ABSTRACT
In the UK there are few reliable fi gures on the value of support received from the business community. Pharoah (2008) estimates that cash support to our largest 300 charities is worth around £0.5 billion. This is a pathetically small percentage of the total fundraising income of these organizations, which stood at £14.4 billion in 2006/7. We estimate that the average percentage of pre-tax profi t donated to good causes by businesses each year in the UK is correspondingly low and typically of the order of 0.2 per cent. In the United States the fi gure is much higher at 1.2 per cent. Although all these fi gures are small, it is important to note that there are a plethora of different ways in which companies can support nonprofi ts and many of these do not show up as cash in charity accounts. That said, even accounting for the value of donated goods and services, staff time, access to expertise and so on, the overall value of corporate support is much lower than many fundraisers and trustees believe.
