Drawing a framework from stakeholder theory, this study uses 1994 data drawn
from 100 United Kingdom listed companies to test empirically whether the level of
discretionary donations made by companies to charitable, social and political causes
is related to four company-specific factors, namely leverage, company size,
profitability and ownership structure. Consistent with our hypotheses, the results
indicate that the decision to contribute funds to charities and other bodies is
positively related to company size and profitability and negatively related to
leverage. However, the study provides no support for the view that there is a link
between discretionary donations and a company’s ownership structure
