COMPANY TO BE LESS GIVING; DOWNTOWN LEADER'S DOWNSIZING WILL TAKE TOLL ON L.A. CHARITIES.

Byline: Beth Barrett Daily News Staff Writer

As the Atlantic Richfield Company in Los Angeles shrinks its work force, its might as a downtown philanthropic and civic leader is set to diminish as well, company officials acknowledged Thursday.

``We'll have less money to give and fewer employees,'' said Mike Bowlin, Arco's chairman and chief executive officer. ``But we intend to do the best we can and to remain part of the fabric of this community.

``We have a heck of a lot of retirees who are very involved throughout Southern California,'' Bowlin said, noting the company matches retirees' contributions as well as employees'.

Arco long has been regarded as one of L.A.'s leading corporate citizens, but its earnings declines nonetheless will mean a significant reduction in cultural, educational, youth and other charitable giving in the years to come, the head of its foundation said.

The days when Arco could invest $10 million in the Disney Hall, $5.5 million in L.A. neighborhoods damaged in the 1992 riots, or donate $1 million to the Long Beach aquarium probably are over for the foreseeable future, said Russell Sakaguchi, executive director of the Arco Foundation.

``Based on the budget, I don't know that we'd want to do those kinds of things again,'' he said.

Giving has declined

Arco's giving has declined from about $34 million annually in the mid-1980s to about $14 million this year, with some of the decrease attributed to company restructuring. This year, the foundation's giving is up over the past two years, when $10 million was donated annually. Last week, the company said its gift-giving will be cut back further.

The company began to focus more on L.A. charitable giving in the late 1980s, each year steadily increasing its local charitable works. This year, it expects to give nearly $6 million to projects and agencies in the region.

Arco also is faced with fewer downtown corporations with which to pool its charitable resources, making it more difficult for downtown business interests to make the kinds of philanthropic statements they were capable of in the past.

``There isn't as much money, because there aren't as many companies downtown,'' Sakaguchi said.

``There's no more First Interstate or Union Bank. Security Pacific was wiped off the map. The insurance companies are gone. Pacific Mutual moved to Newport. There's no more Carter Hawley Hale department store here,'' he said.

``It's absolutely much more difficult to raise the money you used to be able to get out of downtown.''

Bowlin, among a group of downtown civic leaders who have emerged in the past two years, said he ``feels a little more lonesome'' in his high-rise office than he did during Arco's heyday.

``I'll admit there are not the number of entities downtown,'' he said.

``One thing that has to happen is that other people have to step into the gap. There are a number of rich, viable companies in Los Angeles, and there are a lot of very powerful people in the city.''

Matching donations

The company will continue to match donations made by Arco employees and retirees. But with a reduction of 370 people in Los Angeles, total giving is expected to decline as well, affecting organizations such as the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, company officials said.

``Arco did tell us that they will continue serving the United Way - they understand that we help hundreds of charities in Los Angeles,'' said Joe Haggerty, president of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. ``But we do know that the employee-giving campaign will be impacted because of downsizing.''

Last year, Arco's employees donated $600,000 to the United Way - a number that was matched by the company for a total of $1.2 million - which represented 1.5 percent of the United Way's $59 million in charitable donations.

In response to downsizing and mergers affecting Los Angeles County corporations, charities have begun to broaden their contributor base to include smaller companies and individuals, said Haggerty.

``I think many charities have learned they have to deal with the changing business conditions,'' said Haggerty. ``It's not what you like to see, but you have to learn to deal with it.''

At LEARN school reform headquarters in Los Angeles, the last word from Arco was that there would be no impact on the company's annual donation of about $75,000, said Mike Roos, president and CEO of LEARN, a private, nonprofit group.

``Arco has been more than just a company to philanthropic government and public policy groups - it's absolutely been the pacesetter in every way,'' said Roos. ``So, yes - when a company begins to struggle against the problem of crude oil being the lowest it's been this decade - yes, we all worry about it.''

Since 1991, Arco has donated a total of $700,000 to LEARN, said Roos.

Impact not felt yet

The full impact of Arco's declining philanthropic giving might not be felt until 2000 and beyond, because the foundation's budget is based on a three-year profit cycle, Sakaguchi said.

It is particularly disappointing to Arco, since for over a decade under past chairman Lodwrick M. Cook, a Sherman Oaks resident, and now under Bowlin, the company has been regarded as something of a maverick in terms of community giving.

``Believe me, the $14 million foundation budget gets consideration at the highest levels of this company,'' said Sakaguchi, who has overseen the foundation for more than a decade.

``For all the multimillion-, the billion-dollar decisions, they agonize as much over the $14 million as anything.''

The company also has reached into communities at the grass-roots level and has given first-time grants to many organizations, Sakaguchi said.

With less corporate support downtown, some of those groups have missed out entirely, he said. Arco, however, plans to continue to target such agencies.

``As we think we can no longer be the largest giver to any one group, we are looking at what we can do to be relevant,'' he said.

When the oil industry rebounds, he said, Arco's charitable involvement in Los Angeles will reflect that.

``When that happens, we'll restore some of the philanthropic giving,'' Bowlin said.

Daily News Staff Writer Yvette Cabrera contributed to this story.

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PHOTO Arco's downsizing means cutbacks in corporate charitable giving.