New Survey Shows Almost Half of Americans Believe Ukraine Should Get as Much Help from Companies as from the U.S. Govt.

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Jun 02, 2022, 09:00 ET

52% of Americans More Likely to Engage with Businesses that Support Ukraine–Influencing Purchasing Decisions

POTOMAC, Md., June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sparo, a Microsoft for Startups Company committed to revolutionizing corporate social responsibility for retailers and online merchants, released today the results of a new study and omnibus survey on the sentiments of U.S. consumers relating to corporate giving and philanthropy in response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

According to the "Purchase with a Purpose" poll, 43% of Americans believe that the government and U.S. businesses share an equally weighted responsibility to support Ukraine during this ongoing global crisis.

This finding arrives in time with ongoing news and debates around both governments and businesses doing more for Ukraine. For instance, the Biden Administration recently called for $33 billion in military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to support Ukraine. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself recently estimated that it would cost roughly $600 billion to rebuild Ukraine fully.

Additionally, the survey found that the war in Ukraine is putting retail businesses on notice by their customers. The data shows that 52% of Americans say they'd be more likely to engage with a company/consider buying their products if they were aware of their steps to support Ukraine.

For those who believe corporations could be doing more or haven't been doing enough to demonstrate support for Ukraine, 43% of their main criticism is that the actions of corporations and U.S. businesses feel more "have to" versus "want to," meaning they are too performative and episode-driven versus being authentic. The generation that thinks this the most are those ages 18-29 at 51%.

Other finding from the survey include:

Around one-third of respondents (34%) believe corporations and U.S. businesses have adequately shown their support for Ukraine, whether it be through financial commitments, removing stores, restaurants, and other conveniences, or speaking out on social channels.
31% of respondents believe corporations and U.S. businesses have been taking positive steps but could be doing more in this environment to
Support the crisis in Ukraine, whereas 9% think corporations and U.S. businesses have not been doing enough to demonstrate support for Ukraine.
Almost half of Americans (47%) are looking for ways to give back to nonprofits worldwide.

Moving forward, one solution for meeting this new consumer demand for corporations to improve the authenticity and volume of philanthropic efforts is to increase opportunities for corporations to give back year-round, not just for current events, and in a less episode-driven way. That's why platforms like Sparo make it easy for businesses – especially retailers – to add an element of altruism to their business model. Using Sparo, companies can identify any number of charities worldwide and allow their customers to pick which one their sales will benefit. While the financial responsibility is on the company, the consumer is invited to participate.

"With this new appetite for corporate accountability, we will likely see more and more consumers begin prioritizing or practicing more socially conscious purchasing," Sparo CEO Rob Sobhani told Fortune. "Today's consumers are smart—and will be able to tell when philanthropy is genuinely woven into a company's DNA or as a core part of their brand ethos versus performative or self-serving in nature. Sparo is a Microsoft-partnered startup that helps companies solicit donations for causes when customers buy goods or services."

To learn more about Sparo's offerings, visit https://www.sparo.com/. To learn more about the "Purchase with a Purpose" poll, visit Sparo's blog at https://www.sparo.com/2022/05/10/helping-ukraine-is-good-business.

About Sparo Corporation
Sparo is a Microsoft for Startups Company founded by scholar entrepreneur Rob Sobhani to democratize global charitable giving. Sparo's services are powered by a plugin that seamlessly integrates into all e-commerce platforms, allowing online shoppers the option to designate a percentage of their sale to a charity of their choice at checkout, on any given day. Through its six issued patents, Sparo aims to become a company of global consequence by monetizing the intersection of e-commerce and philanthropy, games and donations, sweepstakes and charities, and AI and giving. Sparo operates globally and is a member of Holland based WorldStartups.To learn more about Sparo's offerings, visit https://www.sparo.com/.

About the Survey & Methodology
This pulse survey was fielded among 1,000 U.S. Adults 18+ between April 22 and April 26, 2022. The audience is weighted to be nationally representative of the U.S. population and the margin of error is +/- 3.6%. The survey was conducted using an online interview administered to members of the YouGov Plc panel of individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.

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SOURCE Sparo