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January 07, 2009
A Mixed Outlook for Corporate Giving in 2009
While charitable giving by corporations and corporate foundations is expected to drop in 2009, the overall decrease may not be as severe as in past recessions, suggests a report released by LBG Research Institute, a nonprofit research center in Stamford, Conn.
The institute’s online survey of 76 corporations and corporate foundations found that more than half planned to maintain or increase their contributions this year and projects an aggregate decrease in corporate giving in 2009 of 3 to 5 percent – a much smaller drop than the 12 percent decrease reported in 2002 by Giving USA during the previous recession.
“That doesn’t diminish the impact on the nonprofits, though,” says Donna Devaul, the institute’s executive director. “One percentage point is still millions of dollars in fewer contributions to the nation’s charities.”
Some parts of the nonprofit world are more likely to feel the brunt of the downturn than others as corporations plan to spend their limited charitable budgets more strategically, suggests the report.
Arts and culture institutions, in particular, probably won’t be able to count on corporate and foundation support as much as they did in the past. Nearly half the grant makers in the study expected to decrease contributions to arts and culture causes in 2009.
On the flip side, social-service organizations and groups that focus on basic needs may see an increase in corporate giving. Of the companies that support basic needs charities that provide food, clothing, and shelter, 23 percent planned to increase their giving. And 12 percent of those that give to social services other than basic needs also planned to increase support in 2009.
The 12-page report, “Doing More With Less: How the Economic Downturn Will Impact Corporate Giving in 2009” is available for purchase at the Institute’s Web site.
— Paula Wasley
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