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Corporate America's philanthropic response in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center was unprecedented. Employers and employees gave money. They gave time. They extended support to diverse communities. While all experienced the tragedy differently, their responses had at least one characteristic in common: generosity.

When Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson—who had been in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001—decided to commemorate the first anniversary of the attacks by suspending all advertising for the day, he met no resistance. He sent out an internal memo to honor the five Wachovia employees who perished that day, and he also wrote an article for the Charlotte Business Journal to memorialize the event.

"Everyone wanted to do something to help," he wrote. "Many skilled volunteers traveled to New York to aid in rescue and relief efforts. Others made financial contributions or donated blood. American flags appeared everywhere as a show of solidarity, resolve and courage. And something that didn't make the headlines, but was just as important: Companies across America opened their doors for business."

Ten days prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center, Wachovia, No. 21 on The 2006 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, merged with First Union. As leaders gathered to reformat the company's mission, the lessons from Sept. 11 became integrated into the new company culture—its management style and strategic framework.

All together, companies and corporate foundations donated $721.8 million to the recovery efforts—66 percent of the $1.1 billion given by institutional donors, which include community, independent and family foundations, according to the Foundation Center. This amount does not account for in-kind donations.

Learning From Experience

"Sept. 11 was probably the first disaster in recent times that triggered companies to really look inside themselves and say, 'Was I ready to react to this?'" says Margaret Coady, corporate giving standard manager with the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy, an international forum of high-ranking executives that includes the CEOs of 19 companies in The 2006 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity. "I think companies have taken great care in terms of being more proactive, trying not to be reactionary, thinking in advance should the situation come up again."

Part of this forward-thinking commitment involves addressing the current crises in the Middle East and encouraging philanthropic efforts that foster national consciousness about intergroup relations.

"The philanthropists among us who are concerned about issues of diversity are committed to increasing positive intergroup dialogue, and there are lots of them," notes Dr. Beverly Tatum, renowned author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and president of Spelman College. "Many organizations are trying to foster the kind of anti-bias education and dialogue that I think is important for our society. The theme [of our last conference was] building bridges. How do we connect with people different from ourselves to advance an empowering agenda for all of us?"

Some corporate donations were used expressly for this purpose. In conjunction with the National Conference for Community and Justice, the September 11th Fund launched a $1.4-million anti-bias campaign. Twelve nonprofit groups received grants to address bias in their communities, to promote tolerance and to combat discrimination experienced by South Asian, Muslim and Arab areas after the Sept. 11 attacks. The campaign includes emergency counseling to immigrants, among others, as well as legal advice to individuals subjected to hate crimes as an outgrowth of the xenophobia the United States experienced after Sept. 11.

It's a learning process, says Coady. "Companies have such large employee bases that if anything were to go wrong anywhere in the world, there would be a significant group of people in a company who had friends there or family there or traveled there often," she says. "There's no part of the world where something can go wrong and American business wouldn't feel it with respect to some employees. There is such diversity in the work force that you can't help but make philanthropy a part of what you do."

Stanford, Conn.­-based Xerox Corp. reacted quickly to provide relief to family members and friends of the 60 employees who could not be found. Within 24 hours, Xerox, one of DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies in 2006, had established a $1-million grant to various disaster-relief and recovery organizations. In the two days following the attack, Xerox learned that two of its own employees had perished. One was black, the other Asian.

"I think Sept. 11, for the first time on a grand scale, America was the recipient of the philanthropy of the world and the support of the world," says Joe Calahan, vice president of the Xerox Foundation. "We typically were the people who were helping others. In this case, and then later in Katrina, the world was very supportive and helpful of America and I think that led a lot of companies into being much more responsive to crises around the world. I don't think we would have been so conscious if we had not experienced Sept. 11."

Changing Corporate Cultures

The events of Sept. 11 sparked a transformation in corporate culture, which included an upsurge in philanthropy. Not only did philanthropic efforts increase, the venues expanded.  

"It got personal very quickly," notes Calahan. "It galvanized our efforts to be even more diverse ... We have accelerated our giving through the Xerox Foundation to diverse groups and programs that help women in particular, and now well over a third of our funding goes to programs that are specifically aimed at minorities and women."

