Many corporations have adopted lower profiles when it comes to speaking out on social issues in general and on hot button topics such as DEI and ESG in particular, but two recent studies underscore the wisdom of corporate social impact investment.
The overwhelming majority (73%) of corporations plan to maintain their level of nonprofit support this year, according to a recent survey by For Momentum, an agency that cultivates cross-sector partnerships.
Only 12% of companies indicated that they expected to cut such spending in 2025 among those who participated in “The Partnership Shift: Evolving Trends In Corporate and Nonprofit Collaboration.”
Recent conversations with 25 nonprofit corporate alliance executives supported the research’s findings that companies are continuing to invest this way, said For Momentum CEO Mollye Rhea. “The majority reported that partnership commitments remain strong and are keeping with budgetary projections and several reported healthy partner renewals as well as new partnership commitments,” Rhea said. On the flip side, many told Rhea that decision making is taking longer to finalize than in recent years.
The study did indicate that many companies were shifting the emphasis of their social impact efforts to less controversial subject areas. Companies reporting that they were supporting DEI initiatives dropped from 52% in 2022 to 33%.
“Many companies are revising their corporate citizenship language and terminology to adopt more neutral and inclusive messaging,” said Rhea. As an example of a large new corporate initiative that will have big social impact, but does not emphasize divisive issues, Rhea cited Walgreen’s recent $15 million commitment to support the American Heart Association’s “Nation of Lifesavers” initiative to raise awareness of CPR and drive CPR training.
The three most popular causes among companies looking for nonprofit partners were youth development, health and hunger while Education/literacy, disaster relief and mental health tied for 4th.
While companies are being more cautious in the causes they choose to publicly align with they remain convinced that there is a payoff for being considered a good corporate citizen, the For Momentum study showed. A whopping 89% of corporate respondents agreed that being a purpose-driven company helps drive profit and that “CSR is becoming more of a requirement for companies rather than a nice to have.”
Those findings are consistent with another recent study of American consumer attitudes. Across all consumers surveyed, 25% indicated they considered brand values more strongly now than they did five years ago, according to “The Rise of Conscious Consumers: How Values Drive Customer Purchases Consumers,” research backed by Givsly, a purpose-driven marketing and advertising platform.
“In fact,” the study emphasizes, “64% of Americans say they would pay more for brands that reflect their values, a number that jumps to 79% for Gen Z.” According to Givsly “Only 12% prefer brands to stay neutral and avoid involvement in social issues; 53% feel disappointed when brands stay out of social conversations.”
There was some crossover in identifying favored causes in the two studies. Givsly found that “Across all Americans, animal welfare (38%), mental health (37%) and food insecurity (34%) stand out as key values.” Interestingly the favored causes of people at different ends of the political spectrum varied widely. “The biggest value for liberals is women’s rights (52%) and for conservatives is supporting the military/veterans (45%),” Givsly found.
“Consumers aren’t just buying products; they’re buying into brands’ stances on the values they care about as people. This is particularly true for affluent consumers with discretionary income to spend during an economic slowdown, as well as for younger consumers whose spending power is growing rapidly,” said Chad Hickey, founder and CEO of Givsly.