Answers to the 12 most common and critical questions about corporate giving In this groundbreaking resource, Weeden shows how to strategically plan, manage and evaluate corporate contributions. Questions include: Why Should We Give?; How Much?; Who Decides?; Does a Company Need a Foundation?; How to Give Products or Services?; How Do We Know What Works? The book covers a wide range of topics including: The case for conditional corporate philanthropy; increasing stewardship to give more; assigning responsibility for signature programs; how CEOs leverage contributions programs for maximum benefit; effectively staffing corporate contributions programs; the pros and cons of corporate foundations; and more. Offers benchmarks for determining if a business has a meaningful philanthropic program that fosters constructive corporate citizenship Reveals how an effective philanthropic program and commitment can be incorporated in any organization Contains a comprehensive review of the information corporations need to make informed decisions about giving The author offers a prescription for linking businesses with causes and the nonprofits addressing critical issues in a way that will preserve or restore services and activities essential to our quality of life.

Companies increasingly play a meaningful role in civil society and the philanthropic sector through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Philanthropy (CP). The most well studied form of allocating these resources is through outright contributions to operating external foundations and other nonprofit organizations. However, far less is known about the use of corporate foundations, separate and independent nonprofit entities aimed at channeling corporate giving to a social mission related to a company. Corporate foundations are often linked to the founding company through their name, funding, trustees, administration and potential employee involvement. As these foundations are growing in number, size and importance and becoming increasingly visible in the philanthropic sector, the urgency to understand their role and functioning becomes more important. The primary aim of this volume is to deliver a holistic analysis of the current state-of-the-art on corporate foundations. For that reason, the book includes different perspectives on and use a hybrid concept of corporate foundations. The book includes three main parts. First, looking further into the organizational processes of corporate foundations, the book analyzes governance and operations as major aspects of organizational performance. Second, it sheds light on the role of corporate foundations in various institutional settings. Lastly, the book includes various stakeholder perspectives on corporate foundations, including corporate employees, beneficiaries, and their non-profit partners. By reading the book, readers will build a comprehensive understanding of the role and functioning of corporate foundations, understand new avenues for research and, in case they are practitioners in the field, find practical advice rooted in academic research. ​

Why does a deserving charity struggle to make ends meet while another which squanders money, thrive? Because there is a structural disconnect between revenue and expenses in the nonprofit world. Is continuous growth the hallmark of a successful charity? No, it’s just the opposite – the ultimate aim of a charity is to be extinct. Would you use volunteers if it actually cost more than hiring paid skilled staff? Yes, if engagement with the community is crucial. Call these examples, ironies, paradoxes or simply insights into why the charity sector is what it is. Doing Good Well is a thinking man’s guide to the nonprofit world. It is replete with nonprofit paradigms. It provides a different twist to what one might regard as straightforward notions such as mission, staff compensation, governance and corporate social responsibility. And it surprises and challenges even as it seeks to explain charity-specific issues such as charitableness, bridging the rich/poor divide, informed giving and social entrepreneurship. And as he deconstructs existing paradigms, Willie Cheng creates new ones. Through an easy writing style, hearty anecdotes and thought-provoking perspectives, Cheng engages the readers with a strategic review of not just the status quo but also the enormous potential in the nonprofit world. The theme of the book is change. Inasmuch as charities are about changing society for the better, this book seeks to set the stage for interesting introspection. Whether you are a volunteer, business executive, nonprofit worker, governor or regulator, it’s time to start asking the questions that would help the charity sector itself change for the better. In Cheng’s words, charity is no longer simply about "Just Doing Good" but "Doing Good Well."

Corporate citizenship refers to the way a company integrates basic social values with everyday business practices, operations and policies. A corporate citizenship company understands that its own success is intertwined with societal health and well being. Therefore, it takes into account its impact on all stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities, suppliers, and the natural environment. This handbook draws from the author?s experience crafting and implementing philanthropic and volunteer strategies with companies such as IBM, Exxon, Mobil, 3M, and General Mills. A step-by-step primer on creating a comprehensive corporate citizenship program, The Good Corporate Citizen lays out how companies can maximize this exciting new trend. Doris Rubenstein (Minneapolis, MN) has worked for over 25 years with some of America?s most respected nonprofit organizations.

Foundations play an essential part in the philanthropic activity that defines so much of American life. No other nation provides its foundations with so much autonomy and freedom of action as does the United States. Liberated both from the daily discipline of the market and from direct control by government, American foundations understandably attract great attention. As David Hammack and Helmut Anheier note in this volume, "Americans have criticized foundations for... their alleged conservatism, liberalism, elitism, radicalism, devotion to religious tradition, hostility to religion—in short, for commitments to causes whose significance can be measured, in part, by the controversies they provoke. Americans have also criticized foundations for ineffectiveness and even foolishness." Their size alone conveys some sense of the significance of American foundations, whose assets amounted to over $530 billion in 2008 despite a dramatic decline of almost 22 percent in the previous year. And in 2008 foundation grants totaled over $45 billion. But what roles have foundations actually played over time, and what distinctive roles do they fill today? How have they shaped American society, how much difference do they make? What roles are foundations likely to play in the future? This comprehensive volume, the product of a three-year project supported by the Aspen Institute's program on the Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy, provides the most thorough effort ever to assess the impact and significance of the nation's large foundations. In it, leading researchers explore how foundations have shaped—or failed to shape—each of the key fields of foundation work. American Foundations takes the reader on a wide-ranging tour, evaluating foundation efforts in education, scientific and medical research, health care, social welfare, international relations, arts and culture, religion, and social change.

Make sense of the new regulatory requirements with expert clarification and practical tools for compliance Private Foundations: Tax Law and Compliance, 5th Edition provides clarification, expert insight, and helpful instruction for executives and supporting professionals navigating extensive federal tax law requirements. Despite their relatively low numbers, private foundations are subject to complex, burdensome regulations that continue to expand; the recent tax overhaul has compounded this issue, bringing massive changes beyond the usual annual adjustments, and throwing a wrench into the status quo of compliance-as-usual. This book summarizes and clarifies the statutory regulations governing private foundations, offers expert insight into the underlying logic, and provides a host of practical tools that ease the filing process and help ensure compliance with the latest laws. Detailed explanations are bolstered by checklists, sample documents and letters, practice forms, and real-world examples in order to provide both conceptual and practical guidance for maintaining tax-exempt eligibility and tax compliance. By untangling the complex maze of constantly-evolving requirements, this book offers a much-needed resource to those tasked with ensuring compliance amidst regulatory changes year after year. Learn how the recent changes to tax laws affect private foundations and related organizations Understand the practical implications of maintaining compliance Access critical tools that help streamline the filing process Avoid mistakes and oversights with line-by-line instruction This book is updated annually to provide guidance based on the most recent iteration of the law, but this year’s edition is unusually critical; federal law has undergone sweeping changes that will substantially alter filings across the board, and the complex nature of the regulations governing private foundations promises additional confusion as the new laws are applied. Private Foundations: Tax Law and Compliance, 5th Edition provides insight, clarification, and explanation from the nation's leading authority on tax-exempt organizations to help private foundations maintain compliance amidst the changes.