In its August dispatch on corporate giving, the Chronicle of Philanthropy called 2008 a "gloomy" year and reported that of 77 businesses surveyed, giving would be flat at 50 and fall at 6. And that was before the economic collapse. So what might corporate philanthropy, with the meltdown in mind, look like in 2009?

Tight profit margins will force companies to scale back giving in their budgets next year and the year after, say some corporate philanthropy executives, while others insist their investments will remain at their same level or grow. But for now, the full impact of the turmoil on Wall Street remains to be seen. Expectations for corporate responsibility don't appear to be falling with the Dow. "Stakeholders and employees expect their companies to be better corporate citizens," says Charlie Moore, chairman of the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy. "And since cross-marketing is more prevalent, consumers are expecting it too."

One approach corporate philanthropies are taking is to cut back on smaller programs in favor of a few more of the larger programs, like ExxonMobil did for the Olympics, which was used to promote the oil company's philanthropic efforts. Others are honing their investment strategies, and some are simply not accepting grant proposals anymore.
    
Those that haven't felt the cuts are girding for budget-slashing. "We are an asset-based foundation, so our giving wallet will obviously suffer as a result of the downturn in asset value," says Meg McDonald, president of the Alcoa Foundation. "The amount that we'll be able to give in the coming year, we're assessing that day to day. We're not going to be able to go into a number of new areas that we would have gone into if things remained unchanged."

Others say they expect to remain flat—but that while funds stay level, requests for them will spike. "Many of our constituents have lost their jobs and homes, so the needs will be even greater," says Eva Blum, chair of the PNC Foundation, "but our resources will be flat, so there will be tough choices."

And a few still have a bright outlook on giving, insisting the economy's woes won't touch their agendas. "Our budget has not changed, and we haven't changed our course," says Patrick Gaston, president of the Verizon Foundation. Ellen Luger, executive director of General Mills' foundation, says the organization's assets are protected by the company continuing to thrive: "General Mills is a food business, and people need to eat," she says. "We'll be able to maintain giving at the previous year's levels."

But most foundation heads agree that while some companies may be able to dole out donations at their usual pace, overall corporate giving will inevitably falter. "I don't think anyone could say with a straight face that there's not going to be some negative impact in 2009," says Kimberly Davis, president of the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation. "There's a great need out there, and private philanthropists are going to have to step up even more. To continue to do good, we're going to have to continue to lean on those who are doing well."