THE SLOVAK Donors’ Forum (FD) has been publishing a ranking of corporate philanthropists, TOP Corporate Philanthropist, since 2005. Its goal is to motivate companies to communicate openly about the sums they spend on corporate philanthropy and thereby inspire other companies in Slovakia to do the same, Katarína Podracká, manager of FD’s corporate philanthropy programme, told The Slovak Spectator.
“The ranking is a presentation of companies which, along with running their businesses, do not forget their responsibility to the community,” Podracká said, adding that FD fully appreciates that a company’s ability to contribute differs depending on its size and the sector in which it operates. “The main aim of the ranking is not, therefore, to compete for medal positions… The important thing, from our point of view, is the realisation of the need for responsible behaviour towards [a company’s] surroundings, which goes hand in hand with the willingness to inform the general public about investing a portion of their profits into the development of communities and charity projects.”
A total of 21 companies that together donated over €2.7 million were included in the first ranking.
By 2011 the number of enrolled companies had increased to 31, while the aggregate sum they donated for the development of communities and charitable activities in the previous year, 2010, had more than doubled to over €6.7 million. This sum did not include sponsorship or 2-percent assignments from income tax.
