Corporate Philanthropy

Question: A public television station provides thank-you gifts of varying values based upon the amount of a donor’s contribution. An employee of a corporation makes a gift to a local public television station. Can the corporate foundation match the gift as part of its matching gift program, even…

Office equipment and supplies may always be shared if the parent company provides the foundation with the equipment or supplies free of charge. It is also possible for the parent company and the foundation to share the cost of equipment and supplies, but great care needs to be taken to structure…

Question: May a company and its private foundation share employees? Answer: Yes, so long as any arrangement between the private foundation and the sponsoring company is structured in a way that does not violate the prohibition against self-dealing. Corporate foundations and their sponsoring…

Question: What should corporate foundations and their parent companies consider when purchasing tickets to fundraisers? Response: Whether they are tickets to a dinner, to a performance, or simply for general admission to a facility, tickets have an economic value. When a company or foundation…

Question: May a private company foundation support the volunteer activities of the sponsoring corporation's employees? Answer: Company foundations sometimes play a role in coordinating volunteer activities of the sponsoring corporation's employees. The IRS has approved company foundations'…

Question: Why do Council on Foundations membership materials and invoices state that if my foundation and corporate giving program share a membership, dues must be paid by the corporation? Is this true for other memberships as well? Answer: IRS self-dealing rules prohibit private foundations (…

Question: Are corporate foundations required to file electronically the 2006 Form 990 or Form 990-PF? Answer: Whether or not a corporate foundation is required to file electronically depends on a number of factors. Generally, only foundations with a substantial number of employees or consultants…

Question: Can a company provide office space to the company foundation? Answer: A parent company can always provide the company foundation with office space as long as it does so free of charge. While it is even possible for the parent company and the foundation to share the cost of office space…

Question The same company representatives serve on our company foundation board of directors and our Corporate Contributions Committee. Can we hold the meetings for both programs simultaneously? Answer No. While it is possible to hold the meetings for the corporate giving program and company…

Question: In light of current economic conditions, the corporation has asked whether the company's private foundation may honor grant commitments already made by the corporate giving program. Can the private foundation make these grants? Answer: Maybe. The facts and circumstances surrounding the…

Question: May corporate grantmakers make grants to units of government such as public schools or local parks departments? Answer: Yes, both corporate giving programs and corporate foundations may make grants to units of government as long as the grants are restricted to charitable purposes. What…

Question: May our corporate foundation or corporate giving program provide a grant to an organization that is not a charity? Answer: Yes, but the process required to make a grant to a non-charity depends on the type of corporate giving vehicle used to make the grant. Private foundations must…

Question: We are trying to decide how to structure our grants programs between our direct-giving program and our corporate foundation. Are there any general guidelines to help us? Answer: Many factors influence how to allocate grantmaking programs between a corporate giving program and a…