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Fewer Employers Put Charitable Activities on their Holiday To-Do List

NEWS RELEASE

Contacts:
Karen James Cody,
(202) 452-4169 / presscontact@bna.com
Video URL: http://www.bna.com/holiday2006

Washington, DC (December 20, 2006) – Despite a strong economy, a new survey conducted by BNA® and sponsored by Kronos® Incorporated (Nasdaq:KRON) finds that, compared with the past two years, fewer employers plan to participate in charitable activities this holiday season.

BNA's Year-End Holiday Practices Survey has offered an annual snapshot of companies' year-end plans for more than two decades. Highlights related to charitable giving include:

•  A majority of organizations will give to charitable causes during the year-end holidays. Volunteering and donating to charities are important ways organizations and their employees connect with outside communities. Two-thirds of those surveyed (66 percent) plan to sponsor or participate in one or more charitable causes, including toy, food, or clothing collections; monetary donations; adoption programs; and volunteering.

•  Participation in charitable activities is down in 2006, compared with recent years. Survey results indicate that the proportion of employers engaging in charitable activities during the year-end holidays (66 percent) has receded somewhat from record highs seen in 2005 and 2004 (both 72 percent). This year's figure is still in line with results from 2003 (69 percent) and with comparable figures recorded over the last decade (typically ranging from 60 percent to 68 percent). The drop-off in participation rates may signal a return to normal after the increases spurred by exceptional events such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

•  Holiday toy collections and food drives remain top choices for employer-sponsored charitable giving. In line with previous years, 47 percent of surveyed organizations will take up toy collections for needy children, while 37 percent will contribute to year-end food collections. Another 31 percent will ‘‘adopt'' families for charitable giving through social service agencies or schools. Other activities include corporate monetary donations (21 percent), clothing collections (21 percent), company-sponsored money collections from employees or the public (16 percent), and employee visits and volunteer work (15 percent).

•  More organizations plan to make cash donations. The relatively high proportion of organizations planning to donate money to charitable causes in 2006 (21 percent) is in line with figures reported in 2005 (20 percent) but notably up from those recorded as recently as 2004 and 2003 (both 15 percent).

•  Larger organizations are more likely to participate in charitable activities. Roughly three-quarters (76 percent) of large organizations—those with 1,000 or more workers— plan to take part in charitable activities at year's end, compared with 62 percent of smaller organizations. The gap in participation rates between large and small employers is greatest for toy collections (72 percent versus 39 percent, respectively), food collections (62 percent versus 30 percent), and ‘‘adoption'' programs (47 percent versus 25 percent).

Method: Survey data were collected from Oct. 3 through Nov. 2, 2006 using a Web-based questionnaire sent to human resources executives. A cross-section of 214 U.S. employers participated. Of these, 78 percent employ fewer than 1,000 workers, while 22 percent employ 1,000 or more. Twenty-four percent of those participating were manufacturing firms, 38 percent were nonmanufacturing companies, and 38 percent were nonbusiness entities, such as government employers, hospitals, educational institutions, and other nonprofits. Nonunion establishments make up 80 percent of the survey sample, while the remaining 20 percent employ at least some union-represented workers.

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A video presentation of the survey results can be accessed from: http://www.bna.com/holiday2006. From this site, viewers may download a free copy of the full report.

BNA is a leading publisher of print and electronic news and information for professionals in business and government. BNA produces more than 300 news services, including the highly respected Daily Labor Report and Daily Report for Executives. Visit BNA online at www.bna.com

Kronos Incorporated empowers organizations around the world to effectively manage their workforce. At Kronos, we are experts who are solely focused on delivering software and services that enable organizations to reduce costs, increase productivity, improve employee satisfaction, and ultimately enhance the level of service they provide. Kronos serves customers in more than 50 countries through its network of offices, subsidiaries, and distributors. Widely recognized as a market and thought leader in managing the workforce, Kronos has unrivaled reach with more than 30 million people using a Kronos solution every day. Learn more about Kronos at www.kronos.com.