|
 |
In Good Company
|
When it
comes to giving, St. Louis corporations have a reputation for generosity.
By Kevin Kipp
If corporate giving were a Super Bowl—merely a game, recall—St.
Louis wouldn’t need a prayers-answered, last minute field goal to
beat Boston. It would be an old-fashioned cash-whuppin’.
Just look at the United Way campaign reports:
- St.
Louis ranked 18th in population among towns with United
Way campaigns in 2000. St. Louis finished eighth in funds
contributed. Bostonians, with a couple hundred thousand
more people, didn’t show up in the top 10, or even top
20, for money raised.
- St.
Louis raised $63.3 million in 2000; has-Bean town contributed
barely $41 million.
- The
corporate portion of the United Way–St. Louis campaign—33.5
percent, amounting to $21.2 million—ranked first as a
percent among all United Way campaigns. Boston—at 25.9
percent, or $10.6 million—finished far behind.
- What’s
more, if one does the math, individual St. Louisans out
gave Beaners $42.1 million to $30.4 million.
|
And besides,
our zoo is a zillion times better. (Enough teasing: Boston is not
a smoking crater for charities. Their zoo is nice, their symphony
is decent and they have some well-known universities.)
R.J. Crunk, vice president of resource development at the St. Louis
United Way provided the data for these comparisons. He said his
colleagues across the country don’t compare their campaigns to fuel
rivalries.
“Comparisons can alert us to what we’re doing right or maybe something
wrong,” he says. “Our victories can help other campaigns.” He cites
the Charmaine Chapman Society, an initiative among African-Americans,
and Women’s Leadership Giving as programs “that started here
and have been adopted across the country.”
OK, maybe Crunk shows a little competitive pride: “Being
eighth in total giving and 18th in population says a great deal
about the generosity of our community, both individuals and corporations.”
Close behind St. Louis in corporate share are Minneapolis at 31
percent (ranking 10th in overall giving at $62 million) whose campaign
is merging with St. Paul’s ($22 million). Chicago ranked third in
corporate participation at 30.3 percent, but led all metropolitan
areas with $96.2 million.
Corporate giving doesn’t normally constitute one-third, or even
one-quarter, of a campaign. Michael Nilsen, public affairs manager
for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (the old NSFRE),
says, “Individual giving has always been the largest piece of the
pie by far.”
According to Nilsen, American not-for-profits reported to the IRS
that they raised $203 billion in 2000. Of that total:
- Individuals
gave $152 billion, or 74.9 percent
- Corporations
gave $10.8 billion, or 5.3 percent
- Foundations
gave $24.5 billion, 12.1 percent
- Bequests,
the last word in individual giving, amounted to $16 billion,
7.9 percent
|
Nilsen says,
“These are roughly the proportions you’ve seen over the past few
decades, although foundation giving is probably up as a long-term
trend because of the increase in personal and family foundations.
And overall, American charitable giving has increased every year
but one in the past 40.”
Many organizations aren’t required to file IRS 990s—like the 1040
for 501(c)(3) organizations—but nonetheless issue audited annual
reports. Nilsen says, “We don’t quite know how much of individual
giving is to religious organizations. Our data is based on 990s,
but religious entities and organizations whose annual income is
under $25,000 a year don’t report that way.”
He estimates that contributions to these organizations amount to
an additional $100 billion of individual largesse.
The give–at-the-office structure of the United Way probably contributes
to the high proportion of the corporate dollars.
For instance, the employees at MasterCard International exceeded
their 2001 goal by 20 percent, says Linda Locke vice president for
communications. “We matched our employees’ $365,000 at 100 percent,”
she says. “In fact, the biggest contribution that MasterCard makes
nationally is to the United Way of St. Louis.”
Vice chancellor of alumni development programs David Blasingame
reports that the Campaign for Washington University, begun in 1995
and continuing through 2004, had raised $1.2 billion by the end
of January.
He says 60 percent of that came from individuals—a little more in
line with the national average—12 percent from corporations and
20 percent from foundations.
(The remaining 8 percent came from groups and agencies. For
instance, the American Heart Association funds some medical projects.)
“My impression from talking to colleagues at national conferences
is that St. Louis corporations have a reputation for generosity,”
Blasingame says. “They’ve certainly been a part of Washington University’s
progress.”
He adds, “Most corporate giving is directed, but we’ve also had
unrestricted support.”
