Whether a corporation awards a scholarship to a student attending the University of Texas, El Paso or donates computers to under-resourced classrooms in Brooklyn, corporations possess a capacity, through corporate giving programs or through their foundations, to provide assistance to communities in need. As of late, the trend for corporations has been to provide more support in products and services, and less support in the form of cash grants; however, grants remain a significant source of support for many communities.

In Grants: Corporate Grantmaking for Racial and Ethnic Communities, the National Center for Responsive Philanthropy examines this one component of corporate giving, cash grants, and analyzes the grantmaking practices in 1995 of 124 major corporations as they relate to racial and ethnic communities. Furthermore, this reference work examines the issues behind the statistics, provides background information, and offers expert advice on the technical aspects of fundraising, and other resources for racial/ethnic fundraisers.

The first significant section of this book provides a summary and extensive accounts of corporate grantmaking for African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and Native Americans. Each racial/ethnic profile establishes which corporations and industries fund these communities, and which are the most generous. These profiles reveal which areas of interest, such as education or health and human services, receive the most funding, examines the recipients of the funding, and the geographic location of funding. At the end of each section, the profile contains a set of recommendations about the level of support these communities receive.

Industry and corporate profiles compose the subsequent sections of the book. Divided within fifteen industries, each corporation receives a two-page evaluation that includes the number of grants given, the average size of grants, a detailed list of the areas of giving, and which communities receive the bulk of the grants. Every corporation receives a report card on their giving to racial/ethnic communities, which grades their overall giving to these communities, and the percentage of their giving as a percentage of their overall giving. When applicable, a profile will list applications procedures, contact information, and specific advice to a fundraiser approaching these companies. The format of each profile contains an assortment of charts and graphs, which illuminate some of the more central elements of the corporations giving to racial/ethnic communities.

The remainder of the book contains profiles on corporate giving in the largest twenty metro areas, general giving information on an additional 93 corporations, and a complete list of grants awarded by those companies surveyed. In addition, the book provides recommendations on how to improve corporate grantmaking, and interspersed throughout the book, articles and commentaries from racial/ethnic leaders, researchers, and fundraising professionals on a wide range of topics.

All together, a useful reference book for both racial/ethnic communities and the grantmakers, enabling them to make informed decisions about their grantmaking practices by allowing each group to understand one another's needs. Subsequent editions would be welcome, and substantially enhanced by inclusion of more timely data.

For additional citations to literature on this topic, refer to the Literature of the Nonprofit Sector Online, using the subject heading "corporate philanthropy — analysis."