WeCashFlow Blog

It’s one of those odd juxtapositions that defies logic: Mississippi casinos suffer total devastation from Hurricane Katrina, yet manage to give thousands of dollars just a few months later to help others in need.

Some might wonder how or even why corporations that lost multi-million dollar facilities would bother to give money to others. Even more understandable would be the cessation of monetary donations from employees who themselves lost homes and possessions. Donna Alexander, executive director of United Way of South Mississippi, has a perfectly logical explanation.

“Whenever there’s any type of misfortune in our state, there is an immediate reaction to do something to help,” Alexander said. “Immediately after Katrina, many casinos were involved in giving to their employee assistance program, but still contacted us to let us know, ‘we’re giving to each other, but we’ll be back.’ And we were fine with that; we knew they needed to do that.”

Alexander said even more notable were casinos that resumed employee campaigns almost immediately after the hurricane. Most collected sizable amounts of money that, although lower than in previous years, were unexpected due to the unstableness of the industry during that time.

Isle of Capri was one casino that continued to run its 2005 campaign, albeit one with a new moniker, “Let’s Keep United Way Going.” The emphasis on giving to others even when most had little or nothing kept the spotlight on the reason the casino has supported United Way since 1992, said Rich Westfall, director of community development.

It also explains why a corporate entity found it imperative to help others, regardless of its facility’s condition or lack of revenue.

“We were still looking for ways we could help others, despite what we had been through,” said Westfall, a member of United Way’s executive board. “Keeping our campaign going, even if it was at a reduced level, was something we could do that didn’t focus on our own situation. Our corporate leadership has always believed in being a good corporate citizen. That dedication to continue on despite our circumstances is really what kept us going.”

Westfall is equally proud of the Isle’s 2006 campaign, which along with corporative gifts totaled more than $150,000 a few months after the casino opened.

The dedication displayed by the Isle and other casinos like it is something the public really wouldn’t expect a devastated company to do, Alexander said. But it’s something she has come to expect from the casinos, whose donations typically represent 26 percent of the agency’s annual campaign. Thousands of dollars are generated through a variety of methods, including annual employee campaigns, generous corporate donations and in-kind sponsorships or fundraisers, she said.

“There is always a demand for companies to do something when there’s a disaster, and we definitely saw that type of caring after Katrina,” she said. “Many out-of-state companies donated to United Way and similar agencies. But it was our casinos that kept giving, even while they were suffering and seemingly had little to give.”

Alexander said most of the casinos that typically held employee campaigns got back on track as early as last year with the same or similar level of giving than before Katrina.

“Over $1 million was raised in our 2006 campaign, and that is amazing when you consider that so many lives on the Coast were still in transition,” she said. “I attribute a lot of that to the casinos, who continue to be wonderful, generous corporate citizens.”

In contrast to the structured employee campaigns for United Way is the wide variety of corporate giving offered by casinos such as IP Casino, Resort and Spa.

The casino doesn’t hold United Way campaigns, but instead supports close to 40 local charities and civic organizations ranging from Biloxi’s FEMA Recovery Fund to community arts festivals.

According to reports, IP’s donations in 2007 totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars, including $500,000 to Biloxi’s FEMA Recovery, $200,000 to Habitat for Humanity, $30,000 to American Heart Association, $15,000 for the Crawfish Festival and $5,000 for the Back Bay Mission.

Although most companies that help others cite their responsibility as a good “corporate citizen,” Stevens said there’s another reason IP’s corporate giving rose to an all-time high in 2007.

“Our corporate leaders have always felt it was vital to give back to the community, but that need is intensified now,” she said. “We have a strong desire to help the Coast rebuild and regain its strong tourism business. In order to accomplish this, we have to help the community in order to get the community back. And that is a commitment we intend to keep.”