Entrepreneurial businesses are more generous than most of America’s largest companies. The survey “Entrepreneurs & Philanthropy: Investing in the Future” finds that 89% of entrepreneurs donate money and 70% also donate their time to charitable causes. The survey also reports that:
- Companies led by entrepreneurs donate twice as much of their profits to charity as compared with the Fortune-500. Entrepreneurs reported that their companies allocate an average of 3 percent of company profits to charity. The comparable figure for the largest U.S. corporations is 1.2 percent according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s latest corporate giving survey.
- Twenty-six percent incorporated corporate philanthropy into their company’s original business plan; nearly 70 percent started supporting charities even before their companies became profitable.
- Sixty-two percent believe that supporting charities makes their companies more successful over the long term.
- Sixty-one percent of entrepreneurs serve on the board of a non-profit organization; 50% serve or have served as a board chair.
“Just as they put their hearts and souls into their businesses, entrepreneurs pour themselves into the causes they care about,” says Sarah C. Libbey, president of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund conducted the survey in cooperation with Ernst & Young. To download the survey, click here. These findings underscore the importance of small businesses and entrepreneurs to our society.
