Corporate Giving

For those interested in the role of corporate philanthropy in our society, an article in today’s New York Times reports on an interesting new study.

Scholars from the University of Chicago, Boston University, and the University of British Columbia (my alma mater!) reviewed the grants made from 1998 to 2015 by the foundations of Fortune 500 companies.

The researchers found that corporate foundations frequently give to the favorite charities of congressmen who chair committees that have oversight on issues affecting the corporations. “Firms deploy their charitable foundations as a form of tax-exempt influence seeking,” quoted from the study by the New York Times (4/4/2018 p. B1 and B4. Charitable Giving by Corporations Is Also About Getting, a New Study Finds, Eduardo Porter)

-Mark Neithercut, April 4, 2018