Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • Z3

Mwww.star-telegram.com Monday, October 15, 2007 3C We forgotten about jumbo loans Unlike many lenders, Colonial National Mortgage isstill making Jumbo Loans up to $2 million. Our loans feature and adjustable terms, attractive rates, and retained servicing. And since based in FortWorth and have been making loans since 1952, you can be sure your mortgage is backed by a strong, reliable institution here for the long term. Call for a branch near you. 817.390.2000 At your service.

On your side. www.ColonialNationalMortgage.com butions, donating their own products instead of cash and rallying employees to volun- teer, said Curt Weeden, chief executive of the South Caroli- na-based Association of Cor- porate Contributions Profes- sionals. know companies make a lot of money. pretty easy to cut a Weeden said. it so easy when you have to pull togeth- er a bunch of people and have them, on their own time, go out and improve the commu- Weeden, whose organiza- tion represents 147 compa- nies, provides training and other resources to the manag- ers who oversee volunteering and other corporate philan- thropy efforts.

Next up on his agenda is a four-day training forum for about three dozen participants from around the country, which begins today on south Fort Worth campus. Such training is especially helpful as corporate-giving programs become more com- plex and structured, Edwards said. Alcon, for example, sup- ports 1,100 medical missions annually. The program started with a single mission 44 years ago. And as recently as the 1990s, the company provided medi- cine for just a few hundred overseas trips each year.

Corporate giving declines Despite higher profile, businesses making more donations to charity. U.S. corporations contrib- uted an estimated $12.72 bil- lion last year, according to a study by the Giving USA Foundation. That marked a decline from 2005, when the aftermath of Hurricane Katri- na prompted a surge in gener- osity. Overall, corporate giving has hovered between $12.1 billion and $14.2 billion annu- ally since 2000.

But as compa- earnings climbed in re- cent years, their donations have had less and less effect on the bottom line. In 2001, contri- butions amounted to 1.6 per- cent of their pretax profits. Last year, they gave away 0.7 percent of profits, according to Giving USA. the last five years, frankly, gone Wee- den said. just kept pace with this extraordi- nary growth of Cari Hills Parsons, who is director of the New York- based Committee Encourag- ing Corporate Philanthropy, said businesses can figure out how they stack up by assess- ing the donations of compa- rable companies those in the same industry, of the same size or with a similar work force.

advocate one specific yardstick for measur- ing corporate giving. But we do suggest that companies compare themselves to Parsons said. en- courage making an educated decision based on what others are doing and where you want to position your- corporate Why donate money at all? Many workers, especially younger ones, favor employ- ers who give something to their communities, Parsons said. And some studies have shown that corporate have an edge with customers, too. a pretty compelling she said.

that could possibly help generate brand recognition, employee morale, visibility in front of the At specialty insurer Health- Markets, based in North Rich- land Hills, philanthropy is of- ten aimed at causes that di- rectly affect employees, such as fighting cancer and helping children with special needs, Chief Executive William Gedwed said. think it builds a loyalty, a bond with your Gedwed said. view you as a company a giving company, a caring company and one that like to work Of course, mo- tives entirely altruistic. Like individuals, companies get tax breaks for their chari- table contributions. And the deduction is even larger if they donate products instead of money.

Still, executives have to prove a business case to justi- fy donations that otherwise could have been turned to profits, Weeden said. have to do two things at once. You have to show val- ue to society, because you get a tax write-off if you Weeden said. the same time, not your mon- ey to give away. the share- Finding the right cause Often, businesses head off questions about philanthropy by making donations that are relevant to the company and to its other goals, he said.

