Corporate foundations

Corporate foundations are philanthropic organisations created and supported, both financially and non-financially, by a company.

There is no legal definition of a corporate foundation, nor a single model for its creation: the strategic priorities and structure depend on the ambitions, resources, requirements, and the scale on which the foundation intends to operate.

According to a survey conducted by Vita in collaboration with Assifero, there are over 150 corporate foundations in Italy. These organisations adopt different forms, depending on the available resources and the specific objectives they aim to achieve.

The strategic alignment with the reference company

Impact Europe has defined four types of strategic alignments between the corporate foundation and the parent company:

01
Nonmaterial alignment

It is focused on the enhancement of the ability to create social change for the company through the nonmaterial assets and the geographical presence.

02
Thematic alignment

Foundations adopting this approach, align their mission and/or core focus areas with social issues that are materially important to the company.

03
Industry alignment

The mission of the foundation is strictly connected with social issues related to the corporate industry with the aim of advancing best practices or setting new industrywide standards.

04
Business alignment

Foundation with this kind of alignment integrate their mission with the company's purpose or long-term (inclusive) business strategy, with the aim of investing in social innovations that can potentially be scaled through the company's value chain.

Governance

The governance structure of the foundation and its Board of Directors can have a varied composition, but usually includes the participation of one or more employees from the parent company.

The convergence between CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and corporate foundations.

 

Corporate foundations began to develop in Italy starting in the 2000s, with a few specific cases preceding that period, and were initially established as separate entities, operating independently from the efforts of the parent company.

In recent years, however, there has been a gradual strategic convergence between the goals and activities of corporate foundations and the broader Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy of the company. This is evidenced by the fact that, in many cases, the person responsible for CSR also holds the top position in the foundation.

The active involvement of employees

Opportunities

Employee engagement programs can help the corporate foundation provide better services and/or reach a larger number of people
 

Through employee engagement programs, corporate foundations can develop specific skills and acquire additional knowledge and experience.

Employee engagement programs can serve as a starting point for more stable and systematic future collaborations between the foundation and the parent company
Corporate foundations can tap into employees and their extended networks to raise awareness about social issues and the positive contributions of the organisation.

Employees can expand the pool of financial resources available to the foundation, its programs, and its activities

Risks

Building and maintaining relationships, as well as hosting numerous volunteers, requires corporate foundations to invest time, energy, and resources

Especially in volunteer programs, employees may lack the skills or experience necessary to provide the appropriate service to corporate foundations

Even if employees have advanced technical skills, they may not possess the appropriate interpersonal abilities to interact with vulnerable individuals or manage complex situations

 

Many corporate foundations involved in the Impact Europe study feel the pressure to organise fun and enjoyable activities for company employees to pave the way for future collaborations. However, all of this can be very time-consuming and may also drain resources from core activities

 

Sometimes employees are unable to complete a project because their availability changes or they leave the company. In these cases, there is a risk that the work done remains unused, and all the time and resources invested by the foundations are wasted

Our corporate foundations members