In 2007, through voluntarism, grantmaking, and in-kind donations, corporate contributions reached an estimated $15.69 billion nationally. And locally, the San Francisco Business Times reports that the greater San Francisco Bay Area's top corporate philanthropists increased their Bay Area giving to about $154.9 million last year, marking the fifth straight year of increases. Is all of that support coming to a grinding halt now with the global economic crisis? How will the crisis impact corporate philanthropy in our region? This edition of Meet the Grantseekers features representatives of Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Intel, and Cisco discussing how corporate philanthropy responds during tough economic times. Panelists discuss philanthropy in the banking and technology industries, current philanthropic strategies, forecast their giving in 2009, and look back to how our region's nonprofits and corporate philanthropy were impacted during the dot com collapse at the beginning of the decade.
