43% of corporations have increased number of grants provided to charitable organizations
Nearly 72% of 73 global Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 corporations and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have increased their contributions to charities amid the COVID- 19 pandemic, according to a CAF America survey conducted in partnership with CyberGrants and The Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP). The report is the fourth in a series of monthly reports conducted by CAF America to amplify the challenges, needs, and resilience of the philanthropic sector during the global pandemic, and the first from the corporate philanthropy perspective.
“Three months of collecting data from over 1,700 global charitable organizations has allowed us to tell the story of unfolding trends amid the disruption and uncertainty of the pandemic. We learned how nonprofits are working hard to keep their doors open and the corporate donor perspective is of critical value to inform the global response. This new report highlights how nimble corporate America has been and how they have significantly increased giving both domestically and internationally these past three months,” said Ted Hart, CAF America President and CEO.“ Furthermore, the report highlights the growing flexibility in their approach to giving. American corporations are listening and it is making a difference. They are redirecting their philanthropic support so charitable organizations can meet the needs of their communities.”
Results show nearly 100% of corporations allocated some or all charitable funding to US-based nonprofits across major categories of need including health and well-being, disaster relief, and education. 59% gave internationally, advising their support to 93 countries with disaster relief, health, and food security as the top-three areas of concern. The report shows this global pandemic will trigger even further change to corporate giving programs with 43% of corporations intending to revise their disaster relief strategies and 26% intending to expand their employee engagement programming.
Despite efforts to slow the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic, 88.71% of corporate respondents said they fear some charitable organizations will only be able to continue operations for less than a year under the current conditions before being forced to close their doors. Two-thirds of charities responding to the COVID-19 survey indicated they felt they were running out of time, with one- third expecting to be forced to close down within the next 12 months if the situation remained unchanged.
Hart and CAF America Senior Vice President of External Affairs Jessie Krafft shared data and research findings from the new report during CAF America’s July 23 webinar, The Voice of Corporate Philanthropy in Response to COVID-19 Worldwide; the report is available at cafamerica.org/covid19report/.
TOP HIGHLIGHTS
CAF America collected responses from 73 global Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 corporations and SMEs to learn the impact of the pandemic on their philanthropic giving. Key findings include:
• 72% of respondents are increasing their contributions to charities, with one-quarter of the surveyed corporations giving 10-25% more and over 12% contributing 50% more.
• As a result of the pandemic, corporations have broadened their philanthropic strategy to include additional areas of focus over the past three months – 77.4% provided immediate relief funding.
• Corporations are demonstrating flexibility to grantee needs with 65% offering to change grant purposes and to redirect funds to the most immediate needs. Additional flexible offerings include 54.1% offering grant extensions to provide more time to implement current projects, expend the grant funds, or postpone reporting.
For the upcoming fiscal year, two-thirds of corporations anticipate maintaining current levels of giving or increasing their funding.
For more information about CAF America visit cafamerica.org.
