Creative Giving Marks Second Phase of Disaster Relief
By Edward Iwata, USA TODAY
As donations pour in at a record pace,
U.S. industries, charities and celebrities are using marketing
creativity, high-tech know-how and business smarts to raise cash and
goods for tsunami aid.
Call it corporate manna from heaven.
Intelsat is donating free satellite transmissions to the United Nations
(news
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web sites) and other relief workers. Hewlett-Packard is
co-sponsoring an MTV benefit concert next month in Bangkok. The
agricultural industry in North Dakota is urging farmers to donate money
from their spring grain crop.
"The tsunami is bringing out the most
extreme generosity and creativity from supporters," says Susan Schroeter,
managing director of corporate alliances at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF (news
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web sites).
Since the massive wave struck Asia on
Dec. 26, corporations and executives' private foundations have donated
$300 million in cash, supplies and employee matching gifts to tsunami
aid, says the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (news
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web sites).
That's the largest outpouring of
business giving in the history of international disasters, eclipsing the
$70 million donated after back-to-back hurricanes Georges and Mitch
struck the Caribbean and Latin America in 1998, says Steve Jordan, head
of the chamber's Center for Corporate Citizenship.
If the furious pace continues, some
non-profit experts predict, business donations might rival or surpass
the $750 millionin corporate giving to Sept. 11 charities.
The tsunami aid comes at a shaky
economic time for non-profits and philanthropic giving, which rises and
falls like the stock market. During the business and high-tech boom of
the 1990s, donations by corporations, foundations and individuals soared
at a double-digit rate. But since the dot-com crash five years ago, the
annual growth of giving has cooled to 1% to 2%, say non-profit experts.
"The climate for giving has been in a
recovery mode," says Dwight Burlingame, associate executive director at
the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "The aftereffects of
the recession, the uncertainty before the presidential election, the
turmoil in Iraq (news
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web sites) - all have had an impact."
Non-profits received $241 billion from
all sources - corporations, foundations, estates and individuals - in
2003, with companies giving $13 billion, or 6%, reports the Giving USA
Foundation. If the economy does not tank, Burlingame estimates that
total donations could grow 4% this year.
Competing for scare dollars
But even if donations climb, government
funding for non-profits has shrunk in recent years, forcing the nation's
thousands of charities to compete for scarcer dollars.
Out of necessity, many non-profits are
run like savvy businesses. They're working closely with companies and
adopting slick marketing and online strategies. Likewise, more
corporations are joining forces with charities in "strategic
philanthropy," or donating to good causes that promote a company's image
and business interests.
As survivors and relief workers struggle
with one of the worst disasters in history, companies continue to step
up. The tsunami aid drive seems to be bringing out the best of U.S.
business philanthropy
For instance:
•Online fundraising and marketing
power. The Internet has dramatically quickened the pace of
fundraising, as donors and employees feel more comfortable using credit
cards to give on corporate and charity Web sites.
According to software firm Kintera, more
than $350 million for tsunami aid has been raised online from companies,
foundations and individuals, including $22 million by Amazon.com and
Yahoo.
American Red Cross (news
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web sites) spokeswoman Devorah Goldburg says 60% of the non-profit's
$200 million in tsunami donations has come from online sources.
When the disaster hit, an army of
retailers and banks - including Best Buy, Costco, Kmart, OfficeMax and
Washington Mutual - immediately started accepting Red Cross donations on
their Web sites.
Oxfam America has an "e-community" of
70,000 donors who receive e-mail alerts on the tsunami and other
disasters, says spokeswoman Helen DaSilva. "If you've thought about
giving, now is the time," one tsunami alert reads. "The needs are
enormous."
The non-profit's Web site also shows
donors what their donations will purchase. Five dollars, for instance,
will buy a water spigot and bucket for a poor family.
"People see their donation, no matter
how large or small, is going to make a difference," DaSilva says.
•Marketing the presidents. As the
death toll rose, the advertising industry joined former presidents
George Bush (news
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web sites) and Bill Clinton (news
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web sites) for a campaign urging Americans to give to disaster
relief through www.usafreedomcorps.gov.
Working day and night, McCann-Erickson,
Hungry Man Productions and the Advertising Council - which coordinates
public-service efforts for the industry - created the campaign, wrote
scripts and filmed the former presidents in the White House library. The
ads ran nationwide by early January.
A typical nationwide commercial ad
campaign takes months to finish and runs up millions of dollars in
production and advertising costs, says Peggy Conlon, CEO of the
Advertising Council.
But the tsunami campaign was done within
a week. Dozens of marketing and media companies donated their services,
ad space and commercial time, so it "didn't cost the White House or the
former presidents a dime," Conlon says.
