Home Depot skimps on gifts | ajc.com

Home Depot skimps on gifts | ajc.com: "Corporate generosity, Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli told Business Week magazine this year, is 'just the right thing to do.'

A company's civic work, he said in another interview published by The New York Times, can increase sales and provide a public relations boost. 'But that's not why we do it,' he said. 'It's about showing corporate responsibilty.'
T. Levette Bagwell/AJC
(ENLARGE)
Civic work is 'about showing corporate responsibility,' Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli told The New York Times. However, the company's giving, falls short of corporate averages.



NOT QUITE A NICKEL

• For every $100 in profits, Home Depot gave less than a nickel to charity.
• Home Depot donated half as much as Coca-Cola last year, despite more than three times the revenue.
• 86 percent of consumers prefer doing business with a company that supports a cause, if price and quality are the same.

And as a recent member of President Bush's Council on Service and Civic Participation, Nardelli went out his way to push other companies to do more."