Money for good: The relationship between corporations and their charitable foundations
Corporations have a long standing tradition of ‘doing good’. But it wasn’t always about impact. Often, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities or charitable donation programmes have had to posture for glossy sustainability reports rather than to genuinely provide lasting and measurable social benefit to a community or improve environmental conditions. To be taken seriously these days, philanthropic practice has to be more impactful and reflected. Public awareness also raise higher expectations of constructive and innovative project work than ever before.
Corporate foundations are separately governed entities that are, in theory and by law, supposed to be independent of the originating company, and exist to deliver social benefit. The charitable objects may align with the nature of the business or its stakeholders, but it is not supposed to exist in order to deliver benefits to the company. In practice their independence varies greatly in the degree to which they are actually independent in their decision-making, from the originating company, and usually, at some level, deliver benefits to the company in terms of reputation, license to operate, community building or risk-management.
In this session we will focus on the relationship between the corporate entity and the corporate foundation, this relationship within the context of corporate money for good. Opportunities and challenges will be addressed such as issues around governance, decision-making, integration and alignment with the business, mutual influencing, risk, and public perception to understand the role that corporate foundations can and should play.
Chair: Elly Walsh, Head of UK Community Investment, Rothschild & Co
Speakers: Sam Parker, Director, Shell Foundation; Andy Wates, Director, Wates Foundation; Nathaniel Peat, Social Entrepreneur & Trustee EY Foundation.
Philanthropy Impact would like to thank Rothschild Private Wealth for generously hosting this event.