Alan Ziter, executive director of the NTC Foundation, is looking for money for restoration and development at Liberty Station. (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

Mention “corporate giving” and you’re apt to hear a spate of personal views about how it makes a company look good while saving tax money for that business. Or the talk might lead to anecdotes about folks who were aided by generous companies in their communities.

Many businesses do give to their communities in many ways, and they cite any number of reasons: “It’s the right thing to do.” “It provides a company tax benefit.” “It’s good for business.”

But little about corporate giving actually is known because private companies don’t have to reveal how much they give. Repeated studies have identified a number of long-lasting benefits that have little to do with profits in the short run. Companies who give back to their communities may benefit financially, but more likely they are rewarded with positive nontangibles. Among them:

• An edge in attracting and retaining employees.
  
  
• Better relationships with community leaders.
  
  
• Greater consumer loyalty.
  
  
• Increased name or brand recognition.
  
  
• An enhanced reputation in the community.
  
  
• Business relationships with nonprofits.
  
  
• Leadership opportunities for employees.
  
  
• Acceptance of new ideas and social movements.

Julie Holdaway is executive director of San Diego Grantmakers, a membership organization dedicated to stimulating philanthropy. (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

When it comes to actual money matters, businesses are not very communicative about how much they give or what tax benefits they reap, says Julie Holdaway, executive director of San Diego Grantmakers, a membership organization dedicated to stimulating philanthropy.

Nonprofits and foundations are accountable to the public for their finances, but private corporate giving is just that — private. The law allows a company to claim up to 10 percent in deductible charity (15 percent if President Bush’s proposed financial package is passed), but Holdaway says 1 percent is the average amount claimed by private organizations.

While the reasons for giving are numerous, Qualcomm Inc.’s philosophy could be echoed by many companies. “We believe giving back in the communities where our employees live and work provides the company with positive visibility, stronger communities in which to do business, corporate tax benefits, and most importantly, a means to attract and retain employees,” says Bertha Agia of Qualcomm corporate public relations.

Giving is not just a grant of money. A company could lend a technical expert to a nonprofit organization, set up volunteer programs with employee comp time or other benefits, or encourage or reward employees who serve on boards of other companies or nonprofits. It could favor organizations in which employees are involved, sponsor employee programs and athletic teams or community youth and adult leagues. It could also identify and resolve or meet a community problem or need.

For most businesses, the difficult question is, Who should be the recipient of a company’s good works? After a disaster such as the firestorms of 2003, the question answers itself. The business community joined nonprofits and individuals in a quick and generous response. But without a tragedy, who should benefit becomes a major question.

For Northrop Grumman Corp. the answer may be more easily defined than for some. John Pettitt, corporate lead executive, says his company has “several buckets of money. The one that gets used the most is our target base. That is defense.” With those general guidelines, organizations that support military efforts or personnel receive priority.

Even Northrop Grumman’s community relations funds tend to go toward organizations that provide direct services to specific groups of people. Pettitt cites Continental Maritime Shipyard, a part of Grumman, which supports Chicano Federation activities that may affect the shipyard’s high Hispanic workforce.

In San Diego, which has relatively few Fortune 500 firms, the biggest companies are obvious targets. Sempra Energy receives thousands of requests each year, says Jennifer Andrews, Sempra’s public relations manager. “When selecting organizations, we look at a variety of things,” she says. Those include how the requesting organization fits the company’s giving areas and meets pre-existing guidelines. Does it have a relationship with the company? Does the company have employees involved with the group? What is the project and would it help the company reach other objectives?

“We recognize our role as a corporate citizen,” says Andrews, “and we believe that giving back is not only good for our business, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Decisions on giving are centralized in the corporate community relations group at Sempra. Sometimes a single person makes the decision while at other times a committee may be assembled for that purpose. Community managers are assigned to each grant, serving as a liaison between the company and the organization, and remain in those roles throughout the grant’s duration.

As executive director of the NTC Foundation, Alan Ziter is looking for money for restoration and development at Liberty Station. “Our challenge,” he says, “is the stewardship of 26 buildings, restoring those buildings and finding the 80 nonprofit groups that want to make their home there.” As he seeks donors, he tries to match what he can deliver with what the corporation is giving. For example, a military organization may value saving military history at NTC.

Ziter, who joined NTC after 18 years as director of the Performing Arts League, tries to determine what donors would find most interesting and studies annual reports to see what their giving has been. “If I know what they give,” he says, “it helps to know what to ask for.”

Smaller companies that want to give but have never done it before may seek an organization with similar objectives. San Diego native Raymond Hivoral, founder and CEO of Concerto Networks, a franchise that provides computer and information technology to small and medium-sized businesses, donated an entire computer system last year to National City’s Granger Junior High School, where he supports Computers for Kids and after-school programs. His also donated 20 Thanksgiving dinners for the second year to Granger families in need.

Many larger businesses require written applications from groups seeking money. Most of the charitable giving by the San Diego Chargers is done through the Chargers Community Foundation established in 1995, says Kimberley Layton, director of community relations for the team. Almost $100,000 is given annually in grants to elementary, junior and senior high schools, in addition to scholarships, a Junior Charger Girls project. “The concentration,” Layton says, “is on youth athletics and youth health.”

At Capital One Auto Finance, requests for money are reviewed by the community relations manager to see if they fit with the company’s philanthropy guidelines, whether employees are interested or involved with the applicant and if it meets a need, says Vice President Brian Reed.

If it does meet the criteria, says Reed, it is referred to the Capital One Community Corps board, made up of 10 appointed employee volunteers who make the financial decisions. Those receiving grants from Capital One Auto Finance are required to give a progress report six months after receiving a grant and again after a year.

So how charitable is San Diego?

“In general, California is ahead of the pack,” says Holdaway of Grantmakers. But that isn’t saying much. In a national generosity index, California ranks in 29th place. Within the state, Holdaway says, San Diego falls far short of charitable giving in the Bay Area.

Everyone becomes more generous after large-scale disasters. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there was a general concern that giving would go down. “But that is not what happened,” says Holdaway. No data shows that a tragedy reduces giving, “but rather that a culture of giving develops,” she says. After the attacks, people responded by introducing new methods of giving and establishing many nonprofit organizations.

Locally, corporate giving seems to ebb and flow with the need, but corporations give for the same reasons individuals seem to give. They have what someone else needs.