State Dept. Award Winners Also Clinton Foundation Donors

Most of the companies nominated for the State Department Award for Corporate Excellence while Hillary Clinton was serving as Secretary of State, and most of the winners, have donated heavily over the years to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea
Clinton Foundation, a comparison of the donor records and awards notices reveals.

While the donor records don't give the exact dates of the contributions, but rather totals them through 2014, The Washington Examiner notes Friday that 22 of the 37 companies that were nominated while Clinton was in office are on the donor lists, as are six of the eight eventual winners, and that most of the money appears to have been given before 2013. 

In 2009, tech giant Cisco was the largest contributor to be nominated, and according to the Clinton records donated between $1 million and $5 million, which includes a contribution made in 2014. Cisco won the award in 2010. Eight out of the 12 finalists and two of the three winners from that year were also found on the Foundation's lists.

The other winner that year was candy giant Mars Inc., which has donated between $25,000 and $50,000 to the foundation over the years. Coca-Cola, honored as a finalist in 2010, was the top donor of those appearing on the awards list and has been a key donor over the years, giving between $5 million and $10 million, including a contribution in 2014.

TOM's Shoes, listed as a winner in 2009, has donated between $100,000 and $250,000 over the years, and another winner in 2009, Trilogy International Partners, has donated between $50,000 and $100,000. In all, seven of the 10 finalists in 2009 are listed among the Clinton Foundation donors' list of contributors.

Seven out of the 12 finalists for the State Department award for 2011 also show up on the Clinton donors' list, with one of the winners, Procter & Gamble, contributing between $1-5 million, including a donation made in 2014. The other winner that year, Sahlman Seafoods, does not appear to have contributed to the foundation. 

One of the finalists that year, Tiger Machinery, is the Russian Division of Caterpillar Inc., reports The Examiner, and over the years, Caterpillar gave between $1,000 and $5,000 to the foundation.

And Intel, which was nominated for an award every year Clinton was secretary of state, won the award in 2012, and has donated between $250,000 and $500,000 over the years.
Out of the eight finalists in 2012, five have been foundation donors, as was one of the winners.

According to Kerry Humphrey, spokesman for the State Department Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, senior representatives from several federal agencies pick winners for the award for their service of corporate excellence abroad, including "demonstrating respect for human rights" and "promoting respect for the environment."

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