WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Hill & Knowlton, Inc., one of the world's premier communications consultancies, today released the results of independent research on corporate contributions made by the Fortune 500 to the Southern Asia and Eastern Africa tsunami relief efforts. According to Hill & Knowlton's research, contributions from America's biggest companies exceeded $250 million, making the group one of the top 10 donors of the crisis.
"Corporate America is no longer just paying lip service to its Global Citizenship role," said Michele Quintaglie, senior vice president at Hill & Knowlton, who is leading the research project. "Together, these companies have pledged more than most individual governments, and that makes them a powerful entity in the area of aid and development."
Fortune 500 Makes Top 10 in Government and Multilateral Giving
Fortune 500 companies have donated more than $250 million in cash, products and services to tsunami relief efforts since December 26, 2004. Compared to current donation levels pledged by world governments and multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the Fortune 500 rank as one of the top 10 providers to the crisis.
Fortune 100 companies led the charge, providing nearly three-quarters of the Fortune 500 total. More than half of the Fortune 100 has pledged $1 million or more.
Donations of this size will likely have an impact on how aid agencies report back to their contributors.
"Companies don't just write million dollar checks without some level of expectation," said Quintaglie. "In the weeks and months ahead, Corporate America will want to know how their donations were spent and the impact of that spending."
Like many governments, Fortune 500 companies grappled with difficult questions in the hours and days after the crisis. Each company pondered if and when it should get involved, appropriate amounts to pledge, organizations that should receive support, whether or not to match employee contributions, and the extent that contribution details should be communicated to the public.
Top-line results of Hill & Knowlton's research includes:
Fortune 500:
-- Committed to pledges of more than $250M to date in cash, products
or services
-- More than 90 companies pledged at least $1M
Fortune 100:
-- Committed to pledges of more than $177M to date in cash, products
and services
-- 56% pledged at least $1M
-- 52% offered employee matching programs -- and roughly 50% did not
cap them
-- More than 50% of donations are being made directly to Red Cross
organizations and/or UNICEF
Fortune 50:
-- Committed to pledges of more than $116M to date in cash, products
or services
-- 66% pledged at least $1M (e.g., nearly 7 out of 10 companies)
-- 64% offered employee matching programs -- and roughly 50% did not
cap them
-- More than 60% of donations are being made directly to Red Cross
organizations and/or UNICEF
Employees Overwhelmingly Support Corporate Involvement
A staggering 78% of private sector employees polled in a national online survey by H&K and Penn Schoen & Berland this month felt it was important for their companies to get involved in the tsunami relief efforts and 73% believed that using corporate time and resources is completely appropriate.
"These numbers show a grassroots movement within companies whereby employees wanted to see their companies get involved and make a difference," said Robert Green, research lead at Penn Schoen & Berland.
Other results included:
-- 55% of respondents believe it is their company's civic
responsibility to make a contribution to the crisis, while 13%
felt it was only their responsibility if governments could not
raise enough money. Six percent said they should give only if
the company had staff or operations in the area.
-- 71% of respondents said a company's civic and social
responsibility reputation are important to them when seeking
employment, while 29% said it was unimportant.
-- 4 in 10 respondents said their companies created or joined an
effort to help victims of the tsunami.
Of this group (the 40% that got involved):
-- 65% of respondents said their company's motivation to give was
driven by management's desire to help, while 19% felt the
motivation to give was driven by fear of being viewed by the
public as not having done anything and 16% believe employees
had motivated their management to do something.
-- 65% of respondents said their company's contributions were
generous, while 34% said it was adequate and 1% felt it was not
too generous.
-- 89% of respondents were pleased that their companies had done
something, while 6% said they did not care and 2% said they
wished their companies had done more
(This survey was conducted from January 14 to 18, 2005, with an overall margin of error of +/- 4.5% at the 95% confidence level. A total of 475 results were received.)
Hill & Knowlton supports the communications and research efforts of many Fortune 500 companies. It undertook this tsunami research effort in order to build a greater understanding of the merging of private sector and philanthropic efforts.
Full results of both the Fortune 500 research and employee surveys are available through Hill & Knowlton by contacting Michele Quintaglie at michele.quintaglie@hillandknowlton.com or calling 617/451-6102 ext. 228.
About Hill & Knowlton, Inc.
Hill & Knowlton, Inc. is a leading international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational and global clients. The firm is based in New York, with 71 offices in 37 countries, as well as an extensive associate network. The agency is part of WPP Group plc (Nasdaq: WPPGY), one of the world's largest communications services groups.