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Strategic in What Sense? Corporate Foundation Models in Terms of Their Institutional Independence and Closeness to Core Business

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Handbook on Corporate Foundations

Part of the book series: Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies ((NCSS))

Abstract

With the growing number of corporate foundations and their increasing visibility as philanthropic actors, interests are raised regarding the way these corporate foundations function as well as about the nature of their relationship with the founding company. The foundation literature generally assumes that a foundation’s ability to create social impact and innovation rests to a large part on their independence from external control. However, corporate foundations are dependent to varying degrees on the support of their founding company. Therefore, apparent tensions between corporate control and the freedom a foundation needs to maximize its impact exist. In this chapter, we look at the special relationship between the two entities. Based on an exploratory study, we build ideal types of foundations in relation to their institutional independence. We then test and refine these through data gathered at the first European meeting of corporate foundations. The findings allow us to distill pull and push factors that lead to a stronger alignment of corporate goals and foundation activities. The ideal types show that full independence is not necessarily the best option, as corporate foundations can benefit greatly from corporate resources in achieving their social mission.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Some foundations from banks are set up as philanthropic service providers for their customers. Overhead is paid by the bank but the money for programs comes from bank clients. This special case is not considered here.

  2. 2.

    The workshop was delivered by the Steffen Bethmann and Lonneke Roza.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Steffen Bethmann & Georg von Schnurbein

Authors
  1. Steffen Bethmann
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  2. Georg von Schnurbein
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands

    Lonneke Roza  & Lucas Meijs  & 

  2. Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS), University of Basel, Basel, Basel Stadt, Switzerland

    Steffen Bethmann  & Georg von Schnurbein  & 

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Bethmann, S., von Schnurbein, G. (2020). Strategic in What Sense? Corporate Foundation Models in Terms of Their Institutional Independence and Closeness to Core Business. In: Roza, L., Bethmann, S., Meijs, L., von Schnurbein, G. (eds) Handbook on Corporate Foundations. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25759-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25759-0_3

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