Donating to the Democratic National Convention may eventually influence politicians, but it won’t have any effect on a company’s immediate financial situation in these shaky economic times.
Some official sponsors of the host committee saw their fortunes rise in the second quarter, while other convention donors reported financial blows last week, according to the Denver Business Journal’s afternoon headlines, which read like an abbreviated list of donors.
The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News, both host committee donors of an undisclosed amount, reported their second-quarter earnings dramatically decreased.
Denver-based ProLogis, also an official sponsor of this August’s presidential nomination festivities, wouldn’t reveal how much the company donated, but did report lower funds for company operations in the second quarter.
Xcel Energy, which donated $1.1 million to both the Denver committee and the Republican National Convention’s host committee in Minnesota, was ranked No. 5 in the nation in solar energy by the Solar Electric Power Association.
Broomfield’s Ball Corp., which donated $250,000 to the Denver committee, reported company profits were lower than during the same three-month period last year.
Revenues were up for Newmont, a Denver-based mining company, which donated an undisclosed amount to the Denver host committee.
Level 3 communications, based in Broomfield, lowered its losses and increased its revenues, which may help cover the company’s $1 million donation.
While the corporate entities are required to periodically report financial numbers, the amount of their donations to the Denver host committee won’t become public until 60 days after the August convention.
Read The Colorado Independent’s investigative series on convention corporate sponsors: Corporations buy influence and ‘civic pride’ with DNC cash, DNC acquires more concrete than cocktails for convention and much more to come.
