|
|
ONLINE FEATURES
Book Reviews
BW Video
Columnists
Interactive Gallery
Newsletters
Past Covers
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Special Reports
BLOGS
Auto Beat
Bangalore Tigers
Blogspotting
Brand New Day
Byte of the Apple
Economics Unbound
Eye on Asia
Fine On Media
Green Biz
Hot Property
Investing Insights
Management IQ
NEXT: Innovation
NussbaumOnDesign
Tech Beat
Working Parents
TECHNOLOGY
J.D. Power Ratings
Product Reviews
Tech Stats
Wildstrom: Tech Maven
AUTOS
Home Page
Auto Reviews
Classic Cars
Car Care & Safety
Hybrids
INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | |
DECEMBER 22, 2003
A Closer Look At Corporate Giving I really enjoyed "America's top givers" (Cover Story, Dec. 1). It's very encouraging that people who have enjoyed economic success realize it is their social responsibility to distribute excess money to charitable organizations. At the same time, I was very discouraged to see that Warren E. Buffett, whose net worth is valued at $36 billion, donates only 1% of that to charity. I guess an alternative is that he wouldn't give at all, which is the case for many celebrities who reap millions of dollars annually. They are quick to raise the flag for peace and social issues. Yet of them, only David Geffen makes the list of top philanthropists. The hypocrisy is unbearable! Karen Evans San Antonio Editor's note: Buffett plans to leave his fortune to his foundation after he dies. Your ranking of "The corporate donors" would have been enhanced by a chart providing the percentage of pretax profit that each corporation granted in philanthropy. Your comparison between revenue and corporate philanthropy is unfair to Corporate America, since revenue is often unrelated to pretax income. Similarly, some corporations value in-kind contributions by corporate executives at $100 an hour or more, even if they're just handing out food in a soup kitchen. And many corporations list retail value for in-kind donations of products that may be outdated or exceed actual costs. Last year, corporations provided approximately $12 billion a year in philanthropy. If corporations provided 2% of pretax income, the amount would triple, to approximately $36 billion. Robert L. Gnaizda Greenlining Institute San Francisco Living in today's world -- ruled by excessive greed and venality, where the only thing that matters is the bottom line -- I found that the story of "America's top givers" and, especially, of "The secret givers" beamed a thin ray of hope into my heart. There may be hope for the world yet. Gary W. Priester Placitas, N.M. I could not find any mention of the single largest, most public donor of all: taxpayers. How much would [the wealthy] give away if the tax code didn't generously reward them for their cleverly calculated tax deductions? Not nearly so much, I expect. My applause is reserved for working people, who may only have $10 but still give $1 to their church, charity, or neighbor. The rich geeks? Phooey, I ain't impressed. Jeff Miller San Diego Your survey of "corporate giving" should have factored in the amount of taxes paid and/or avoided as part of your overall philanthropic calculation. One of the reasons many of the companies surveyed have found it necessary to give to services such as education and crime reduction is the decreasing share of corporate taxes that are now paid in the U.S. and elsewhere. In the U.S. this share is at the lowest level since the late 1930s, and lower than in any other developed country. Businesses that are "socially responsible" are those that pay their fair share in tax, not just those that are philanthropic. Deborah Doane New Economics Foundation London My grandfather died when I was still young. I fortunately got to know him very well, and he'll always have a place in my heart. While reading "America's top givers", I suddenly saw that one of the donors shares the same name he had. My grandfather never had a fortune to give like some of these people, but he would have certainly done the same if he could. Your "50 Most Generous Philanthropists" list is far more important than any other "Best/Worse/Whatever CEO" list. We can only thank these people for what they do by following their example and starting to help each other more. Yonathan Sabbah Madrid 
| | |
 Copyright BWStory.copyright, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Notice |
Printer-Friendly Version
