The extent and distribution of charitable contributions by corporations were studied. In addition to a history of giving from 1936 to 1981, information is presented on corporate contributions in 1977 in terms of the distribution of companies (1) by size of contributions, (2) by contributions as percentage of net income, (3) by industry, and (4) by size of company as measured by total assets. Findings include the following: total corporate charitable contributions, as reported for tax purposes, rose from nearly $800 million in 1970 to about $1.8 million in 1977, but the distribution of corporations in terms of amounts and percentages of giving did not change appreciably; more than 90 percent of corporations with assets over $1 billion reported contributions; more than 80 percent of companies with $25 million or more of assets reported contributions; and the largest donors accounted for half of all contributions but only 40 percent of corporate taxable income. Appended materials include: a discussion of the quality of Internal Revenue Service contributions data; a discussion of the measurement of corporate giving as a percentage of corporate profits; and an article on a similar 1970 study entitled, "Corporate Giving Measures" by Thomas Vasquez. (SW)