•Airline companies. Despite
industry troubles, airlines are donating frequent flier-type miles to
AmeriCares, UNICEF, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and CARE.
Northwest Airlines and American Airlines
are offering 500 bonus miles to passengers who give $50 or more to
charities. So far, Northwest passengers have given 7 million miles,
while Delta Air Lines has contributed 1 million miles to kick off its
tsunami donation campaign.
Northwest also has shipped 200 tons of
medical supplies, water-purification equipment and baby formula to the
disaster region. That's two full Boeing 747 cargo planes, says spokesman
Thomas Becher.
•Global reach of chains. Retail,
coffee and supermarket giants are using their thousands of outlets
worldwide to urge customers to open their checkbooks.
Starbucks aims to raise $1 million by
giving $2 for each pound of Sumatran coffee it sells. Discovery Stores
are contributing 1% of net sales through March. Safeway grocery shoppers
have given $10 million by adding donations to their grocery bills at
Safeway supermarkets in the USA and Canada.
•Media, entertainment and sports
business. Professional basketball stars and teams are donating
millions of dollars in cash, ticket proceeds and auctioned goods this
month to UNICEF, the Red Cross, CARE and others.
Indiana Pacers star Jermaine O'Neal gave
$55,000 for the 55 points he scored in one game. The National Basketball
Association and the NBA Players Association donated $1 million total to
charities.
NBC's star-filled benefit show, hosted
by Jay Leno on Saturday night, raised millions of dollars for the Red
Cross. Donors gave another $10 million to UNICEF in an earlier benefit
by WNBC in New York. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has raised $1
million from Yahoo, Allstate, Toyota and other companies for "Ellen's
Tsunami Relief Fund."
The lion's share of the business
donations have come from the nation's largest corporations.
Hill & Knowlton Senior Vice President
Michele Quintaglie and a team of researchers who are surveying
Fortune 500 companies say the businesses have donated $250 million.
Some 90 corporations have given $1 million or more, and many are
matching their employees' cash gifts, Quintaglie says.
Reasons for giving
Why the corporate altruism?
"It's good for business, good for
society, good for employee morale," says Mike Lawrence, executive vice
president at Cone, a brand strategy and communications firm in Boston.
One big factor: The heart-wrenching
media images of the disaster touched everyone during the holidays - what
Burlingame calls "the Christmas effect."
Also, many U.S. corporate giants have
close ties to Asia. Dow Chemical - with manufacturing and research
facilities in Thailand, Indonesia, India and Malaysia - has pledged $5
million. Coca-Cola and its bottlers in Asia and worldwide have donated
$20 million, prompting CEO Neville Isdell to e-mail his employees Friday
to thank them for showing "true humanity."
Moreover, in the post-Enron era of
financial scandals, businesses know their image is important, says
marketing executive Lawrence. A recent study by Cone found that 86% of
Americans would switch brands to a company that supports a good social
cause.
Tax write-offs are another incentive.
Businesses like product donations because they can deduct the
fair-market value of those goods, says Curt Weeden, president of the
Contributions Academy consulting firm and the author of Corporate
Social Investing. If a widget costs $1 to make, the company can
write off its sale value of $5, he says.
Plus, companies feel more secure giving
to overseas aid because they team with the Red Cross, UNICEF and other
established charities. Well-run non-profits are expected to keep
overhead costs at reasonable levels, and donations of cash and supplies
won't get stolen or vanish into the black market.
Charities hope the business benevolence
won't wane as the media races to the next big story. Donations typically
taper off one to four months after a tragedy. For now, the tsunami aid
may help America's image.
Says Conlon of the Ad Council: "There's
a philanthropy here that is unparalleled in the world."
Agricultural Culturing
GAINESVILLE - Introducing innovative programs and tapping grassroots
networks helped Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. increase the
number of teachers and students reached last year. Florida Ag in the
Classroom grew by 71 percent the number of teachers reached, and by 26
percent the number of students affected in 2004.
"When we called on our dedicated industry volunteers, they came
through in a big way," said Scott Emerson, chairman of Florida Ag in the
Classroom. "They understand the importance of the program and are eager
to help educate and expose teachers and students to Florida agriculture.
We appreciate very much all they do for us."
Florida Ag in the Classroom's mission: Expand youth awareness and
understanding of Florida agriculture and natural resources by
integrating agricultural concepts into core educational disciplines and
Florida Ag in the Classroom's supporting programs.