All of The 2006 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity sponsor philanthropic efforts in black, Latino, Asian, Native American, and LGBT communities. They average 33.5 percent of their overall philanthropic endeavors with charities aimed at these communities.

"I think what I'm seeing companies do more and more now is make pledges," notes Coady. "Companies are customizing certain things that have already been in place, allowing employees to travel and leveraging their expertise to try and make a difference. That's certainly true of 9/11, Katrina and the tsunami. Many employees were quite heartbroken and wanted to help, and companies want to be sensitive to that."

Wachovia has had a long-standing presence in the realm of corporate philanthropy, but the company's programs have undergone a metamorphosis since Sept. 11.

"We learned from the experience," says Frank Addison, director of philanthropy at Wachovia. "We had funds left over that employees did not want to take back, and we looked at the idea of what that fund was trying to do."

Originally called the September 11th Relief Fund, Wachovia modified the program to incorporate a voluntary payroll deduction so employees could continue to help others after Sept. 11 through Wachovia Employees (WE) Care.

"The concept of employee grant-making is a powerful one," says Addison. "The money goes to those who have been impacted by a natural disaster or experience individual hardship. It's a one-time grant to help get them back on their feet. From an employer-of-choice perspective, it shows that we do care about individuals and it's not just a transaction." Last year, WE Care fund paid out $440,000 in grants to employees in need, who can qualify for grants of up to $10,000. 

Senior-level commitment and support has played a critical role in expanding corporate philanthropy. "CEO and senior leaders have become much more savvy in terms of what public expectations really are for them," says Coady. "While most grant-making maybe has board approval once a year, these disasters have really put corporate philanthropy and license giving in front of the CEOs. There's an interrelationship between business and philanthropy."

Thompson, who volunteers his own time, certainly knows this. The impact of his commitment on the company is apparent.

In the aftermath of Sept. 11, Wachovia raised more than $400,000 through employee donations, donated $1 million to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund, activated a National Disaster Recovery Loan Program, delivered bottled water, box lunches and work gloves to rescue workers, and was a national leader in blood donations. While an uncertain economic climate has caused some companies to cut back on philanthropy in the last few years, the financial sector is plowing ahead.

Wachovia's Time Away from Work for Community Service program, which initially offered paid time to employees who volunteered in the educational sector, expanded to include any philanthropic endeavor. In 2005, Wachovia logged more than 650,000 hours of employee-volunteer community service. Forty-nine percent of financial-services companies have formal volunteering programs.

"One of the lessons learned is that anything can happen anywhere, anytime," says Calahan. "None of us are protected from enormous crises and setbacks. This has sharpened the focus on volunteerism."

May 2006 Buy Now

Six of the 20 companies that donated $10 million or more are in The 2006 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity. They are:

·    Citigroup Foundation (No. 27): $15.2 million to establish the Citigroup Relief Fund for scholarships for the children of victims, among other causes

·    JPMorgan Chase/JPMorgan Chase Foundation (No. 11): $13 million to establish the JPMorgan Chase WTC Disaster Relief Fund to aid victims and families

·    Verizon Foundation (No. 1): $12.6 million to support the 9/11 Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, the American Red Cross and the September 11th Fund

·    The Coca-Cola Co. (No. 3): $12.2 million to support the American Red Cross Liberty Disaster Relief Fund and other relief and recovery groups

·    DaimlerChrysler (No. 43): $10 million to establish the DaimlerChrysler Help the Children Fund to benefit the children of those killed or injured in the attacks

·    Merrill Lynch & Co. (No. 44): $10 million to establish the Merrill Lynch 9/11 Scholarship Fund and to support various relief and recovery programs.

Corporate donors pledged 22 percent of their Sept. 11 funding to corporate relief funds, 18 percent to the American Red Cross Liberty Disaster Relief Fund, 15 percent to the September 11th Fund, and 20 percent to other disaster-recovery funds, namely the Twin Towers Fund and the New York Police and Fire 9/11 Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. For other companies' contributions, see the list of grants made in response to Sept. 11.

To learn more about leaders in corporate philanthropy, look for the December issue of DiversityInc magazine, which will highlight best practices and strategies for implementing philanthropy programs that benefit communities both inside and outside the workplace.

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