Kerry Fehr-Snyder
The Arizona Republic
December 1, 2008

Corporations, individuals find ways to help the needy

The choice for Debbie Schmidt is easy: spend the weekend cleaning her house or donate her time to the needy.

As an administrative assistant at Intel Corp. in Chandler, Schmidt said she doesn't hesitate to postpone her chores.

"Those are the things that aren't important in the long run," she said. "How people feel and if you can help them feel better is what counts. That's way more important than going out with friends or cleaning the house.” Corporations nationwide are slashing jobs in the faltering economy, but corporate giving in the Southeast Valley remains a priority for some companies and individuals.

Schmidt said she feels lucky to work for a company that financially backs its employees' charitable contributions.

"A lot of us at Intel are really blessed," she said. "We have good jobs and work for a really good company that takes care of us. It's our way of giving back. And the other thing is that it's just the right thing to do."

Studies show that individuals continue to make up the bulk of giving - both financially and with their time.

"Individuals give about 2 percent of their disposable income," said Sharon Bond, spokeswoman for Giving USA Foundation, based in Glennview, Ill. "It's estimated that 85 to 90 percent of all giving is done by individuals."

The average household in Arizona gave $2,018 in 2006-07, according to a study by the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation at Arizona State University.

Corporations have donated about 1 percent of their pretax profits during boom times and downturns since 1967, according to Giving USA Foundation, which studies corporate giving in cooperation with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Many companies also match their employees' charitable contributions.

Intel is marking its 40th anniversary by asking its employees worldwide to donate 1 million hours to non-profit organizations in their community. Intel matches their time by giving $10 for every hour donated to the non-profit of their choice.

"Not only do people get to count volunteer work they do on their own, they get to earn money for their non- profit," said Renee Levin, Intel's community relations manager.

The company, which employs about 10,000 workers in Arizona, encourages employees to participate in a variety of Intel-sanctioned events, such as a recent turkey drive at the Salvation Army in Phoenix.

Food banks get the bulk of philanthropy from Chandler-based Basha's Family of Stores, Basha's spokeswoman Kristy Nied said.

"With the economy, it has been more challenging. As you can imagine, people are cutting back and a lot of non-profits are truly struggling," she said. "But for us, we've actually increased the number of programs this holiday season to increase our level of support or at least meet what we've donated in the past."

Nied estimated that the grocery chain donates $1 million to $2 million every year to non-profit organizations.

Boeing Co. in Mesa gives $1.7 million to charity each year, company spokeswoman Carole Thompson-Sutton said.

The maker of the Apache attack helicopter is hosting a Christmas tree angel program in which employees pick tags with gift ideas for 500 needy children. Employees then buy gifts for the children.

"This isn't a Barbie in a bag," Thompson-Sutton said. "These kids get all sorts of toys and clothes and shoes. It's fabulously fun when the bikes come out."

This year, Boeing employees are making use of an online kettle donation program to generate money for the Salvation Army.

"That shows that people are using a new technology for people to give donations when they are time crunched," she said.

Westcor, the developer of Gilbert's SanTan Village, Mesa's Fiesta Mall and Chandler Fashion Center, is donating 8,000 candles to the mall and 14 other malls it owns to benefit Save the Family, a non-profit based in Mesa that provides transitional housing and services for troubled families.

The event is the second this year for Westcor, which donated 6,500 "wellness" bags to cancer patients in May.

"It's more important than ever we support our local community," said Sherry Decovich, Westcor's vice president of consumer marketing. "The timing couldn't be better."

Lodestar Center director Robert Ashcraft said via e-mail that corporate giving is tied heavily to income.

"If a corporation faces declines in income, then one can expect a decline in charitable giving," he said. "If individual employee giving is down, then that's less matching money available."

Some companies not typically known for charitable giving are stepping up their efforts this year.

Toyota Financial Services, which employs 600 people in Chandler, recently donated $50,000 to the Guadalupe branch of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley. The company also hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner and gave 125 families $50 gift cards to Food City.

"There's a heightened awareness of the need," said Justin Leach, a spokesman for Toyota Financial Services in Torrance, Calif.

"We get it. We have to be there in the community."