Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502030033
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: G-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN LEVIN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Consider that nearly $82,000, or 17.8 percent of the Roanoke museum's budget, is swaying between Gov. George Allen's sharp budget ax and any whims of largess of the General Assembly. Perhaps as significant is a new report that suggests corporations are being less generous in their contributions to charities and other worthy causes.
A report last month from the Conference Board, a New York business-research organization, showed the $5.25 billion donated by U.S. corporations in 1994 represented a 1 percent increase from 1993, a year in which many companies cut their donations. Most companies responding to the survey projected no increases in giving in 1995.
Last year, the Conference Board reported, contributions represented 1.1 percent of companies' pretax income, down sharply from 2.4 percent in 1986.
``The slow economic recovery of the 1990s has promoted many corporations to give less generously than they had during the strong economic climate of the mid-1980s,'' the report said. And the flatness of contributions this year is a reflection of corporate caution.
Roanoke-area companies Wagner has visited recently ``are saying they will contribute, but they're not sure at what level.''
``It would be a terrible mistake for anyone to think the private sector is willing or capable of stepping in and picking up the slack government is leaving,'' said John Turbyfill, vice chairman of Norfolk Southern Corp. and director of its Norfolk Southern Foundation.
While pointing out that NS increased its charitable giving from $1.2 million in 1984 to $5 million last year, he said ``everybody is ratcheting down.'' And to charities that ask for more money, ``one answer is we can't live quite as well.''
Turbyfill's words likely will strike at more than just the museum, where a series of changing shows of contemporary art is underwritten by NS. The transportation company is something of a sugar daddy, donating more than $300,000 a year to charitable groups in the Roanoke and New River valleys.
Roanoke Gas Co. shareholders were told last month of the company's plans to trim budgets to offset a sharp revenue decline caused by warmer than normal winter weather that has held down the use of its fuel.
And that budget slashing will include donations, said John B. Williamson III, the utility's vice president for rates and finance.
Roanoke Gas had budgeted $70,000 for donations to charities and nonprofit groups for the fiscal year that ends Sept.30.
``But we adjust the budget based on operations, and we probably will not give all that away,'' Williamson said. ``We're making substantial budget cuts, and the charitable giving is included.'' Plus, the State Corporation Commission said last week the utility should charge its charity to shockholders rather than its customers.
Williamson said Roanoke Gas won't cut any donation it already has promised, especially if an agency's spending already is contingent on it.
But even NS, which last month reported record profits of $667.8 million in 1994, said its foundation contributions are sometimes different from what's budgeted.
``We've just been through tough times, with recession and flattened prices,'' Turbyfill said. ``Companies are tightening up, and one of the easiest ways to tighten up is on the money you give away.''
by CNB