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.
