Indicator: Businesses' Involvement With Community

Outcome (s): Communities creating collaborative partnerships.

Why This is Important

Partnerships between businesses and schools or other community groups often result in benefits for the community and the business. It is a sound avenue towards long-term economic growth. .

Where We Stand

A sample of Maine business executives was asked, "How well does the following statement describe your company: Our company takes an interest and gets involved in local school and civic events." In 2001, nearly half (46%) responded “well” or “very well,” a slight increase over the previous two years. The following chart shows that in the two most recent years, businesses with more employees were more likely to respond “well” or “very well” than small firms.

Data Source and Context

*This is a bi-annual survey. The next results are expected in 2007. Data for this indicator comes from the Maine Development Foundation’s Annual Survey of Maine Businesses. Both the 2000 and 2001 surveys were conducted by Market Decisions, Inc. In 2000, surveys were mailed to 2,115 firms in Maine, and 568 (27%) responded; 663 of the 2,000 firms surveyed in 2001 (34%) answered. The sample ofbusinesses was drawn so that it included both manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms, as well as small-, medium- and large-sized businesses. The return rate in both years is subject to self-selection, which introduced a non-determinable, non-response bias in the data. Survey results are available on-line at http://www.mdf.org.