Simple Solutions for Corporate Philanthropy — and Corporate Execs

The importance of corporate philanthropy resonates today more than ever, as companies are expected to engage employees and give back to the communities in which they do business. Corporate leaders, too, find themselves embracing philanthropic commitments: from serving on a nonprofit board or chairing a civic committee, to leading a fundraiser or mentoring through an alma mater.

No matter what your corporate charitable needs are, the Trust can help identify and administer a vehicle that helps deliver community impact with clarity and ease.

A Resource for Corporations

The Chicago Community Trust partners with corporations in a variety of ways to help facilitate and administer their corporate philanthropy:

Open a corporate donor advised fund

Creating structure around corporate giving is simplified with a corporate advised fund at the Chicago Community Trust. Corporations can place a percentage of profits into their corporate advised fund, then make distributions to organizations selected by the company’s executives or employees.

Train next-gen philanthropists through our Young Leaders Fund

A growing number of young professionals desire increased impact from their giving—and the experience of giving with peers. Through the Young Leaders Fund at The Chicago Community Trust, your employees can build their professional network, learn about philanthropy and leverage their contribution into much larger impact distributions to nonprofit organizations.

A Resource for Corporate Executives

Many corporate executives are often just as busy in their civic and social lives as they are with their work. The Trust serves as a resource for corporate leaders to help them streamline their giving and increase their charitable impact.

Simplify with a donor advised fund

With great civic commitments often come numerous charitable gifts, and tracking down those gift receipts at tax time can be a headache. With a donor advised fund, an executive makes one annual contribution to his or her donor advised fund, and receives one gift receipt for tax purposes. The donor can then recommend grants out of the donor advised fund account to multiple charities throughout the year. Corporate leaders who wish to give with appreciated stock can contribute stock to a donor advised fund with the Trust—a double tax benefit since the Trust doesn’t pay capital gains on the sale of the stock after it is contributed.

Planning with equity assets

Corporate leaders, including board members and C-suite executives, often receive compensation in the form of company stock. The Trust can accept gifts of publicly traded securities as funding for a donor advised fund. But there may be other planning opportunities for corporate leaders who own company shares: pre-IPO, single-stock concentration, and equity compensation. Learn more

Collaborate with the Trust

In addition to offering donor advised funds, The Chicago Community Trust also helps philanthropists identify issue areas and organizations to support. The Trust can organize site visits, provide recommendations on a funding strategy and help assess the impact of giving. Donors can also choose to align their grants with the strategy of The Chicago Community Trust as a way to amplify the impact of their charitable dollars.

Find more details in our Supporting Corporate Philanthropy and Corporate Executives fact sheet. Or contact us to hear more about our services, and explore the right giving option for you.