The Geography of Corporate Philanthropy in the United Kingdom

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Abstract
The shift away from a state-dominated welfare state towards a pluralistic mix of diverse welfare agencies is placing a greater reliance upon the voluntary sector. The role of company support for the voluntary sector has become an issue of considerable significance in recent years, yet has been little analysed by geographers. Considerable variations are revealed in the geographical distribution of funds allocated by directly funded corporate charitable trusts to voluntary organisations in the United Kingdom; the patterns may be related to the sector of the companies that fund the trusts together with the location and nature of the charities receiving funds, The patterns suggest that the key element determining the geography of corporate philanthropy is the nature of the audience which the company is seeking to address through their donations policy. Manufacturing companies would appear to have stronger traditions of philanthropy being directed towards the communities where their production facilities are based, whereas service-based companies tend to disperse their donations more widely.

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