Date:    12/10/97  3:35 PM
Subject: s7-26-97 

Thank you for allowing public comment on the two bills referenced above. 
Our company, Vinings Investment Properties Trust, is a small, growing 
Nasdaq listed company (small cap market). 
     
We do not support the passage of these bills for the following reasons:
     
(1) Data from the American Society of Corporate Secretaries and the 
Investor Responsibility Research Center clearly show that, whenever 
shareholders have voted on proposals for additional disclosure of 
charitable contributions, they have overwhelmingly voted against such 
additional disclosure.
     
(2) The magnitude of corporate contributions in relation to other 
corporate expenditures are truly insignificant and do not justify, from a 
policy perspective, being singled out for specific disclosure in the 
proxy.  Moreover, the additional printing costs to list each contribution 
and the amount would be considerable, perhaps equal to the total of the 
contributions themselves for companies with large numbers of 
shareholders.
     
(3) The process for tabulating each shareholder's weighted vote on 
allocating the company's charitable contributions would be an enormous 
and costly burden to companies in an effort to achieve poorly conceived 
public policy.
     
(4) H.R. 945 would have the effect of eliminating corporate contributions 
except for the most non-controversial recipients at a time when Corporate 
America is being called on to support a wide range of nonprofit 
organizations servicing a wide range of philanthropic needs within our 
society.
     
(5) H.R. 945 goes against the principles of corporate law and governance 
which dictate that the business operations of a company -- including the 
determination of charitable contributions -- are the responsibility of 
management.
     
In summary, neither of these two bills will in anyway enhance a 
corporation's citizenship role in providing contributions to the 
nonprofit sector which provides for many needs of our society that are 
not otherwise supported through other means. Additionally, the bills are 
overly bureaucratic, intrusive on the legal responsibilities of corporate 
management, and provide no real benefit to shareholders.
     
Thank you for considering the points noted above.
     
Cynthia Samuels
Vinings Investment Properties Trust