Corporate Support for Public Affairs Nonprofits

Corporate Philanthropy: Some Basics There was relatively little corporate philanthropy before the 1960s. Most large firms now make sizeable contributions to nonprofits. Corporate contributions are mostly in cash, but some are in-kind. Two channels of corporate giving to nonprofits: –Direct corporate giving –Corporate foundations

Motives of Corporate Philanthropy Boosting sales and profits; coordinated with marketing and advertising Enhancing conditions for long-term economic returns Legitimation: presenting an image of social responsibility Deterring and providing alternatives to government programs Coopting and building bridges to potential adversaries Reducing corporate taxes

The Scale of Corporate Philanthropy Corporate foundations made grants of $4.2 billion in This constitutes 11% of all foundation grants. Total corporate grants (including direct giving) were $13.8 billion in If direct giving was included with foundation giving, corporations would account for 29% of all foundation grants. Corporations account for roughly 5% of all private philanthropic giving.

Recipients of Corporate Foundation Grants in 2005 Education 25% Public affairs 22% Human services 19% Health 12% Arts and culture 11% International 4% Environment and wildlife 3% Science and technology 2% Other 1%

Motives of Corporate Support for Public Affairs Nonprofits Corporate conservatism: funding pro-business, right-wing organizations Corporate pragmatism: building bridges to liberal and moderate organizations

Who Gives the Most? 50 Largest Corporate Foundations (2005) Health and pharmaceuticals (N = 11) : $495 million Banking and finance (N = 11) : $444 million Insurance (N = 5) : $114 million Energy, oil, chemicals, mining (N = 7) : $244 million Motor vehicles (N = 4) : $169 million Retail, consumer non-durables (N = 6) : $292 million Telecommunications (N = 3) : $152 million Miscellaneous (N = 3) : $75 million

Who Receives the Most? The Capital Research Center Data CRC was founded in 1984 to combat “liberal bias” in corporate philanthropy. Published “Patterns of Corporate Philanthropy” periodically through Rated corporations on the liberalism/conservatism of their public affairs grants. Ranked public affairs nonprofits from 1 (“radical left”) to 8 (“market right”). Weighted grants by ideology and dollar amount to give each corporation an overall score. Publicized results to CEOs in effort to influence corporate giving. CRC report for 2001: includes 90 corporations and 357 nonprofits for the year 1997.

Top 50 Public Affairs Nonprofits Receiving Grants from 90 Large Corporations (1997) Policy Planning and Advocacy ■■■■ 2. Council on Foreign Relations $2,195,050 ■■■■ 4. Brookings Institution $1,722,000 ■■■■■■ 5. Chamber of Commerce $1,517,029 ■■■■■■■11. American Enterprise Institute $965,000 ■■■■■■15. East-West Institute $793,000 ■■■■■■16. Center for Strategic & International Studies $760,000 ■■■■■17. Economic Strategy Institute $575,000 ■■■18. Committee for Economic Development $547,500 ■■■20. Carter Center $480,000 ■■■■21. Ethics Resource Center $412,500 ■■■■■30. Rand Corporation $360,000 ■■■■■■■■32. Heritage Foundation $341,000 ■■■■33. National Alliance of Business $331,000 ■■■■■■■■37. Citizens for a Sound Economy $317,000 ■■■■■■38. Institute for International Economics $317,000 ■■■40. Aspen Institute $280,000 ■■■■■■■■44. Competitive Enterprise Institute $25,5000 ■■■46. Joint Center for Political & Economic Studies $247,000 ■■■■■■■■48. Manhattan Institute For Policy Research $222,000 ■■■■■■■■50. Cato Institute $220,000

Top 50 Public Affairs Nonprofits Receiving Grants from 90 Large Corporations (1997) Civil Rights ■■■ 1. Urban League $3,917,444 ■■10. NAACP $1,052,650 ■■■22. Anti-Defamation League $406,800 ■■■25. National Council of La Raza $392,000 ■■■27. National Council of Negro Women $381,667 ■■■42. League of United Latin American Citizens $260,500 ■■■43. National Organization on Disability $260,000 ■■49. Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund $221,500 Health and Human Services ■■■ 6. American Heart Association $1,303,985 ■■■12. American Cancer Society $943,509 ■■■13. Families & Work Institute $850,000 ■■■■19. American Federation for Aging Research $519,000 ■■■29. National Council on the Aging $363,500 ■■■35. Children’s Health Fund $325,000 ■■■36. Child Welfare League of America $320,000 ■■■■■■■■39. American Council on Science & Health $299,000 ■■■47. Children’s Defense Fund $227,500

Top 50 Public Affairs Nonprofits Receiving Grants from 90 Large Corporations (1997) Environment and Wildlife ■■■ 7. Conservation International $1,298,500 ■■■ 8. Nature Conservancy $1,285,145 ■■■■41. Resources for the Future $280,000 ■■■■41. Ducks Unlimited $262,500 ■■■45. World Wildlife Fund $250,260 Education ■■■ 9. National Education Association $1,243,105 ■■■■24. Public Education Network $394,200 ■■■■28. Education Commission of the States $378,900 ■■■■■■■■31. Students in Free Enterprise $350,500 ■■■34. National Head Start Association $325,705 Community Development ■■■ 3. Enterprise Foundation $1,940,750 ■■■■23. Points of Light Foundation $395,000 ■■26. Assoc. of Community Organizations for Reform Now $385,000 International Development ■■■14. Accion International $846,128

What Influences Corporate Giving to Public Affairs Nonprofits? Hypotheses from research on corporate philanthropy: –Consumer goods industries contribute widely to promote image. –Corporations tend to concentrate grants in their local region. Hypotheses from research on corporate PACs: –Traditional regulated industries are more pragmatic/bipartisan. –Defense contractors are more pragmatic/bipartisan. –Regulatory violators exhibit more right-wing partisanship. –Firms in South and Midwest exhibit more right-wing partisanship. Hypotheses from research on policy board members: –Traditional regulated industries have closer links to moderates. –Sunbelt (South and West) firms have closer links to right-wing. Hypotheses from research on corporate networks: –Firms with board interlocks exhibit similar political behavior.

Industry Differences in Corporate Giving Average CRC Rating (High = Right-Wing)

Regional Differences in Corporate Giving Average CRC Rating (High = Right-Wing)

Percentage Overlap in Nonprofits Supported by Dyads of Firms

Conclusions Much corporate philanthropy is hidden, so any conclusions must be tentative. Corporations contribute more heavily to public affairs than do other private foundations. Corporations adopt a mixed strategy of conservatism and pragmatism. Conservative grants are concentrated in the policy planning area. Pragmatic (moderate/liberal) grants are concentrated in civil rights, health, and environment. Variations in corporate giving follow a similar pattern to other forms of corporate political action. More speculatively, corporate grants are of sufficient scale to have an impact on the program and politics of public affairs nonprofits. Even more speculatively, relative to other funding sources, corporate grants are likely pull both left- and right-wing nonprofits toward the political center.

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