The largest corporate foundations with a presence in Orange County collectively gave $123.1 million in charitable donations over their most recently reported fiscal years in a 5% annual increase, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
The 32 foundations and other corporate entities on this week’s list are the charitable arms of companies with headquarters or significant operations here. The annual uptick follows a 6% decline a year earlier and a 13% drop two years back.
This year is the first time the Business Journal is ranking corporate giving based on the amounts donated. The list previously was a directory.
More than half of the foundations increased giving, with 15 organizations upping their donations by double- or triple-digit percentages. Eight cut back on giving, and six had numbers even with a year prior.
Donation amounts on the list are based on the most recent data available. About half of the numbers represent giving during 2011; 13 entries include donations from 2010.
Total assets for those listed grew more than 10% over the same spans, to $638.4 million.
UPS Foundation came up top with $39.8 million in donations through last year. That was a 1% uptick for the charitable group of Atlanta-based United Parcel Service of America Inc., which counts Southern California as one of its largest markets.
UPS Foundation had $1.5 million in assets at the end of last year, down 15%.
Second on the list was the Irvine campus of Los Angeles-based Capital Group Cos., which gave $17 million in the 12 months through last June in an 8% annual increase. The fund manager had $250.9 million in assets, up about 15%.
No. 3 UnitedHealth Foundation gave nearly $9 million in grants in 2010, the latest data available, for an annual uptick of 15%. The foundation is part of Minnesota-based managed health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc., which has about 3,000 OC employees.
The foundation, which focuses on healthcare and education, saw an 8% decline in its assets to $77.1 million.
Irvine-based Taco Bell Foundation was No. 9, with $4 million in donations in 2010. That was a near doubling of the year-earlier total of $2.1 million.
The organization, part of Taco Bell Corp., saw a 12% increase in assets to $5.9 million at the end of 2010.
No. 12 Pimco Foundation—connected to Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co.—gave more than $2.7 million last year, up 27% from a year prior.
The foundation—which reported 25% more in assets, at $42 million—aims to promote financial literacy and help minorities, among other goals. It gives through grants and community support, including a companywide initiative to take a week to volunteer at local organizations. Employees at Pimco’s Newport Beach headquarters recently took part in the weeklong project, working at local soup kitchens and job-training centers.
No. 13 Broadcom Foundation of Irvine-based chipmaker Broadcom Corp. more than doubled its charitable contributions last year when it gave $2.5 million.
The foundation’s assets grew 48% to $73.4 million over the same period.
“The Broadcom Foundation is now in its third year,” Executive Director Paula Golden said. “We work closely with schools, nonprofits, and informal learning programs, like the Boys & Girls Clubs [and] the Discovery Science Center Museum to find synergies for what we call project-based learning.”
The foundation has an emphasis on programs that encourage middle-school students to continue with math and science studies in high school.
Up 29%
The charitable arm of audit and advisory firm KPMG LLP in Irvine—ranked at No. 26 on the list and one of several entities that are not established as foundations—had a 29% increase in donations over the 12 months through September, for a total of $372,205.
“The three broad areas of focus are education, health and human services, and the arts,” Managing Partner Dennis Parrott said. “The largest recipient is United Way. We increased our participation with the Tocqueville Society, a support group of United Way [of which] I have become the chair.”
KPMG’s Family for Literacy program is among the latest initiatives by the firm to serve the OC community. The recently launched campaign provides age-appropriate books to underprivileged children, Parrott said.
No. 6 Wells Fargo & Co.’s foundation was among the handful of organizations that saw declines in their charitable giving. The bank gave about $4.4 million, 9% less than a year earlier.
Wells Fargo matches employee contributions to schools up to $5,000 per person per year, according to Ben Alvarado, OC Community banking president. “Aside from basic needs and education, job creation and workforce development [are other major areas of focus] where Wells Fargo is looking to make an investment,” he said.
No. 18 Simon Foundation for Education and Housing gave $1.7 million in six months through June 2011, as it transitioned to a fiscal year from a calendar year basis. It gave $2.9 million in 2010.
The Simon Foundation was one of two foundations that were new to the list.
The other newcomer was No. 22 Masimo Foundation, which gave $907,204, down 5% from a year earlier. The Marina del Rey-based organization gives to help disaster relief and recovery, as well as healthcare and research.
Download the 2012 OC’s LARGEST CORPORATE FOUNDATIONS COs list (pdf)
