Finding Philanthropic Funding: Focus on Corporate and Family Foundations

Like community foundations, corporate and family foundations usually focus their grantmaking, gifts, or sponsorships based on specific priorities such as education, homelessness, literacy, arts and culture, or job training. It is important to understand their priorities before submitting your application for funding. Do your homework to identify a foundation whose philanthropy supports your funding needs. Be aware that some foundations may hold specific political, social, cultural, or religious views. If your views do not align with theirs, it is not advisable to apply. 

Some corporate or family foundations may limit their grantmaking to areas of the country where they are headquartered and have local facilities, plants, or offices. If a company has a large national presence, such as Home Depot, Lowe's, JCPenney, Walmart, or Target, their corporate philanthropy may be open to eligible applicants across the country. Depending on the company foundation or family trust, you will have to determine if your organization is eligible to apply.

If an opportunity has closed, mark your calendar for next year’s solicitation. Create a funding opportunity calendar with key deadlines that are posted by corporate, family, and community foundations. If you find out that a deadline has passed, it will likely recycle and become available again next year. An opportunities calendar is a good idea. You may not have the capacity to apply for everything, but keeping a calendar is a useful planning tool that helps you prioritize the time needed to apply for the most meaningful or lucrative grants.

If a corporate or family foundation’s philanthropic opportunity is “by invitation only,” decide if you want to contact them and ask for consideration. If you don’t try, you won’t know. Refer to the Guide on how to write a Letter of Inquiry. Corporate foundation officers may not be as open to chatting with you as community foundation officers. They are usually more business-like and run their grantmaking activities like a business. If you contact someone, keep the conversation brief and to the point. Introduce your organization and outline its needs. If you succeed in having face time with a corporate or family foundation officer, make sure to send a formal thank-you note. This strategy may not help you earn bonus points on a grant application, but since so few people bother with business etiquette anymore, you are more likely to be remembered. That’s the point.
 

Thank the foundation for considering your application even if you are rejected. Try again the next time their grant or gift opportunity becomes available. If you are rejected, send a formal thank-you letter expressing your appreciation for the opportunity of having your application considered. Most people won’t take the time to do this. But thank-you notes are highly regarded, and they can make the difference in the next grant competition. Professional courtesy goes a long way toward developing and sustaining relationships with corporate foundations.

States with many companies, especially larger companies with significant corporate profits, will have more corporate foundations offering philanthropic opportunities in the form of grants, gifts, scholarships, sponsorships, or matching gifts than states that do not have as many companies. For example, New York has 101.5 times the number of corporate foundations located in the state as North Dakota, a difference of 10,050%. While it is more manageable to keep track of the corporate philanthropic opportunities offered by North Dakota’s six (6) foundations than New York’s 609, research, identify, and keep track of the foundations that closely align with your values and funding needs.