Corporate Philanthropic Strategy in K–12: Missions, Grantee Selection, and Grant Evaluation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: Philanthropic Giving: The Who, What, and Why of Giving

Abstract

Corporate foundations' strategy exposes motives for investing in K-12. To understand corporate philanthropic strategy, I use qualitative data from 27 interviews with Fortune 300 corporate foundation leaders and these organizations’ mission statements. I investigate vision and mission statements, grantee selection, and evaluation processes. A few foundations use philanthropy as a marketing tool without maximizing grant impact, aligning grants with K-12 needs, or developing a theory of action for improving education. Other corporate foundations are strategic about their grant-making with a specific vision and mission, deliberate grantee selection, and an elaborate process of impact evaluation, all to improve the K-12.

Author

• Leila Morsy, University of New South Wales