Business charitable giving steady in last 5 years

Write a Comment

CBIA and Liberty Bank partnered on the 2015 Connecticut Corporate Giving Survey to gauge the level and scope of local businesses’ contributions of expertise, volunteer hours, goods and services, and funding to nonprofits. Among its chief findings is 96 percent of businesses have maintained or increased their charitable levels for the past five years.

The survey found that 56 percent of businesses have maintained a steady level of giving while 40 percent said they increased it. The survey also determined 22 percent of Connecticut employers provide incentives to do charitable work in the community. About one in 16 employees are mandated to do community service as a part of their employment.

“It’s not just major corporations engaging in social responsibility,” says CBIA economist Pete Gioia, who is presenting the study at Hartford Business Journal’s Business Gives Back forum Thursday. “It’s startups, family businesses, and global enterprises—all helping their local communities with direct contributions, employee volunteers, and in-kind donations.” More than half of the respondents have less than 50 employees.

Among the other findings of the survey, 89 percent of businesses donate time or money to local charities; 59 percent donate products or services; 42 percent coordinate events to help the community; 8 percent have a company foundation; and 6 percent have a personal foundation.

“The majority of Connecticut businesses are giving back to their communities in terms of both dollars and time. That investment has a significant impact on the quality of life in our state, but businesses don’t necessarily understand the value of that generosity to their own bottom lines,” said Chandler J. Howard, president and CEO of Liberty Bank.

He added in his opening statement to the report, “In these days of widespread distrust of the business sector, a genuine commitment to good corporate citizenship is an asset that can help businesses build trust, credibility, and loyalty among both customers and employees. Doing good really does lead to doing well.”

The survey also found although most respondents are small, 63 percent donate at least $10,000 a year to area charities. Forty percent offer matching gifts when employees donate or volunteer.

Read more

Brennan’s 2015 was trial by fire