A Charitable Responsibility?

I recently got into a discussion about the charitable merits and responsibilities of corporations. When I quoted some statistics I had read about the issue, they were questioned, so I decided to do some research of my own. I chose three "corporations" to do some mathematical analysis on. I researched their charitable donations compared to their revenue. I used the charitable donation numbers from the websites of these corporations, and used independent sites en.wikipedia.org a free on-line encyclopedia, and Forbes magazine as resources for revenue and history.

First, we'll start with the big kid on the block, Wal-Mart. On its web-site, walmartfacts.com, Wal-Mart states that it contributes "more than $5 a second every day of the year" to charities. Wal-Mart was number one in cash contributions this last year contributing $170 million to local charities and education initiatives. This is a great number, and after doing the math I found that:

Wal-Mart gives 0.0607% of their revenue to charity.

This is six-one-hundredths of a percent. Considering the company's revenue is over $280 billion, think of how much more they could do if they only gave one-tenth of a percent of their revenue, a drop in their corporate bucket, to worthy causes they support, like education. That would amount to $280 million, over twice the amount they donated last year.

The next corporate giver I looked at was Target Corporation. Again, looking at its foundation's website, Target states that it is a founding member of the "5 Percent Club", which "encourages U.S. corporations to commit five percent of federally taxable income to support community nonprofits." Target also states that it "contributes more than $2 million a week to communities it serves." Giving $2 million a week puts Target giving more than $104 million a year to charity. This number is smaller than Wal-Mart's, but Target doesn't create as much revenue as the top dog so after calculating the percent given I found that:

Target gives 0.22% of its revenue to charity.

Comparing the two percentages, Target actually gives 3.5 times more than Wal-Mart. Still, it seems to me that number is too small, but then again, corporations are in the business of making money.

The next on my list was Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. I decided that he was so rich, that I could count him as his own corporation. In January 2000, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Through the foundation, Bill Gates has donated more than $6 billion. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week on November 6, 2005, Gates talks about the work of the foundation trying to help cure diseases, and spur action from the governments of these affected countries. Patty Stonesifer, the President and co-chair of the foundation, states that "at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we believe that philanthropy plays a relatively small role in making social change. Foundations can act as a catalyst, but it's the private sector and governments that drive the most lasting improvements in people's lives." The Gates Foundation supports four key causes: Global health, Education, Libraries in relation with technology, and the Pacific Northwest (the Gates' community.) Taking the $6 billion Bill Gates has donated and his net worth as stated in Forbes magazine I found that:

Bill Gates has given over 12% of his wealth to worthy causes.

Not only has he given so much money, his vision for the effects his charity would have are becoming reality. Governments are following his example of ridding the world of diseases that only plague underdeveloped nations. Recently, according to thegatesfoundation.com, "the governments of the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, and Sweden have pledged commitments to fund a $4 billion International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm), which will support childhood vaccine programs through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI)."

Hands down, Bill Gates gives a greater share of his wealth than either Target or Wal-Mart-or myself! After Bill, Target comes far behind in second, and Wal-Mart in dead last. Did I mention that the Walton family-who owns 39% of the stock in Wal-Mart, have more wealth than the two richest people in the world combined? Just thought I'd mention.

So, why did I go to all this trouble? I think we need to hold moral victories, like Bill Gates' work, in higher esteem and give it more value in our society. I hear the public at large talk about the "kids these days" and what a different world in which they are living. Why not make that "different world" one full of positive changes where schools aren't the only ones that value the traits that make a person of character: respect, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship. I'd like to believe that it is possible for our society to make this positive change, and influence America's population of tomorrow.