Results of Survey, "The Business of Giving Back," Will Help Minnesota Business Strengthen and Sustain Their Community Giving and Involvement

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 12, 2002 – Business philanthropy in Minnesota is robust and most state businesses anticipate maintaining or increasing their giving and community involvement in 2003, according to a statewide survey of 595 business establishments of all sizes sponsored by the Building Business Investment in Community (BBIC) initiative and conducted by the Wilder Research Center. BBIC is a collaboration of 14 Minnesota organizations and associations, including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Minnesota Council on Foundations, with strong ties to the state’s business and philanthropic community.  

The BBIC survey, “The Business of Giving Back” was designed to give insight into the current state of local business giving in Minnesota, establish baseline measures and provide businesses with examples of the many ways they can contribute to their communities. It is the most comprehensive survey of giving by businesses of all sizes ever done in Minnesota.

The BBIC survey shows that businesses contribute more than dollars to their communities. Ninety-two percent of business establishments with 20 or more employees made charitable contributions of cash, products, services or employee time within their past fiscal year. That positive trend should continue. Among same-sized business establishments, 58 percent expect their charitable contributions will stay about the same in the next year and 28 percent believe they will increase.

“Clearly, the broad base of support among Minnesota businesses for giving is cause for optimism among our state’s community organizations,” said Marina Munoz Lyon, chair of the BBIC steering committee and vice chair of the board of the Minnesota Council on Foundations. “We know a lot about the charitable giving of our state’s largest corporations in the metro area, but up until now, very little about the activities of smaller businesses throughout the state.

“This survey shows that there is considerable breadth and depth in giving by businesses of all types and sizes—from family-owned farms and hardware stores to mid-sized manufacturing companies and large multinational corporations with Minnesota connections,” Munoz Lyon continued. “From Roseau to Rochester and from Worthington to Winona, our state of business giving is strong.”

The strength of charitable giving by Minnesota businesses is good news for their local communities, since most of the funds or assistance that is donated stays there.  Among businesses with 20 or fewer employees, 82 percent of the total dollar value of all types of contributions goes to organizations or causes in their local communities; among businesses with more than 20 employees, that figure is 76 percent.

The BBIC survey also reveals the motivations and benefits of business giving and community involvement in the state. For example, 90 percent of businesses with 20 or more employees are motivated by a desire to help or give back to their communities. Businesses believe that by giving, they also enhance their image: 54 percent believe their activities help build a positive reputation.

“Most studies of philanthropy usually look at the giving of large corporations and foundations,” explained Richard Chase, a Wilder Research Center consulting scientist. “We structured this study to look at giving and community involvement practices of all sizes and shapes of businesses.”

The 595 establishments surveyed between February to June 2002 were randomly drawn to equally represent businesses in the Twin Cities metro area, northern Minnesota and southern Minnesota. The survey also was equally divided between businesses with 20 or fewer employees; businesses with 20-99 employees; businesses with 100-499 employees; and businesses with more than 500 employees. Of the 863 businesses contacted, 69 percent completed the telephone survey.

“We plan to share the findings of this survey with local businesses and use what we’ve learned to encourage a sustained commitment to business giving and involvement,” explained Jackie Reis, BBIC project manager. “Based on the considerable interest we’ve received from the businesses that participated in this survey, as well as by our coalition partners, we expect that the state’s business and philanthropic community will use these results for years to come.”

The BBIC survey was funded by a three-year $320,000 grant from the Washington, D.C.-based Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers—New Ventures in Philanthropy, to conduct it and perform relevant follow-up work.

To see the complete survey results, as well as profiles of some of the business establishments surveyed, visit www.minnesotabusinessgiving.org.  

About Building Business Investment in Community

Building Business Investment in Community (BBIC) is a collaboration of 14 Minnesota organizations and associations with strong ties to the state’s business community: Center for Ethical Business Cultures; Initiative Foundation; Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce; Minnesota Chamber of Commerce; Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Executives; Minnesota Council on Foundations; Minnesota Keystone Program; Northland Foundation; Northwest Minnesota Foundation; Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation; Southwest Minnesota Foundation; The Collaborative; United Way Associates; and West Central Initiative. These groups have joined forces as BBIC to strengthen Minnesota’s business giving and community involvement tradition.