It's top priorities: To develop, promote and disseminate current
curricula, materials and programs to increase agricultural literacy
among educators and youth; to cultivate and maintain partnerships
between Florida Ag in the Classroom and Florida's agricultural
community, educators and the National Ag in the Classroom program; to
build financial strength for Florida Ag in the Classroom programs; and
to be accountable for the educational and financial efficacy of Florida
Ag in the Classroom programs.
Gainesville-based Florida Ag in the Classroom is funded by the
agriculture specialty tag - the Ag Tag - and takes seriously its
responsibility to educate students and teachers who are unfamiliar with
agriculture. It offers curricula and materials that help teachers
incorporate agricultural concepts in their language arts, math, science
and social studies classes in kindergarten through 12th grade.
To support teachers and grassroots efforts, Florida Ag in the
Classroom introduced three new programs and events: AgriSmarts, Ag
Learning Barns and Agriculture Literacy Day. These programs helped raise
awareness of Florida agriculture to more than 5,800 teachers and more
than 229,000 students in 2004, up from 3,391 teachers and 181,758
students in 2003.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson congratulated
Florida Ag in the Classroom for its successful industry partnerships and
its growing number of student and teacher constituents.
"Reaching Florida's students and teachers with the message of the
importance of agriculture is a key part of preserving Florida's farming
heritage," Commissioner Bronson said. "It's clear Florida Ag in the
Classroom is working hard to reach out to as many students and teachers
as possible with the help of its partners, and we wish them continued
success as they try to reach out to even more."
To continue to grow the number of students and teachers it reaches in
2005, Florida Ag in the Classroom is redesigning and relocating its web
site to make ordering materials and participating in workshops and other
programs easier. In addition, it is improving its existing programs and
introducing new ones with the help of its board of directors of industry
representatives and its new Educator and Volunteer advisory panels.
"We believe the best way to improve on what we're doing is to ask the
advice of the teachers and industry volunteers who are using our
materials and programs," Emerson said.
As part of its grassroots network, Florida Ag in the Classroom has
partnered with students who are already familiar with Florida
agriculture -- FFA members. To help spread the word about the importance
of Florida agriculture, Florida Ag in the Classroom and Florida FFA
developed AgriSmarts, an educational program used by FFA chapters to
teach school children and civic organizations about Florida Ag in the
Classroom and Florida agriculture.
Florida Ag in the Classroom has spent $13,000 on AgriSmarts since its
inception in 2002. It reached 15 schools and nearly 1,200 students
during the 2003-04 school year, Florida Ag in the Classroom estimates.
It's being offered again this school year. In addition, Florida Ag in
the Classroom has awarded agriscience teachers $20,000 in grant money
for outreach programs since the 2001-02 school year, and $100,000 for
the initial funding of the Florida Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services' AgriScience Leadership Program.
Another new program, Ag Learning Barn, has taken off since its
inception in mid 2003. Thirty-five counties have signed up for barns,
about half of which have built their barns and are moving them to
schools. Two more counties are waiting for approval.
Ag Learning Barns are mobile units built to look like red barns and
outfitted with shelves that hold books, videos, games and toys that
teachers can borrow to teach their students the importance of
agriculture. Florida Ag in the Classroom reimburses each county
representative's organization up to $1,000 to build and stock the barn,
and offers $350 after the first school year to restock it.
County Farm Bureau members, University of Florida/IFAS extension
agents, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
representatives and industry association representatives have taken the
lead on building Ag Learning Barns in their counties. In addition to
building and stocking the barns, these industry partners move the barns
to five schools during the school year.
These industry partners, together with FFA students and teachers, are
the key participants involved in another new Florida Ag in the Classroom
initiative, Agriculture Literacy Day.
Florida's first Ag Literacy Day held March 16, 2004 generated
interest from 282 industry volunteers, more than Florida Ag in the
Classroom expected. It's set for March 17 this year.
In honor of that day, industry volunteers read a designated book
about agriculture and distribute book marks listing Florida farmers'
contributions to the state's economy and environment to elementary
school students around the state.
Industry participants visited more than 2,000 classrooms and 41,000
students in honor of Ag Literacy Day in 2004. Florida Ag in the
Classroom spent about $10,000 on the event, much of it on buying the
books that were donated to school libraries.
Florida Ag in the Classroom reached even more teachers and students
through other special efforts.
"We are proud of the strong growth we experienced in 2004, and we
will work hard to do the same in 2005, "Emerson said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT LISA GASKALLA BY CALLING (352)
846-1391, (352) 745-0246 OR E
mailto:LBGaskalla@ifas.ufl.edu
DIRECT ALL INQUIRIES TO:
LISA GASKALLA
mailto:LBGaskalla@ifas.ufl.edu
(352) 846-1391
(352) 745-0246
