Corporate Relations & Engagement

The Walmart Foundation Is Perfect Example of How Corporate Philanthropy Is Changing
January 11, 2017 at 8:00 am

Recently, we argued that the once-sleepy world of corporate philanthropy is getting a lot more sophisticated as funders sharpen their priorities and "fuse traditional grantmaking with market-based approaches in ways that traditional foundations either can’t or won’t do." We also noted how corporate philanthropy was getting more tightly yoked to the quest for higher profits. Changes…

Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander Pledges $4 Million to Charity
December 22, 2016 at 2:00 pm

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander's team might have started the season on a roll that arrived sooner than he expected, but it could not win a championship in December. So on Tuesday, he concentrated on the other half of his mission statement. The Rockets announced that Alexander would give a donation of $4 million to eight…

Make Better Presentations With 10 Powerful Tips
December 22, 2016 at 9:00 am

Imagine if you could make great presentations. I’m not talking about merely good speeches. Instead, I’m speaking of truly memorable, meaningful, influential presentations at staff meetings, board meetings, professional conferences and gatherings of prospects and donors. Would taking your presentations to the next level help you more effectively guide your staff, inform your board, teach…

NFL to Move on From Pink October, Teams Will Choose Cancer Charity
December 19, 2016 at 8:00 am

The NFL will discontinue its Breast Cancer Awareness initiative after next season, reports TheMMQB.com's Jenny Vrentas. For the last eight years, players wore pink during the month of October. Instead, the league will allow teams to choose their own causes to support in a campaign that will be called, "A Crucial Catch." More from Vrentas:…

eBay Launches 'Gifts That Give Back' Initiative for Charities
December 15, 2016 at 8:00 am

We’re used to scouring eBay for scoring deals on designer duds, or for maybe finding that obscure vacuum part. But now the online market behemoth has jumped into the world of charity gifting. Launched on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29, the eBay for Charity team’s new "Gifts That Give Back initiative" allows charitable organizations to “sell”…

A Corporate Scrooge No More? Amazon’s Philanthropy Reshapes Its Reputation—to a Point
December 15, 2016 at 8:00 am

Amazon has been making headlines recently—and not just for the stories you’d expect. The Seattle-based tech giant is providing housing for homeless families, contributing large sums to the University of Washington’s computer science program and supporting a mass-transit initiative. Amazon’s CEO and founder, Jeff Bezos, has joined with his family to donate millions to Seattle institutions such as the Museum…

Google Donated Its Employees' Holiday Gifts to Charity
December 12, 2016 at 8:00 am

The employee perks at Google are legendary, and they’ve always included an over-the-top holiday gift for every employee. In the past, the company has surprised its 70,000 employees with Nexus phones, Android smartwatches and Chromebooks. This year, employees speculated they might get Google’s new Pixel phones or a Google Home unit, the company’s competitor to…

What Happens When a 30-Year-Old Corporate Foundation Shuts Down
December 2, 2016 at 9:32 am

When a longstanding grant-maker sunsets, what happens to its signature programs? Can a final round of grants sustain them by transferring the work elsewhere? The Hitachi Foundation, closing up shop by the end of the year, hopes so. Following a three-year planning process around the shut-down, it’s going out with a bang: $11 million grants…

Patagonia's Black Friday Sales Raised $10M for Charity
November 29, 2016 at 9:42 am

Patagonia, the high-end outdoor clothing retailer, is donating its entire Black Friday sales to grassroots environmental organizations around the world. The retailer reported a "record-breaking" $10 million in Black Friday sales—about five times higher than expected—and said it will give every penny to nonprofits fighting "to protect our air, water and soil for future generations.…

Patagonia Will Donate 100 Percent of Black Friday Sales to Charity
November 23, 2016 at 8:00 am

Patagonia plans to donate 100 percent of its sales on Black Friday, Nov. 25, to the environment. The company will donate that money to small grassroots organizations that fight for clean water, air and soil. It will work with One Percent For The Planet, an environmental non-profit network, to get the funds to the grassroots organization.…