Survey: Companies Take a More Cautious Approach to Corporate Philanthropy as Political and Economic Pressures Mount

NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid heightened scrutiny, companies are retreating from issues perceived as politically sensitive in their corporate philanthropy efforts. In 2026, nearly one-third of surveyed philanthropy leaders plan to scale back racial equality initiatives (29%), with reductions also planned for environmental justice (24%) and gender equality (22%), according to a new survey by The Conference Board. This continues the trend observed in 2025.

At the same time, companies are redirecting their attention to broader, less contentious socioeconomic priorities. Surveyed leaders plan to increase their focus on food security (45%), digital inclusion (41%), affordability (39%), and housing (38%).

Beyond philanthropy priorities, the survey also examined budgets and resources for the year ahead. Nearly two-thirds of executives (64%) expect the new tax law on corporate charitable deductibility to affect their companies' 2026 giving budgets. The recent legislation allows corporations to deduct charitable contributions only once their giving exceeds 1% of taxable income, potentially limiting the tax benefit of smaller donations.

The findings come from a survey of 70 corporate citizenship and philanthropy leaders at US companies. The report covers budget expectations, focus areas, barriers and opportunities, and early-stage AI adoption.

Focus Areas

Corporate philanthropy priorities are shifting, with increased focus on basic needs and digital access.

• Biggest increases: Surveyed leaders plan to increase emphasis on food security (45%), digital inclusion (41%), affordability (39%), and housing (38%).
• Biggest decreases: The largest planned reductions are in racial equality (29%), environmental justice (24%), and gender equality (22%).
• Understanding the numbers: "The steepest declines are concentrated in areas facing higher political, legal, or reputational scrutiny. Overall, the pattern reflects pragmatic portfolio management in a more constrained environment, with companies favoring themes that offer clearer, more defensible value while reducing emphasis where external risk and scrutiny have risen," said Andrew Jones, author of the report and Principal Researcher at The Conference Board.

"Affordability" is becoming a key framing for citizenship strategy—offering both opportunity and risk.

•  Rising importance: 62% of respondents rate affordability as important.
  • "Affordability" is defined in the survey as the rising cost of living, including housing, food, healthcare, childcare, transportation, and other essentials.
•  Understanding the numbers: "Affordability presents both opportunity and risk for citizenship leaders. It offers a broadly resonant, non-ideological entry point for addressing food access, housing stability, and essential services, but its growing political salience—especially ahead of the midterms—raises the risk of perceived partisanship. This underscores the need to ground initiatives in business relevance, local context, and workforce realities," said Brian Campbell, Governance & Sustainability Center Leader and General Counsel at The Conference Board.

Budgets and Resources

Most executives expect the new 1% charitable deduction floor to affect 2026 budgets.

•  Budget impact: 64% expect the law on corporate charitable tax deductibility to affect their budgets.
  • The most common expected response is tighter budget allocation, with about one-third also anticipating changes to timing and pacing of grant disbursements.
•  Understanding the numbers: The new policy environment is prompting companies to reassess giving portfolios, prioritize allocations, and coordinate more closely with legal, tax, and finance teams. Responses are less about reducing giving overall and more about refining structure—through multi-year or milestone-based grants and clearer alignment with business objectives.

In 2026, corporate citizenship budgets are favoring volunteering over cash grants.

•  Volunteerism leads investment: 57% of surveyed philanthropy leaders expect employee volunteering to grow vs. just 5% who foresee a decline.
•  Cash grants contract: More surveyed leaders expect to reduce cash grants (21%) vs. increase them (19%).
•  Understanding the numbers: "In an era where talent reigns supreme and uncertainty remains high, companies are favoring flexible, people-centered approaches that strengthen workforce connection and purpose. As nonprofit partners are increasingly asked to do more with less, companies can tap employees' intellectual capital to address community challenges—reinforcing the growing importance of volunteering," said Jeff Hoffman, Institute Leader, Corporate Citizenship & Philanthropy, The Conference Board.

AI Integration

AI adoption in corporate citizenship remains early-stage, with most teams prioritizing literacy.

• Limited integration: 55% of respondents describe their use of AI as limited and exploratory.
• Top AI uses: The top-cited focus is AI literacy and staff training (50%), followed by data analysis or reporting automation (39%), and enhanced measurement and evaluation tools (30%).
•  Understanding the numbers: Early AI priorities reflect a focus on internal efficiency and decision support rather than front-facing programmatic use. As teams build AI capability in 2026, leaders are emphasizing strong foundations—staff literacy, data quality, and clear processes—alongside early alignment with legal, risk, and IT partners.

Barriers

Top obstacles to advancing 2026 citizenship goals: resource constraints and heightened scrutiny.

• Internal barriers: The most frequently cited internal challenge is competing corporate priorities (55%), followed by difficulty demonstrating ROI (34%), and limited CEO or leadership support (27%).
• External barriers: Nonprofit partner resource constraints rank as the top external challenge (41%), followed by media scrutiny (36%), and political polarization (36%).
• Understanding the numbers: Internally, barriers reflect tighter capital discipline and higher expectations for clear business value, not gaps in strategy or capability. Externally, execution risk is increasingly shaped by nonprofit capacity constraints, reputational sensitivity, and political volatility—elevating the importance of risk management alongside delivery.

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers Trusted Insights for What's Ahead®. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. TCB.org 

SOURCE The Conference Board