Non-profit says it helps companies measure the effect of community outreach. The bottom line really is the bottom line, according to a new survey on corporate giving. Although CEOs of companies - including big names like General Electric, Procter & Gamble, and British Petroleum - are trying to put a friendlier face on their business through giving, shareholders tend to look askance at such efforts unless they can see tangible benefits.

"Now that companies are tying philanthropy more closely to business strategy, the discipline of measuring results is getting a lot more attention," says Christine Letts, who teaches philanthropy and non-profit leadership at Harvard University.

Tremendous impact

It isn't always the easiest thing to measure though. Against a backdrop of a 14% increase in corporate giving in 2005 - according to a survey of 62 large-cap companies - business leaders say that measuring the results of this giving and presenting it to shareholders is a mounting challenge.

As it happens, Impact Builders, a Boston, Mass.-based nonprofit, says it provides the requisite measurement and evaluation procedures.

"People are usually shocked when they see the data we are able to share with them from our projects," says Theresa Ellis, CEO and founder of Impact Builders.

For example, Impact Builders says it was able to track Fidelity Investments' engagement with nine non-profits showing an estimated - in terms of community and individual development - return on investment of between110% to 500%.

"There is a tremendous opportunity to help companies see clearly how these activities are contributing to their overall business quite concretely," says Ellis. "Our goal is to help more companies feel confident that they are directing their employees' volunteer time to programs that benefit their brand, employees, and community." -FWR

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