own merits.
However, some companies do have clear policies. Where policies are printed please respect them; dealing with a mass of clearly inappropriate applications is the single biggest headache in corporate giving and has caused some to consider winding up their charitable support programmes altogether.
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