Corporate Philanthropy Newsletter: April 2018
As I begin my tenure at the Council as your Corporate Philanthropy Director, I am truly delighted to work with such a diverse portfolio of companies and foundations committed to advancing social impact. After working in the nonprofit and corporate space over the past several years, I believe this is an exciting time for both the business community and the philanthropic sector at large. With more corporations focusing on innovation, scaling impact, collaboration around shared values and exploring concepts such as impact investing and social enterprises, the opportunities to creatively leverage resources to deepen and enhance social good within business markets are endless.
Whether you have a desire to embrace the sustainable development goals, better communicate your business value across the organization, strengthen compliance standards or align Diversity & Inclusion practices with your CSR objectives --- I look forward to collaborating with each of you to strengthen the Council’s corporate programming to meet your specific needs.
As your partner in this work, I am committed to becoming intrinsically familiar with your respective giving agendas, making connections across issue areas and foundation types that are beneficial to you, fostering collaborative spaces that amplify the corporate voice in the field and ensuring that corporate philanthropy remains a priority for the Council.
I am always happy to hear from you. Please feel free to keep me informed of topics that spark your interest, solutions that support your strategies, questions you are grappling with or networks you would like to build. I am just a call/email away. Additionally, I will be attending the CECP Summit, May 22-23 in NYC and the Social Innovation Summit, June 4 – 6 in San Francisco. If you are planning to attend either event, please let me know so we can find time to connect.
Many thanks to the following corporate foundations who have recently joined the Council for 2018:
- Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation
- The Swinerton Foundation
Best,
Lindsay Mason
Director, Corporate Philanthropy
P: 703-879-0735 | E: Lindsay.Mason@cof.org
COUNCIL NEWS
As you may have heard, Vikki Spruill, our President & CEO will be leaving the Council on Foundations on June 1 to return to her passion of ocean conservation as the CEO of the New England Aquarium. Gene Cochrane, former President of The Duke Endowment, will serve as interim President while Board Chair and President of the Miami Foundation, Javier Alberto Soto leads outreach efforts to gather your feedback on what qualities you would like to see in the next leader of the Council. Board Vice Chair Jamie Merisotis will be leading a search committee.
Javier’s blog posts, Charting A New Course Together, Leadership In A Changing World and We're Listening encourage us all to play a role in shaping the future of the Council and its leadership. Feel free to email outreach@cof.org if you have comments or recommendations.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Lunch with Legal Counsel: Issues for Corporate Consideration | May 16 | 2-3 pm
Join Suzanne Friday, Senior Legal Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Council, as she shares some of the biggest legal issues facing corporate philanthropy today. Register now to be first to get updates on the topics to be discussed.
Inclusive Economic Prosperity in the South | May 23-24 | Spartanburg, SC
Meet Steve Ballmer, Co-Founder, Baller Group, Chairman of the Los Angeles Clippers and Former CEO of Microsoft as he shares his efforts to improve economic opportunities for families throughout the United States. Sponsored by Milliken and the BMW Foundation, this two-day convening will also explore philanthropy’s role in economic development and the intersection of public/private partnerships in building a healthy local and regional economy.
CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY NEWS
Charitable Giving by Corporations Is Also About Getting -- A new study explores the relationship between corporate giving and political influence/motivations. Via The New York Times
The Conference Board and Mission Measurement Announce Partnership – Two organizations join forces to develop a benchmark study on corporate philanthropy and social impact. Via The Conference Board
A Challenge for Philanthropy: Spurring the Poor to Seek Social Mobility Over Stability – Learn how corporations are expanding grantmaking strategies to support both short and long-term investments in areas of need. Via Chronicle of Philanthropy
YourCause Global Goals Gateway Enables Corporations & Nonprofits to Align Impact with UN Sustainable Goals -- Software provider, YourCause, develops capabilities to incorporate Sustainable Development Goals into their charitable giving platform. Via CSR News
A Threat to Global Affairs, A Call to Corporate Citizenship -- Discover ways corporations are adopting the sustainable development goals and its impact on corporate citizenship. Via Minnesota Council on Foundations
2018 GRANTMAKERS SALARY & BENEFITS SURVEY – NOW OPEN
The GSB Survey provides grantmakers with the ability to benchmark staff compensation and composition against others in the sector. To learn where your corporate giving and/or foundation stands on salary and benefits and to inform your upcoming budgets, request an invitation to participant in this year’s survey by emailing communications@cof.org.
The 2018 Survey is open through May 14 and all participants receive access to a custom benchmarking tool in mid-September. Please note: Council membership is NOT required to participate.
