Happy New Year! I am following news out of Davos and reading about new partnerships on critical issues, like MasterCard’s leadership to announce a new partnership on refugees and the new $50 million partnership of companies and foundations, including UBS, to scale technology to improve last-mile healthcare globally. As we kick off a new year, I’m excited to see the leadership role many companies are playing in driving social change, in the U.S. and around the world.

Earlier this week, BlackRock’s founder and chief executive, Laurence Fink, informed leaders of some of the world’s largest corporations that they need to contribute to society to continue receiving his company’s support. We are grateful that in your work as corporate grantmakers, you see the value in partnering with philanthropy and others to achieve greater social impacts (and strengthen the ways you tell the stories of your impact).

To further develop our corporate program, the Council is actively recruiting for a new Director of Corporate Philanthropy. If you know of anyone who would be great for the job, please share the job posting and encourage them to apply.

I also want to thank the following corporate members who have joined the Council for 2018: 

• VF Foundation
• Delta Dental Community Care Foundation
• Pitney Bowes Foundation
• Southern Company Charitable Foundation
• HMC Designing Futures Foundation
• American Tower Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Welcome to the Council!

Best,
Natalie Ross
Vice President, External Relations

UPCOMING CORPORATE WEBINARS

How Will Tax Reform Affect Corporate Giving?

SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday February 21, 2:00 PM EST

Join the Council’s Senior Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs, Suzanne Friday, as she examines certain provisions of the Tax Reform Act and how those provisions affect philanthropy in general, but more specifically corporate foundations and corporate giving programs. This webinar will also discuss whether lower corporate taxes may mean greater corporate giving, as well as review emerging trends.

Diversity of Thought: Atlas Corps Fellows Program

Thursday February 28 2:00PM EST

Next month, the Council is partnering with American Express and Atlas Corps to host a webinar about the Atlas Corps Fellows Program. The Council and American Express will share how participation in the Atlas Corps Fellows program helped strengthen our work and diversify our organization.

Atlas Corps facilitates overseas fellowships for the best of the world's rising leaders who volunteer for 12-18 months at American organizations working on social issues. During the last 12 years, Atlas Corps placed 600 leaders from 88 different countries at many of the world's leading organizations, including AirBnB, American Red Cross, Nike Foundation, Points of Light, UN Foundation, and many more.

Join us for a discussion with Scott Beale, Founder and CEO of Atlas Corps; Richard Brown from American Express and their fellow, Abeer Pamuk (Syria), alongside myself and the Council’s own fellow, Maxsalia Salmon (Jamaica) to learn more about Atlas Corps.

RECENT WEBINAR RECORDINGS

The Council hosted four corporate legal webinars in 2017 which can be accessed by our members at any time at no additional cost.

• LEGAL AND TAX COMPLIANCE FOR CORPORATE GRANTMAKERS: SELF-DEALING & CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
• EXPENDITURE RESPONSIBILITY VS. EQUIVALENCY DETERMINATION: HOW TO CHOOSE
• LEGAL AND TAX COMPLIANCE FOR CORPORATE GRANTMAKERS: SELF-DEALING
• INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL AND TAX COMPLIANCE FOR CORPORATE GRANTMAKERS

THE TAX BILL HAS PASSED - WHAT DOES IT MEAN AND WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Comprehensive tax reform was signed into law last month and many in the philanthropic sector are wondering what it will mean for our work and what comes next in the Council’s advocacy work on Capitol Hill.

The Council’s Senior Vice President of Government Relations, Hadar Susskind, took a detailed look at the tax law and led a discussion on the legislative provisions that will impact philanthropy and charities in a webinar earlier this month. During the webinar Hadar also discussed next steps for raising our sector's priorities in the government relations arena. This webinar is free to Council members and can be viewed below.

Recent Corporate Philanthropy News

CSR Matters—Leading CSR Practitioners Make Predictions for 2018: Practitioners believe that many social and environmental events of 2017 created new chapters in the evolution of corporate social responsibility. In a recent article in the Huffington Post, leading CSR practitioners weighed in what they see as hot trends in CSR for 2018.

Highlights include:

• Empathy is the new currency in the marketplace.
• ‘Leaders Who Care’ will attract the top talent.
• Increasing importance of the role of data and analytics.
• Resource constraints continue to drive business decisions and innovation.
• Continued emphasis on social impact and how it integrates into business strategy.

Apple partners with Malala Yousafzai’s Malala Fund to help advance girls’ education.

Chan Zuckerberg philanthropy taps UMass Amherst to create AI scientific research tool.

This $100 Million Project is the Latest Example of the Boom in Parks Philanthropy.

Council Membership Renewal is Underway

Membership renewal ends on April 30, 2018. With your continued financial support, the Council will ensure that you stay up-to-date with developments affecting the sector and continue to provide resources to improve your work. Please take 90 seconds to share your intentions with us. Doing so will opt you out of receiving select 2018 renewal messages.

Yes, we intend to renew.
We are undecided on renewing.
No, we will not renew.

Thank you for your membership.

Upcoming Council Events

This American Moment: Bridging Religious Divides | January 31, 2018 | Washington, D.C.

During a time of growing partisanship, polarization, and religious bigotry, this event will explore the current fractured state of religious diversity in America and opportunities for action. Alongside activists, policy makers and experts, foundation leaders will explore the role philanthropy can play to bridge religious divides, supporting the philanthropic sector’s efforts to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive country. This event is by invite only. Please email me for an invitation.

North American Community Foundations Summit | February 5-6, 2018 | Mexico City

The first North American Community Foundations Summit will explore how community foundations can focus their energy locally and globally to support progress toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Summit will connect local leadership to a global agenda by creating space for community foundations, other philanthropic organizations, and partners from different sectors to build relationships, exchange ideas and ensure that together we “leave no one behind.”

Public Policy Summit | April 11-13, 2018| Philadelphia, PA

The Council’s inaugural Public Policy Summit promises to engage foundation leaders, policy experts, media representatives, and elected officials in important conversations around the policy issues that are critical to ensuring philanthropy can flourish. Register now.

#News: UN Global Goals need effective community philanthropy, says @COF_ report https://t.co/RJBKDVMdnq pic.twitter.com/jIhS9Si4Oz

— Alliance magazine (@Alliancemag) February 9, 2018