Corporate Giving Statistics

If you looking for statistics on corporate philanthropy, there are several resources that may provide the information you need:

Ask our librarians for Giving USA, an annual report written by researchers at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Go directly to the chapter “Giving by Corporations” to get a broad overview of data collected from various sources, including the Conference Board and the Foundation Center.

If you find that you need more specific statistics, such as contributions as a percentage of corporate income or sales, you might need to ask for the Conference Board’s Corporate Contributions Report. The findings are based on an annual survey of nearly 200 major companies.

How about statistics on matching gift programs? Try the Giving in Numbers report from the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. The full report is available online.

For estimates of giving in 2007, as well as forecasts for 2008, download the Foundation Center publication, Key Facts on Corporate Foundations.

Need more information? Search the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature for other statistics related to corporate philanthropy.

Recent "Off the Shelf" Book Reviews

Here are quick highlights from Philanthropy News Digest's Off the Shelf book reviews by Foundation Center staff. Click on the links below for the full reviews:

Crucibles of Leadership: How to Learn from Experience to Become a Great Leader. Robert J. Thomas (Harvard Business School Press, 2008)

“…the book reinforces perhaps the most important lesson for any leader, regardless of field or sector: Effective leadership is a process of continuous personal development driven by one's embrace of lifelong learning and a desire to lead...” More...

ROI for Nonprofits: The New Key to Sustainability. Tom Ralser (John Wiley & Sons, 2007)

“…nonprofits that make the effort to follow Ralser's guidelines are likely to find themselves with a development strategy that puts them on the road to sustainability..." More...

Message Matters: Succeeding at the Crossroads of Mission and Market. Rebecca K. Leet (Fieldstone Alliance, 2007)

“...by following Leet's five simple steps, you too can end up with a powerful message that grabs your audiences' attention, drives the conversation about your products and services, and leads to improved fundraising results....” More...

Nonprofit Essentials: The Development Plan. Linda Lysakowski (John Wiley & Sons, 2007)

"...Lysakowski's book de-mystifies the [planning] process, presenting the challenges one must be prepared to address to achieve fundraising success in a practical, no-nonsense manner..." More...

Click here for a full list of archived Off the Shelf reviews.

Assessing Planned Giving Officers

Evaluating the performance of planned giving officers can be challenging, especially when gifts may not be received until years later. If you need guidance on developing criteria for measuring success, have a look at the latest issue of the Journal of Gift Planning (1st Qtr) from the National Committee on Planned Giving. In the article, “Evaluating Gift Planner Performance” expert Tom Cullinan suggests that some areas for measurement may include:

Existing and deferred gift commitments
Number of donor meetings
Response rates to marketing efforts
Number of new prospects identified

The article also provides guidance on standards for prospect meetings, cold calls, and activity reports.

For additional readings on planned giving, search the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature.

Fundraising Ethics

Be careful. Once your nonprofit loses the trust of your donors you will fight an uphill battle trying to restore their confidence in your organization. Protect the reputation of your nonprofit by promoting ethical standards in your fundraising program.

A new book from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Fund Development Series can help you explore best practices in this area. In Ethical Fundraising: A Guide for Nonprofit Boards and Fundraising, experts contribute chapters that discuss several key areas, including:

privacy issues
donor intent
ethical gift solicitation
handling full disclosure
conflict of interest vs. the appearance of wrongdoing
compensation of fundraisers

The volume also contains brief cases studies that examine various ethical challenges.

For additional readings on this subject, have a look at our topical resource list on fundraising ethics.

2007 Year in Review

Do you sometimes feel that it is difficult to keep pace with the changing face of philanthropy? The Foundation Center has released a publication that will help you focus on the key issues and trends for the previous year. The premier issue of Philanthropy Annual highlights the major news stories, leadership changes, and awards of 2007. In addition to interviews and commentary, the publication also presents statistical data on foundation giving in the U.S.

The Philanthropy Annual also serves has a handy reference tool since appendices list nonprofit academic centers, regional associations of grantmakers, grantmaker affinity groups and philanthropy periodical editors.

Be sure to turn to the last page; there is a crossword puzzle!

Click here to learn more and download the Philanthropy Annual.

National Volunteer Week

It is National Volunteer Week (April 27 – May 3, 2008) and a great time to highlight a couple of resources for volunteers and volunteer managers available on our web site.

Start off with our Frequently Asked Question, “How can I use the Web to find volunteer opportunities?"

Then, if you are interested in books and articles on voluntarism in our collection, have a look at our topical resource list. Here is a sampling of the materials:


Corporation for National and Community Service. Volunteering in America: 2007 State Trends and Rankings in Civic Life. Washington, DC: Corporation for National & Community Service, 2007.

Analyzes information on volunteering in America in general and in individual states. Part one gives a general overview of American voluntarism. Part two compares rates of voluntarism across the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Part three analyzes voluntarism within each state by focusing on the number of volunteer hours and demographics. The last section is a technical note on statistical methods and data sources.

Family Volunteering: A Guide for the Workplace. Washington, DC: Points of Light Foundation, 2007.

Provides advice for managers who are planning employee volunteer programs for families.

Lysakowski, Linda. Nonprofit Essentials: Recruiting and Training Fundraising Volunteers. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2005.

Explains how to find and attract volunteers, and provides sample job descriptions. The book also covers the training of volunteers and management of their work alongside staff members.