Exxon Mobil, for example, directs some of its contribu- tions to math and science ed- ucation programs. need more engineers and more kids going into mathematics and said Mark Boudreaux, Exxon corporate citizenship and community investments manager. a science- based company. We have 14,000 scientists and engi- neers. very focused on increasing the Parsons, of the philanthro- py advocacy group, said many executives how giving away money can bring back social benefits and also business Nonetheless, she warns that the effort could backfire.

need to be authentic, or else people will know that doing it for other rea- Parsons said. MARIA M. PEROTIN, 817-390-7339 Donations: Percentage of profits given has decreased since 2001 Corporate giving North Texas businesses support an array of causes: Alcon The Fort Worth-based eye-care company do- nates drugs and surgical equipment to more than 1,200 philanthropic medical missions around the world, including the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital. The company gives free medicine to low-income patients with ophthalmic condi- tions. It supports ophthalmology and optom- etry education, as well as Braille instruction.

Locally, employees have adopted the Everman school district. They also host an annual walk-a- thon on campus that has raised more than $500,000 for Prevent Blindness Texas. Exxon Mobil The Irving-based oil giant has an initiative to prevent and treat malaria in Africa. It launched a project in 2005 to educate women and girls in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. In the United States, it contributes to math and science education.

It provides a matching gift when workers and retirees do- nate to colleges and scholarship funds. Last year Exxon Mobil, its employees and retirees gave a combined $170 million to community investments around the world. And they and their families donated more than 680,000 vol- unteer hours in 22 countries. HealthMarkets The specialty insurer, which is based in North Richland Hills, is the largest corpo- rate giver to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign. Employees recently raised $125,000 for Special Olympics Texas.

The com- pany also supports the Lance Armstrong Foun- dation. It pays for technology and education programs at two local schools. The Home Depot The Atlanta-based home improvement retailer focuses its philanthropy on building and refur- bishing gathering spaces, playgrounds and homes, as well as rebuilding buildings damaged in weather-related disasters. One example: Employee volunteers have helped build hun- dreds of playgrounds in partnership with the nonprofit group KaBoom. Justin Brands The Fort Worth bootmaker sponsors a boy crisis that has given $4 million to injured rodeo cowboys.

Last week it joined forces with Sprint to donate 46,000 calling cards to members of the Armed Forces, which should enable men and women who are serving in 11 countries to call home during the holi- days. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. The Fort Worth-based military aircraft builder supports various organizations, including Big Sisters of Tarrant County, Carter BloodCare and Adopt-a-Highway. The compa- ny sponsors the annual MathCounts competi- tion and supports various programs about careers in engineering. It donates money to the local nonprofit groups for which employ- ees volunteer.

And its workers, who recycle aluminum cans to help Habitat for Humanity, have raised enough money to build a house. Pier 1 Imports The home furnishings chain based in Fort Worth supports UNICEF in various ways, including distribution of Halloween collection boxes at its stores. It donates money to Susan G. Komen for the Cure from the sale of spe- cially marked products. It has adopted E.M.

Daggett Elementary School, and employees donate clothing to the students each winter. Target Corp. The Minneapolis-based discount retailer donates 5 percent of its income to charity. The company offers grants primarily to arts groups that bring art to schools or make cultural experiences affordable for families; programs that encourage children to read; and programs that address family violence. It has relationships with many organizations, including the American Red Cross, the His- panic Scholarship Fund, Second Harvest and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

Wal-Mart The Arkansas-based discount giant and its foundation gave $270 million last year in cash donations, and its employee volunteer pro- gram recorded almost 1 million volunteer hours. Contributions went toward an array of recipients, including student scholarships, a Teacher of the Year program, gifts for military families and donations to hospitals. XTO Energy The Fort Worth energy company matches donations to colleges. It awards scholarships to high school seniors in various states. The company has raised money for various organizations, including Ronald Mc- Donald House and March of Dimes.

It also has a practice of buying animals at local stock fairs from students and donating the animals to charity. Maria M. Perotin CONTINUED FROM 1C Where corporate donations go Businesses steer much of their philanthropy to health services, with most donations coming in the form of medicines and other products. Cash accounts for less than half of overall add up to because of rounding. Source: Conference Board, 2006 STAR-TELEGRAM Health and human services Education Arts and culture Civic and community groups Environment Other Apple iPhone contains hazardous chemicals and materials that are difficult to recycle, environmental group Greenpeace said.

