Corporate do-gooders: while scandals have been defining business in recent years, many companies put a lot of dollars into improving society. (Introduction).

The 1990s were not just about greed, they saw a lot of corporate generosity too. The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy reports that Canada has more than 1,700 foundations, which grant more than $900 million every year to Canadian charities. Here are just a few examples:

* The Imperial Oil Foundation makes grants to more than 400 national and local charitable organizations. In 2002, the foundation contributed almost $6.7 million, and the company's Volunteer Involvement Program made 254 grants to community organizations totalling $270,000;

* Alberta-based TransAlta supports health and social agencies, community facilities, and educational, cultural and environmental organizations that contribute to the well-being of these communities. In 2000, TransAlta contributed about $5.34 million to the community in the form of sponsorships and donations;

* RBC Financial Group has a history of supporting projects and organizations that improve community life. As one of Canada's largest corporate donors, the organization directed more than $27 million to charities in hundreds of communities across the country in 2001;

* In 2001, the pharmaceutical firm Pfizer Canada gave more than nine million dollars to more than 600 non-profit community organizations and projects across Canada. In addition, the company has a Matching Gift Program, matching any dollar contribution made by its employees.

And, the 2000 National Survey on Giving, Volunteering, and Participating reports that 27% of companies let their employees modify their work hours to take part in volunteer activity, an increase of 5% from 1997. In January 2003, Charity Village NewsWeek mentioned some of them:

* Enbridge Inc., a Calgary-based energy transportation and distribution company, has employer-supported volunteer programs in Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto. Among other projects, volunteers have painted fences, cleaned up parks, provided volunteer support at fundraising events, and collected warm winter clothing for those in need;

* StarTek Canada Services in Kingston, Ontario has created opportunities for employees to volunteer and raise funds for local organizations such as the food bank, youth shelter, Humane Society, and United Way. One charity is supported each month and featured on a company bulletin board so employees can learn about the organizations they are helping;

* Prima Computer Solutions Inc. in St. John's, Newfoundland is involved with the Children's Wish Foundation, where employees help out in everything from maintaining the foundation's office systems, to organizing and staffing fundraisers.

In the U.S., two of the most generous philanthropists are in the computer field: Microsoft's Gates family and the Moore's of silicon chip giant Intel.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was set up in 1999 with assets of $22 billion to fund projects in the field of health and learning. By January 2003, the foundation had given away nearly six billion dollars to scores of projects that focus on such activities as the prevention and control of infectious diseases and AIDS in developing countries.

In November 2000, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation was created with a multibillion-dollar gift from its founders. The foundation supports projects that focus on the environment (preserving biodiversity and intact natural ecosystems, for example), higher education (advancing science at colleges and universities), scientific research, as well as improving their own community in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2001, the couple gave nearly six billion dollars to their family foundation.

Critics may scoff at all this, saying that corporate philanthropy is simply a tax-saving or image-boosting tactic. But, those who benefit probably don't see it as a bad thing. Isn't it a win-win situation?