Study finds Wells Fargo ‘most generous’
A study in The Chronicle of Philanthropy has found that Wells Fargo & Co. was the nation’s most generous corporate donor to charities and nonprofits in 2012.
The study found Wells Fargo gave $315,845,766 in cash, which amounts to about 1.3 percent of its 2011 pre-tax profits.
The company’s cash giving surged 48 percent last year, thanks primarily to $77 million it granted to NeighborWorks America for the NeighborhoodLIFT program, which provides down-payment assistance to first-time home buyers in neighborhoods most affected by the housing crisis.
The company also gave $6.7 million to the Opportunity Finance Network for an awards program, which recognizes innovative nonprofits that provide banking services in low-income communities.
The No. 2 corporate giver: Wal-Mart, which gave $311.6 million in cash.
Chamber to hold summertime business connection
The Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce will host a summertime business connection from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Savannah Yacht Club. This networking event will provide opportunities to connect with area professionals and Chamber members with live entertainment, hors d’oeuvres and beverages.
The event is open to Chamber members for $10 and their guests for $25. All employees of Savannah Area Chamber member companies may attend for the member rate. RSVPs are encouraged, but not required.
Sponsors include Adventure Communications, AT&T, Deemer, Dana & Froehle, Georgia Power Co., Pratt Industries, R.B. Baker Construction, Seacrest Partners, Southern Eagle Distributing and Southern Urgent Care.
For more information, contact Cally D’Angelo at CDAngelo@SavannahChamber.com or 912-644-6459.
Sales tax holiday coming in South Carolina
South Carolina’s sales tax holiday will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 2, and continue through midnight Sunday, Aug. 4.
During the 14th annual sales tax holiday, shoppers won’t have to pay the 6 percent state sales tax or any applicable local taxes when they buy school supplies.
No taxes will be imposed on items such as clothing, shoes, school supplies, book bags, computers, printers, bedspreads and linens.
Nonexempt items include jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, furniture or items placed on layaway. Computer tablets and portable devices that have computing functions that allow users to access multiple software applications are considered computers and are tax-exempt, provided they do not allow users to make telephone calls.
The tax holiday is expect to save shoppers about $3 million and encourage them to do their back-to-school shopping in South Carolina.
For more information, go to the S.C. Department of Revenue website at www.sctax.org under the “What’s New” section.