For instance, Emerson supports the business school. Boeing helps
the business school and the engineering program. Enterprise Rent-A-Car
supports undergraduate scholarships.
In St. Louis, Locke says MasterCard is focused on education and
“access to technology for at-risk youth and their families. It makes
sense. We’re a technology headquarters, and we have an interest
in educating more technology experts in the Midwest.”
Towards that end, MasterCard will launch a couple of mentoring programs—including
one via the Internet—in the St. Louis area. Some corporate philanthropy
doesn’t show up on 990s.
Above:
merson’s generous contributions helped make possible the recent
renovation of the Children’s Zoo.
Cynthia Holter, development director at the Saint Louis Zoo, says
that with $59.8 million raised toward their 2004 Campaign’s $63
million goal, 58.6 percent is from individuals, 30.2 percent is
corporate, and 11.2 percent is from foundations.
Above:
Corporate as well as individual contributions helped bring to
fruition the Saint Louis Zoo’s Monsanto Insectarium.
The proportion will change with the inclusion of a $1.5 million
challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation.
Restricted or not, Holter says her approach to corporate decision-makers
“is not drastically different from individual appeals. For Chuck
Knight or August Busch, it’s still about their experiences growing
up with the zoo, loving it as a civic asset.
“Besides,” she reasons, “we represent an economic development opportunity
for companies selling St. Louis as the location for incoming executives.
The zoo is important to the community overall, including their employees,
stockholders and customers.”
| Creating
a “Culture of Giving” |
Gateway
to Giving Receives National Grant to Launch Project.
By Cheryl Walker
Seeking to build on St. Louis’ solid record, a new initiative
aimed at increasing charitable giving in the region just received
a $290,000 national grant from the Forum of Regional Associations
to implement Gateway to Giving. The idea for Gateway to Giving
started more than a year ago with 20 member organizations
convened by the Metropolitan Association for Philanthropy
(MAP).
“The whole issue of increasing philanthropy is core to MAP’s
mission,” explains Kathy Doellefeld-Clancy, president of MAP.
“The committee that formed Gateway to Giving came together
as a partnership to get more people involved in philanthropy.”
Christy Gray, executive director of the Whitaker Foundation
and a Gateway to Giving partner, continues, “After the group
started to meet, Dottie Johnson, head of a regional association
of grant making in Michigan, a powerhouse state for philanthropy,
helped facilitate our discussions.”
The Gateway to Giving initiative was one of only seven recipients
in the country chosen this year to participate in the Forum
of Regional Associations of Grantmaker’s New Ventures in Philanthropy
program. Part of the grant includes valuable conferencing
between recipients to learn from each other.
The RCGA is among the 20 Gateway to Giving civic partners.
“RCGA members already come to us interested in building community.
Gateway to Giving gives us an additional way to make St. Louis
the best place to live and work,” says RCGA chief operating
officer Beverly Estes, who represents the RCGA on the coalition.
Gateway to Giving will not make grants, however it will provide
the tools and resources necessary to help new donors create
formal giving programs, establish giving circles and develop
personal strategies for giving.
Grant funds will be used to:
- Update
the 1999 Philanthropic Landscape of St. Louis report,
a benchmark report that documents the current status
of giving in St. Louis
- Create
a website that provides information and links to
organizations that promote philanthropy
- Produce
a toolkit that will assist donors in exploring a
variety of giving options
- Encourage
public policy that promotes philanthropy.
|
“Most people
think of philanthropy in terms of only the very wealthy individuals
and the very large corporations,” says Doellefeld-Clancy “We
hope that everyone in the region will realize they can play
a part.” |
Gateway to Giving Partners
Metropolitan Association of Philanthropy
Whitaker Foundation
Greater East St. Louis Community
Foundation
Lutheran Charities Foundation
United Way of Greater St. Louis
Danforth Foundation
Regional Chamber &
Growth Association
Incarnate Word Foundation
Social Venture Partners
Tyco/Healthcare/Mallinckrodt
Intoximeters
Vatterott Foundation
Saint Louis Community
Foundation
Southern Illinois Charitable
Giving Council
Trio Foundation of St. Louis
Planned Giving Council
The Regional Business Council
Jewish Federation of St. Louis
Commerce Bank
University of Missouri–St. Louis
Association of Fundraising
Professionals
Estate Planning Council
Kevin Kipp runs Bubble Communications, a creative services and
community relations firm in St. Charles. |
|
|
|
|
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
