A corporation may use a corporate (private) foundation or establish a corporate giving (direct giving) program as their method for providing philanthropic support. In some cases, a corporation may have both a giving program and a foundation. A corporate giving program established and administered within a profit-making company and a separate private foundation with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status are each qualifying entities for this category.
Corporate Foundations
To qualify for membership in CMF, a corporate foundation must meet the following criteria:
- Be a legally registered 501(c)(3) private operating/non-operating foundation.
- Grantmaking should be the primary purpose of this organization, not to solely fund the organization.
Corporate Giving Programs
For a corporate giving program, grants go directly to charitable organizations from the corporation. A corporate giving program does not have a separate endowment. Grantmaking is planned as part of the company’s annual budgeting process and it is usually funded with pre-tax income based on the profitability of the company.
To qualify for membership in CMF, a corporate giving program must meet the following criteria:
- Contributions are made by the corporation, not by employees.
- Grantmaking should be a minimum of $5,000 annually.
Corporate Foundations and Corporate Giving Programs
For those corporations that have both eligible corporate giving programs and corporate foundations, CMF recommends joining as one entity based on the combined grantmaking of these organizations. This will allow employees of both organizations to access and maximize CMF member benefits.
Dues Information
Corporate foundations pay annual dues based on assets:
| Current Assets |
Dues |
| Less than $500,000 |
$420 |
| $500,000 - < $1M (Million) |
$730 |
| $1M - < $2M |
$1,000 |
| $2M - < $4M |
$1,500 |
| $4M - < $6M |
$1,950 |
| $6M - < $8M |
$2,350 |
| $8M - < $10M |
$3,000 |
| $10M - < $20M |
$4,050 |
| $20M - < $40M |
$6,100 |
| $40M - < $60M |
$8,500 |
| $60M - < $80M |
$9,700 |
| $80M - < $100M |
$11,100 |
| $100M - < $200M |
$12,450 |
| $200M - < $400M |
$17,000 |
| $400M - < $600M |
$21,400 |
| $600M - < $800M |
$26,500 |
| $800M - < $1B (Billion) |
$31,800 |
| $1B - < $2B |
$34,200 |
| $2B - < $3B |
$41,300 |
| $3B - < $4B |
$52,000 |
| $4B or greater |
$91,800 |
Corporate giving programs and corporations with both a giving program and a foundation pay annual dues based on annual grantmaking:
| Annual Grants (previous FY) |
Dues |
| $5,000 - $50,000 |
$730 |
| $50,000 - $99,999 |
$1,000 |
| $100,000 - $199,999 |
$1,500 |
| $200,000 - $299,999 |
$1,950 |
| $300,000 - $399,999 |
$2,350 |
| $400,000 - $499,999 |
$3,000 |
| $500,000 - $999,999 |
$4,050 |
| $1M - $1,999,999 |
$6,100 |
| $2M - $2,999,999 |
$8,500 |
| $3M - $3,999,999 |
$9,700 |
| $4M - $4,999,999 |
$11,100 |
| $5M - $9,999,999 |
$12,450 |
| $10M - $19,999,999 |
$17,000 |
| $20M or Greater |
$21,400 |
Note: IRS self-dealing rules prohibit private foundations (including company foundations formed as private foundations) from entering into a range of financial transactions with disqualified persons, including transactions that provide a tangible economic benefit to a disqualified person. Since a corporation is virtually always a substantial contributor to the foundation it sponsors, it is considered a disqualified person. For that reason, if the foundation and a corporate giving program share a membership in CMF where both could receive tangible benefits, CMF recommends that membership dues be paid by the corporation to remove the legal complexities of self-dealing issues that are otherwise possible.
