Giving 2.0™ Guide: Corporate Philanthropy Models and Programs

These are contributions of products, services, expertise and cash equivalents. Although non-cash giving accounts for a smaller average proportion of companies’ total giving, many companies make in-kind contributions, in part because they can deduct the cost for purchasing (at cost) or manufacturing products. According to the 2021 Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose “Giving in Numbers” report, 44 percent of all corporate giving in 2020 was direct cash donated through corporate giving programs, 34 percent came from foundation gifts and 22 percent were in-kind donations.

• Example: Alaska Airlines conducts community outreach by donating flights to nonprofit organizations to help them meet necessary travel needs.

• Example: Google provides nonprofits with up to $10,000 USD of in-kind, free search advertising each month, including access to tools to help them build effective campaigns and track their marketing efforts.

• Example: Oracle, Salesforce and Box offer both free and heavily discounted product editions to eligible nonprofits and schools, alongside pro bono consulting services and capacity building opportunities.

Workplace giving contributes an estimated $5 billion to U.S. nonprofits each year. Some of the more popular workplace giving programs offered by corporations include:

• Employee Matching Gifts: A corporation makes a donation to match its employees’ charitable contributions. Some employers run seasonal giving campaigns (e.g., during Giving Tuesday) and encourage employees to create an automatic payroll deduction to donate to the nonprofit of their choice, with the company matching that donation.

• Volunteer Support Programs: Sometimes called “Dollars for Doers” or individual volunteer grants, these programs reward employees who choose to volunteer with a direct gift to a nonprofit of their choice. For instance, a company might offer a $250 donation to a nonprofit for every 15 volunteer hours invested by a company employee.

Cause-related marketing is a mutually beneficial collaboration between a corporation and a nonprofit designed to promote the corporation's sales and the nonprofit’s social mission.

• Example: American Express first coined the term “cause-related marketing” in 1983 to describe its campaign to raise money for the Statue of Liberty’s restoration. American Express donated one cent to the restoration every time someone used its charge card. As a result, the Restoration Fund raised over $1.7 million and American Express card use rose 28 percent.

• Example: In 2006, Gap became one of the founding apparel partners of (RED), a social marketing initiative conceived by U2's Bono and Bobby Shriver. The partnership is structured to benefit companies by increasing purchases of (RED)-branded products, such as red hoodies, while also increasing donations to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Gap has contributed $10 million to the Global Fund and has encouraged customers to support the fight through its (RED) partnership product collections, which have heightened awareness of the AIDS pandemic.

More and more companies are integrating pro bono services into their corporate giving programs as another way to engage employees, while investing in their communities. Though the concept of lawyers completing pro bono hours to help litigants who would otherwise be unable to afford representation is familiar, pro bono services are not constrained to the legal field. Any field of business, from software developers to tutoring services, is able to offer pro bono services depending on their areas of expertise.

• Example: The growing interest from both corporate programs and nonprofit organizations gave rise to the Taproot Foundation, which helps corporations design, implement and/or enhance their corporate pro bono offerings and connects them with potential nonprofit partners.