Many corporate coffers are slimmer this year, and the workers they often turn to for help providing holiday good will - from food drives to angel trees - are equally stretched. But area companies are not slamming the door on charitable giving.
That's the good news for local charities. The bad news is that competition for those corporate dollars is greater than ever at a time when nonprofits say their needs are greater than ever.
Quintiles, the world's largest pharmaceutical services company, receives at least five requests a week from organizations seeking assistance, and the solicitations jump significantly during the holiday season, said Steve Brechbiel, senior director of community relations for the Durham company.
As the requests increase, so does the number of times Quintiles has to say no, he said.
"It's hard," Brechbiel said. "As you lay out what you're going to do over the course of the year, your resources are finite. There are so many good causes out there, and there are so many needs on different levels."
"That's the dilemma we find ourselves in," he said. "How do you do more to meet the growing and increasing and chronic need with the same amount of funds that you had last year?"
Mary Linda Andrews, director of community partnerships for GlaxoSmithKline, said the pharmaceutical company has also received more applications for help this year.
"I think part of it is due to the economy, but part of it is due to a decrease in funding governmentally, both locally and nationally, and also a decrease in some giving from local companies because of the amount of competition," she said.
Andrews explained that some organizations that received assistance last year might not get it this year because companies want to spread around the good.
Fewer donations
Jill Staton Bullard, executive director of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle in Raleigh, said donations this year have been flat compared with 2010. Meanwhile, the need for the organization's services has increased up to 40 percent, she said.
Bullard said to encourage companies to give in a down economy, she tries to put faces with the numbers.
"We keep trying to tell the story, telling them about the kids with the backpacks, the parents who need this food to put dinner on the table," she said. "If a corporation says, 'We can't do what we did last year,' we say, 'What can you do? Let me tell you how we can stretch it.' "
It isn't just companies that are scaling back on donations.
A study conducted for Dunham+Company, which helps nonprofits raise money, found that nearly 70 percent of Americans plan to downsize gifts to charities in the last quarter of this year, while 10 percent of Americans expect to stop giving altogether until the economy recovers.
Charities reaching out to new donors may struggle even more. Only 22 percent of those surveyed said they would consider giving to organizations they had never supported.
Kristin Giantrif, a vice president at the Nonprofit Finance Fund, said new organizations - and all nonprofits - should make sure their programs align with the interests of the donors before soliciting.
For instance, GSK focuses on health and human services, science education and literacy, and the arts. Quintiles focuses on health and fitness, education, life sciences, biostatistics and women in science.
"If you're too broad, it's very difficult to feel that you're making a difference, and it also makes it very difficult to go through the decision process," Quintiles' Brechbiel said. "Do we do things that may fall outside those areas? Yes, but that's where we focus."
Giantrif also advises nonprofits on fundraising strategies, which include being well-versed about financial needs.
"There's almost a hesitancy in our sector to talk about money, to almost ask for it like you're embarrassed when, in fact, it takes money to do the work," she said. "Make the ask without apology."
Answering the call
Sometimes, companies come through with bigger donations than they have in the past.
So far this year, Harris Teeter has raised more than $460,000 - double what it took in last year - to help fight hunger.
The grocery chain, based in Matthews, solicits donations from customers. The money goes to local food banks, along with food donated by the grocer and its partner vendors, spokeswoman Danna Jones said. The grocer has nine food bank partners in North Carolina this year, the same as last year.
"The need this year has been much greater, and our customers have answered that call," Jones said.
Harris Teeter brought a tractor trailer filled with food to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina last week and 30 employees bagged enough food for 2,000 Thanksgiving dinners.
In all the company, expects their donations to help feed some 16,000 families in the state.
Keys to fundraising
Building relationships with companies is also a key step in securing a donation, Giantrif said. This ensures the nonprofit's mission is clearly understood, she said.
Haven Sink, spokeswoman for the Wake County branch of the Salvation Army, said the organization's 125-year history in the area and relationship with the community is an asset to its fundraising efforts.
"People do know that we are here. They've seen us out every Christmas with the kettles," Sink said. "It's just a matter of continuing to be that strong presence."
And though donations are still on the decline, Sink said the Salvation Army is seeing a slight increase in the number of companies joining their efforts this holiday season.
"A lot of people have a strong history with the Salvation Army," she said. "We want to make sure that people are aware of what we're doing and that we have people on board with us."
