Shortchanging Peoria – again

Back in February I wrote about Caterpillar’s decision to move its headquarters from Peoria to the Chicago area, taking along 300 executives and support staff.  While it wouldn’t affect the largest part of the jobs there, at least for the time being, it is certainly a sign of the times, as the wealthy and upper middle class are less willing to live in small towns and more likely to demand the lifestyle of a large urban area, or the wealthy suburbs there in particular, creating a physical as well as social separation between the classes.  Looking back at that post, I was surprised that I didn’t mention the further issue that it is the upper classes who take on many aspects of community leadership, including local fundraising and charitable support, and I suspect that this trend also harms the community in that way.

Now there’s a follow-up article in the Tribune, “For Caterpillar, charity begins at new home,” which reports that

When Caterpillar opens its new Chicago-area corporate headquarters later this year, it will bring along millions of dollars dedicated to charitable contributions — a treasure trove many local nonprofits and community groups are eager to tap.

That’s the expectation of experts and consultants, who know how the world of philanthropic giving and fundraising ticks. Indeed, they’ve been anticipating Cat’s arrival since its January relocation announcement. . . .

Not ready to provide details, Cat says it intends to be actively involved in local philanthropy. . . .

Last year, Cat’s foundation gave out $36.8 million worldwide, including almost $7 million in Illinois, according to the company. It is also a huge supporter of causes, events and venues in Peoria.

“As we relocate our global headquarters to the region, we look forward to building on that foundation of community involvement,” Bridget M. Young, spokeswoman for the foundation, said in an email to me. “We invest in the communities where we live and work, and the Chicago area is no different.”

So, unless Caterpillar intends to increase its total philanthropic “spend,” Peoria will lose out in yet another way, because what’s Chicago’s gain, will surely be Peoria’s loss.  And how will Caterpillar apportion the dollars going to Peoria vs. Chicago?  It’s unlikely that it’d be based on relative headcounts in various locations — but rather more likely that Chicago, as the site of the top executives, will get a significantly disproportionate amount of funds and attention from those executives.

Image:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APeoria_-_Caterpillar_Administration_Building_from_Savings_Tower.jpg; By Roger Wollstadt from Sarasota, Florida [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons