Requests for support from corporate foundations are expected to rise as the economy worsens, but some major companies indicate that they don't plan to increase their grantmaking in 2009, Reuters reported Nov. 4.

Giving in 2009 will remain at about the same rate as in 2008, according to officials at the Bank of America, General Electric, and Wells Fargo. "We're getting about 20 percent more requests," a Wells Fargo spokesperson noted. "We have been focused on providing more grants [in smaller amounts] to meet the large volume of requests."

On the other hand, companies like Wal-Mart and ExxonMobil, which have continued to thrive despite the overall decline in the nation's economic fortunes, are expected to continue to increase their charitable giving. The Wal-Mart Foundation plans to focus its grantmaking on communities that have been hardest hit by the economic crisis, officials said.