Corporate Grantmakers

A corporate foundation is a private foundation that gets its funds from a company or corporation. It is independently created for the purpose of making grants. Corporate foundations:

• frequently assume responsibility for the company's philanthropic giving
• typically start with a single gift endowment that the company can add to as it wishes
• are often governed by company owners or key executives
• are subject to the same tax regulations as private foundations.

Corporate foundations are distinct from "corporate giving programs" that are administered within a corporation. Corporate giving programs make grants for limited purposes closely associated with the interests of the company, although this is not always the case.

The two types of giving are usually coordinated under a general policy but in some cases a private foundation bearing a name associated with a company may have few if any ties with the original source of funds.