Corporate Foundations

Partner Service & Sales Training

Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility

I. Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility

II. Benefits of a Corporate Private FoundationIII. BizCentral USA’s Corporate Social

Responsibility InitiativesIV. “Foundation-in-a-Box” Package

What is Corporate Social Responsibility?

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): is a form of corporate self regulation and giving integrated into a business model.

• A business would embrace responsibility for the impact of their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.

• Essentially, CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision making.

What is a Corporate Foundation?

• Corporate Private Foundation: • A private foundation is a nonprofit agency that is funded

largely by an individual, family, or business.

• To enjoy tax privileges, a private foundation must be

officially recognized as a charitable organization by the

IRS.

• Unlike public charities, private

foundations typically do not solicit

donations, as they cannot receive

more than one-third of their total

income from public sources.

Private Foundation vs. Public Charity

• While both private foundations and public charities are 501(c)(3) organizations, there is quite a substantial difference between the two types of entities. • Private foundations normally receive most of their

contributions from relatively few sources, such as a wealthy individual or corporation, and typically offer more control over private funding and giving.

• A public charity, on the other hand, is either "publicly supported" (deriving a substantial portion of its financial support from the public) or functions to support one or more organizations that are classified as public charities.

Foundations & CSR

• Companies that have created corporate foundations or corporate giving programs have discovered that partnerships between private enterprise and public interest can produce profitable outcomes for all.

• The charitable donations of old are now being managed as investments, subject to the same rigors of analysis as other business practices. The numbers indicate clearly: companies large and small do well by doing good.

• 83% of Americans have a more positive image of companies that support a cause they care about

• 65% of Americans would switch to a brand associated with a good cause, price and quality being equal

• 87% of employees at companies with cause marketing programs feel a stronger sense of loyalty to their employers

• Source: 1999 Cone/Roper Cause Trends Report

Benefits of a Corporate Private Foundation

I. Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility

II. Benefits of a Corporate Private FoundationIII. BizCentral USA’s Corporate Social

Responsibility InitiativesIV. “Foundation-in-a-Box” Package

Everyone Benefits

• Businesses of all sizes have reaped the benefits of market share, human resource, and public relations advantages that philanthropy offers, through programs that align community responsibility with business needs.

• Addressing the problems of the people in your community can—and does—stimulate business development.

• Better education today means a more skilled workforce tomorrow; lower inner-city unemployment means higher consumption in the inner city.

• Companies can share a wide range of resources with their communities, including time, money, talent, and products… plus enjoy tax relief!

Tax Relief

• Donating money to charity via a company’s corporate giving program or foundation can be a very tax efficient way of supporting your chosen cause.

• When a company makes a donation, it gets tax relief by deducting the amount given from profits and pays less corporate income tax.

• Generally, a corporation may take a deduction of up to 10% of its taxable income for the year.

Tax Deductions

• Donations to a private foundation are tax deductible. However, it is important to understand that not all monies are necessarily going directly to charity immediately.

• The private foundation is only required to distribute 5% of its asset value per year to charity, and may invest additional portions of its endowment as a means of generating sustainable income for the foundation’s programs.

Tax Deductions

• Therefore, the IRS has established limits on how much of your charitable deduction can be used in any particular year.

– For a corporation, the total of contributions that may be deducted as a donation to a private foundation is an amount equal to 10% of the company’s taxable income for the year. However, excess contributions that exceed this limitation may be “carried over” and deducted in up to 5 subsequent years.

Staff Recruitment & Retention

• Staff Recruitment and Retention:

• A corporate foundation can help support a companies mission, enhance their bottom line and even give them a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining employees. 

Staff Recruitment & Retention

• Corporate Giving: Employee Programs – Donating paid time off (PTO) is a great way to encourage employees to

donate because it enables them to contribute without having to provide cash out of pocket. It is also a good way for a company to reduce its liability for having too much unused PTO on the books.

– Group volunteer activities enable corporations to bring groups of employees together and enjoy the benefits of team building, leadership development and enhanced communication facilitation between employees and work groups.  Group volunteer activities can be informal or strategic depending on the goals you set out for the activity ahead of time.

– Holding a fundraiser for a community-benefit organization is a great way to engage employees in that community organization's mission. Fundraisers can be creative and fun.

– Employee Emergency Relief Funds may be one of the most valuable and appreciated corporate giving programs that could be implemented.  An Employee Emergency Relief Fund is designed to provide confidential financial assistance to employees who are experiencing economic hardship or verifiable emergency situations.

In-Kind Gifts

• In-Kind Gifts: • Contributions of non-cash goods, also known as in-kind gifts, can assist

many corporations in inventory reduction, while providing additional tax benefits, as a merchant or manufacturer C corporation is entitled to an enhanced deduction for a charitable contribution of inventory.

• In-Kind gifts could be anything like the following:• furniture

• computers

• office equipment

• financial and administrative support services

• meeting space

• mailing services

• computer services

• printing and duplicating • graphic arts/design • advertising/promotion/marketing • legal assistance • tax, business, and financial

advice • strategic planning

BizCentral’s CSR Initiatives

I. Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility

II. Benefits of a Corporate Private FoundationIII. BizCentral USA’s Corporate Social

Responsibility InitiativesIV. “Foundation-in-a-Box” Package

BizCentral’s CSR

• The BizCentral USA staff has served in leadership capacities with a variety of initiatives, providing both governance and hands-on service within the community.

• The Corporation encourages employee volunteerism by promoting volunteer opportunities and by making it easy for employees to participate.

• Since its founding, BizCentral USA has demonstrated the philanthropic spirit by supporting the efforts of a variety of nonprofit organizations.

Our Corporate Contributions

• Through our Corporate Giving Program, notable organizations such as Autism Speaks and HelpNet USA have been able to better serve their constituents due to the company’s generous financial contributions.

• The company’s sponsorship of HelpNet USA’s unique web portal has facilitated collaboration between nonprofits and their constituents allowing for the availability of a variety of indispensable resources that assist both the individual and the organization in need.

In-Kind Gifts

• In addition to supporting organizations financially, BizCentral USA contributes to extraordinary causes through in-kind donations.

• The Corporation provides products and services that are vital to the administration of our nation’s charities and churches.

• We recognize that financial resources can sometimes be limited even for the most essential organizations; therefore, we offer in-kind donations of services to organizations with which the administration and employees have established relationships.

Complimentary Nonprofit Resources

• As a service to the nonprofit community, and in realization that successful mission fulfillment depends primarily on adequate fund development, the company has made available to nonprofits a plethora of free fundraising resources.

• We believe that by assisting growing organizations in generating the revenue needed to invest in their organization’s administration, we are investing in the creation of a healthy, vibrant nonprofit sector.

“Foundation-in-a-Box” Package

I. Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility

II. Benefits of a Corporate Private FoundationIII. BizCentral USA’s Corporate Social

Responsibility InitiativesIV. “Foundation-in-a-Box” Package

Steps to Getting Started

• We begin by offering a Startup Checklist to establish a starting point.

• These are many commonly asked questions that a company should consider before establishing their foundation.

Getting Started

• Selling the Foundation in a Box Package:

• Your target market may vary when selling a corporate foundation package.

• Most often you will not sell this sort of package to a company with less than 20 employees.

• Keep in mind that your ideal sell would be to a company that is ready to make the next step in their business ventures.