Why Has Company Giving Risen During A Recession?
October 26 2009 - Research recently undertaken by Acona shows that corporate giving is up,
despite the recession (see below for details). The question is why - given that so many companies are
making staff redundant and cutting all sorts of other budgets?
Acona Senior Partner, Simon Hodgson, thinks the answer lies in part in the increasing sophistication
of corporate giving.
"Corporate giving programmes are integrated and embedded now in a way they weren't ten years ago," he says.
"It's not just handing over a cheque anymore - companies' cash giving is bolstered by employee volunteering,
joint marketing projects with the charity partner or even mentoring the charity's senior management team. It's almost
impossible to turn the tap off on such schemes without huge reputational damage."
Another factor is the transparent reporting of giving and the ready availability of comparable
benchmarks. "Many of our clients set their annual giving budgets with one eye on the competition" Hodgson says.
"They are acutely aware of whether their programme is as generous as their peers."
But in this last area, Hodgson believes companies are misguided. "They are looking at the wrong
measure. Competing to see who can shovel out more of other people's money - for after all these are shareholders'
funds - is wrongheaded. The real test should be one of impact. What are they achieving? Who is benefiting from
this investment and how?"
Acona's recent analysis of the FTSE100 showed a combined total giving of £1.5Bn p.a.
"In no other area of business would this kind of investment ever be sanctioned without a clear statement of the
expected return" says Hodgson. "It's time for companies to bring the same rigour to their community investment.
More is not necessarily better. Better is better".
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