An exploratory study into corporate giving to the not-for-profit sector in New Zealand

Abstract

Over the past decade, there has been growing academic and managerial interest in understanding and 'managing' corporate giving activities. Traditionally, companies who made contributions to the not-for-profit sector were seen as 'public spirited' and voluntarily 'doing good'. In recent years, however, corporate giving has emerged as an important component of business activity. This recognition has been, in part, due to an increased awareness of the importance of public perception, combined with pressures on companies to provide support to a not-for-profit sector increasingly constrained for resources. A growing number of companies have sought to develop a more strategic approach to corporate giving, aligning corporate social responsibility objectives with corporate and marketing objectives. The main body of literature on this area of corporate activity have emerged in the last 10 years, and has been based primarily on situations in the United States and Europe. The level of research conducted in New Zealand has been sparse. In recognition of this 'gap' in knowledge, an exploratory study was conducted to investigate the nature and level of corporate giving activity in New Zealand. This study consisted of two stages, preliminary interviews were conducted with managers from selected companies, and a mail survey sent to 180 leading companies, in New Zealand. The findings from the study indicate that New Zealand companies give substantially less in dollar value in comparison to companies in the United States, but more than their counterparts in the United Kingdom. However, New Zealand companies were found to give a higher percentage of contributions in non-monetary forms than in the United States. The majority of corporate contributions in New Zealand were made through donations, and sponsorship or event marketing activities. Despite the increasing prominence of cause-related marketing practices overseas, only a small percentage of the New Zealand companies surveyed currently employed this strategy. Findings, however, suggest incremental increases in cause-related marketing activities in New Zealand over the next two years. The overall approach of New Zealand companies to corporate giving is not significantly dissimilar from companies in the United States. There is evidence that some New Zealand companies are adopting a more strategic, marketing-driven, approach to their corporate giving programmes. However, findings also indicate that many companies view corporate giving as simply a 'good corporate citizen' initiative. These companies do not seek to further enhance their corporate giving programmes in any 'commercial' way.