Some iPhone compo- nents tested positive for chlorinated plastic polyvinyl chloride and bromine flame retardants that can be a toxin after being thrown away, Greenpeace said in a report. The battery is also typically glued and soldered to the handset, making it harder to remove for recycling, the group said. Steve Jobs, Apple chief executive officer, announced in May that Apple would im- prove its environmental practices by recycling more in an effort to become a company. By end Apple plans to enlarge its recycling program to cover 93 percent of the countries where it sells Macintosh computers and iPods. Jobs has missed the call on making the iPhone his first step towards greening Zeina Al- hajj, a toxics campaigner for Greenpeace International, said in the statement.

Greenpeace last year ranked Apple last of 14 com- puter manufacturers in its annual Guide to Green Elec- tronics. Nokia Oyj, the biggest mobile- phone maker, was ranked first. The group said Nokia use PVC in any of its components. Motorola, the largest U.S. maker of mobile phones, and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, another large phonemaker, have products without bro- mine fire retardants.

Greenpeace tested an iPhone purchased at a Wash- ington store. The group said all the components tested met European Union stan- dards preventing the use of lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium and certain bro- minated flame retardants in electrical and electronic goods. A call to commu- nications office imme- diately returned. Online: www.greenpeace.org www.apple.com ENVIRONMENT Toxic materials found in iPhone Bloomberg News NEW YORK Whether a fi- nancial newbie or just a late bloomer, it pays to follow MSN Money colum- nist Liz Pulliam five laws of basic money management: Have your paycheck automatically deposited. Why would you bother getting a check in the mail when you can cir- cumvent the paper trail altogether? Holding the check in hand still gives some of us a sense of security, says Weston but a false sense of se- curity.

A paper check may seem less ephemeral but an illusion. If you misplace your paycheck, like- ly to take you at least a week to get a duplicate. With direct deposit, you never run into this problem. Do automatic bill paying. If avoided signing up for it be- cause of an aversion to technology, get over it, urges Weston.

Even the most conscientious money manag- ers are likely to miss a payment now and again. Once upon a time, this a huge problem, because banks and other lenders were more lenient, offering grace periods and extensions. But times have changed, and the fees and penalties for late payments have soared. Even worse, one missed payment can lower a good credit rating by as much as 100 points, warns Weston. With auto- matic debit, your bills are guaranteed to be paid on time as long as you have enough money in your account.

Track your accounts online. If on a tight budget and cover- ing your bills requires carefully man- aging your cash flow, time to trade in your checkbook for an online bank account. It will allow you to access your financial information 24 hours a day. In a matter of minutes, you can get an accurate account balance by checking to see which debits have gone through and which are still pending. This will help you avoid bloated overdraft fees.

Hint: When you have several payments pending, be aware that many banks put your largest check through first because they stand to make money on over- draft fees if your remaining balance cover the smaller checks. Pad your checking account. Worried about exceeding your limit? Commit to building a realistic safety net. Experts have long cautioned people to save at least three worth of salary in case of calamity. But face it: just not an op- tion for some us.

Instead, try to cush- ion your bank account just enough to avoid late payments and bounced checks. Weston advises starting out by making $100 of the money in your checking account off-limits. This is money you spend no matter what, so always remember to sub- tract it from your available balance before you go on a spending spree! Customize due dates. For many of us, cash flow varies de- pending on the time of the month. If having trouble paying bills that come due long after payday, you may want to consider customizing your due date.

major lenders will work with you to find a due date reasonable for says West- on. Renegotiating your due date can help you keep a handle on your fi- nances and limit fees. YOUR MONEY Try these five simple ways to streamline your finances Consider these the basic laws of money management. By MARSHALL LOEB MarketWatch JUPITERIMAGES.