Of the many chants and slogans that have defined the frustrations of the past months’ Occupy Wall Street protests, one recurring theme has focused on the idea that greedy corporations do whatever they can to avoid sharing the wealth. But a look at the numbers tells more of a nuanced story.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a magazine that monitors the charitable giving industry, tracks donations from the largest corporations in the United States from the annual Fortune 500 list. The magazine’s 2011 Survey of Corporate Giving includes data on 2010 donations for 180 of those top companies.
To get down to the best of the best, MainStreet looks first at the five most generous corporations – those that gave more than 5% of their 2009 profits to charity in 2010. We then round up the five biggest donors – those corporations that gave the absolute most money to philanthropic causes last year. Read on to see if your favorite brand made the cut.
2nd Most Generous: Macy’s
2010 Giving: $41,226,887
Percentage of 2009 Profits: 8.1%
Having long ago made a name for itself around the holidays by sponsoring New York’s Thankgiving Day Parade and making kids believe in Santa Claus again, Macy’s has also used the holiday shopping season to promote its various philanthropic efforts.
Part of the retailer’s more than $41 million in 2010 giving went to a new initiative that took its stores’ national efforts to the local level. By funding more than 1,200 grants to organizations in the communities where the giant retailer operates, Macy’s made itself seem a bit smaller to the local population, and its overall efforts made it the second-most generous corporation of 2010.
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