Take The Money and Run
To the non-profit.
This week was GivingTuesday. The Giving Tuesday website defines itself as:
GivingTuesday reimagines a world built upon shared humanity and generosity.
Our global network collaborates year-round to inspire generosity around the world, with a common mission to build a world where generosity is part of everyday life.
Last month, here in Minnesota, we saw Give to the Max Day. Give to the Max Day was one of the nation’s first online giving days and now serves as a national model for giving days.
Both revolve around a theme. Trying to raise awareness and remind people and business of the need to donate.
We here at PlastiCert did not participate in either Give To The Max Day or Giving Tuesday. Not because we are Scrooges or uncaring. It was because we donate and give all year long. We do not need a large awareness campaign to remind us of the needs out there.
Our first donation of the Year was early last January, when we gave our two scholarship recipients their funds after submitting their transcripts. From there, donations continued throughout the entire year.
Many are local, our school district Booster Club, local Heartland Days annual celebration, local fire department, local Fools Five Cancer benefit auction and 5K run, and Christmas sharing tree for local children in need of presents. Some are regional, County 4H/UMN Extension Office awards for the county fair, the nearby state university scholarship fund, Beethoven Festival, Winona Symphony Orchestra, Community Foundation, sponsoring Shriner entertainment entries in local parades and many more.
Many are national, the LUPIS Research Foundation, National MS Society, American Heart Association, and the Movember Institute of Men’s Health, among others.
News stories cover the fact that donations have dropped off in recent years. People and companies’ needs have increased as costs have risen. According to Giving USA, individuals annually account for 75 percent of all charitable giving in the form of contributions and bequests, private foundations amount to 19 percent and corporations seven percent. The same article remarks that disturbing to many nonprofit and advocacy organizations is a provision in the recently passed Federal Legislation H.R. 1 (BBB) that imposes a one percent floor on the ability of corporations and businesses to claim a tax deduction for contributions to nonprofit organizations and community groups. (H.R.1 maintains the current 10 percent ceiling on deductibility.) In other words, a business would have to contribute at least one percent of its taxable income to qualify for a charitable deduction.
A Google search reports that Manufacturing companies and large corporations typically donate around 0.8% to 1% of their pretax earnings to nonprofits, though some recent research indicates the median is closer to 0.86%. This figure has declined from previous decades but remains a benchmark for corporate social responsibility.
PlastiCert is happy to report that this year, as in years past, we will end up somewhere in the neighborhood of 7.5% of pretax earnings going to the numerous non-profit organizations mentioned above.
Our PlastiCert Mission Statement is:
The mission of PlastiCert is to service our customers with plastic injection molding expertise; in an environment that fosters personal growth, professional challenge, and a recognized responsibility to the community around us.
Recognizing responsibility to the community around has far reaching implications.
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