North Suburban Peer Network
October 17, 2006 - The North Suburban Peer Network provides an open, comfortable forum for discussion of issues related to corporate and foundation grantmakers in the north suburban Chicago area. Many thanks to Ruth Crane for hosting this meeting.

North Suburban Peer Network
March 1, 2005 - The following topics were discussed:

Managing matching gifts

• Using outsourcing resources to detect fraud in matching gifts
  
• Complexities in managing matching gifts when the company acquires other companies

Using online grants

• Security issues related to data leaving headquarters
  
• Using online grants systems for everything except checkwriting

Using grants management software

• No capacity to archive information

Managing Executive placement on nonprofit boards

• Outsourcing placement
• Focusing on strategic placement
• Executive contributions to nonprofits on whose boards they serve
• Demonstration of executive or employee commitment to nonprofit through time and personal financial contribution is needed before company will make a contribution.
• Placement is managed by company CEO.
• If the company did not make the board placement, there is no contribution from the company.

International giving

• Challenges in coordinating events overseas
• Contributing to markets where company's associates are located
• Handling contributions through expenditure responsibility or equivalency determination

Setting Up a Retiree Volunteer Program
November 3, 2004 - Mary Ann Mallahan, Illinois Tool Works Inc., presented an overview of the company's Retiree Volunteer Program. In getting its program started around 1990, the company engaged National Retired Volunteer Council as a consultant to assist in planning. Key lessons:

To get started, use prominent, retired company leaders from headquarters to lead initial planning or focus groups to test interest and plan strategy. Leader should then become directly involved and should be someone with credibility and visibility.

Work with the company's legal department from the beginning. Define the initial audience and send CEO invitation to participate. Define mission. Prepare by-laws and establish the basis for leadership elections and terms of office. Establish committees for communications, administration (for monthly officers' meetings), volunteer and social programs. Be aware of your company's retirees' profiles, including snowbirds' schedules. Take this into account in identifying leadership and structure. Establish a budget that includes support for technology, software and training, mailings. Obtain insurance, especially if event transportation is related to the company.

Empower the board of the retirees' group to explore and define activities. Listen to retirees to identify goals and activities and empower them to create their independence; give them responsibility to carry out programs. Develop job descriptions and be clear about responsibilities for volunteers. Clarify succession planning for leadership roles and get buy in from the top.

Understand that retirees are on their own time and do not punch a clock. Stay in touch with surveys and phone calls. Be aware of building in leadership transitions over time.

Examples of activities and programs are: newsletter; sending birthday and holiday cards; running four educational programs per year. Get clearance from Human Resources for programs on topics such as changes in retiree health coverage benefits. Other sessions offered: safety, credit or identity theft.

The company supports activities when they are consistent with the mission of giving back to the community. In addition, retirees hold social events such as annual summer picnic, holiday gatherings, and theater outings. The company does not pay for social gatherings. Spouses participate, and retirees can bring two guests to events. Take photos of everything.

Emphasize that the retiree activities are "retirees giving back." This is not "the company," but the biggest hit with retirees has been hearing about the company's progress and ROI directly from the CEO at an annual retiree meeting.

Managing Decentralized, National or International Giving
September 28, 2004 - NSPN explored strategies for decentralized giving. Key points:

Generally, budgets are centralized and giving is localized.

Managers put together their request packet and submit it to corporate headquarters to cut checks. Checks are distributed locally to support building local relationships. Local employees are involved in creating the giving program so that there is buy-in. Charitable giving is managed in different business units including the company's CFO, especially for larger requests over $5,000.

Companies provide training for district-level assistants in managing decision-making meetings. Company intranet site was created to provide training on documentation necessary for charitable giving.

A monthly conference call keeps the group involved in the national giving effort connected; the company holds an annual 2 ½ day strategy session in person.

Employee involvement in giving back to the community is measured into annual performance reviews of individuals with direct responsibility.

In-kind contributions, particularly those made at the local level, are hard to capture. There are differences among companies on the basis for in-kind contributions. For some, it is the cost of manufacturing; for others, the retail value.

NSPN agreed that the corporation needs to give guidance on how the company should be seen and giving programs can leverage their role. The giving program can build employee pride by putting all aspects together, positioning it to build positive relationships with communities.

In some cases, companies prefer to develop relationships with national charities rather than local chapters in order to maximize contributions, and make it easier to decline local requests. It is important to establish polices, especially for product donations, when centralizing contributions. It was noted that governance and communications start at the top of the company, with the board of directors setting aside a given amount for contributions, setting the mission, and emphasizing the importance of communicating intentions and goals for the community.

It was noted that there must be synergy with company marketing, but contributions cannot be self-serving. Overall, companies do not manage press for contributions; instead, grantees prepare press releases. However, this is not a condition of all grant agreements. The majority of communications are internal, informing employees about contributions.

Giving programs can conduct internal audits to examine all processes: internal controls and accounts payable; building strategic community relations; integration of Matching Gifts in corporate giving for better tracking and reporting; building local manager performance into job descriptions.

Strategic Philanthropy
June 8, 2004 - The peer network's topics at this session were: What is the next phase of yourstrategic philanthropy? How does your community involvement effort align with business strategy to meet community needs and corporate goals? Time was also reserved for a peer exchange and problem solving of issues of interest to the participants. This session was hosted at Kraft Foods.

Key strategies discussed included:

• Decentralization of business units creates a framework for giving back where employees live and work, and builds company morale and community relations.
• Some efforts are centralized and strategic, others are centralized and not strategic. Overall corporate guidelines on giving help make a strategic difference and can include factors for local units to consider in making grants such as helping the company's business and gaining media exposure. This is especially important when local districts have a history of having their own approach and a central office does not have complete picture of local issues. The company's grantmaking infrastructure, that is to say, where the grantmaking program operates, can influence the effectiveness of different strategies. For example, media exposure can be enhanced when grantmaking resides in a company's communications department. It was noted that it is important to carry the message about giving both internally and externally. Clear parameters are necessary on how company marketing and communications insinuate themselves into the grantmaking program.
• It was recommended that companies seek legal counsel and consider the ethics of tying marketing to grants. While it was noted that co-marketing is seen as the future, it was also pointed out that it is difficult to meld marketing and philanthropy.
• The structure of field units and opportunities for training around local accountability for giving proves important, particularly when final decisions on giving are made in a central office. Training creates local buy-in. One strategy noted was that local sites must use the overall guidelines for 75 percent of their giving budget and have flexibility to determine the use of the balance.
• It was suggested that companies may have opportunities to work in collaboration with each other to support efforts in branch or field office communities, increase the impact of efforts, and develop other opportunities for local presence. Data about where members' local offices are located are needed to facilitate a discussion that can lead to identifying those opportunities, working through ideas and later, managing corporate donor recognition.

Differences were also noted in how product donations are managed. For some, the donation is tracked as the cost of goods. Others donate at fair market value. International donations also vary, as there is not a single system for reporting in-kind donations.

Peer Exchange
March 2, 2004 - The NSPN met for a peer exchange and problem solving of issues of interest and importance to the participants. Abbott Laboratories hosted this meeting. The North Suburban Peer Network members shared lessons learned about demonstrating the value of corporate community involvement and barriers to strategic efforts. The group considered the question of whether companies are getting the correct tax benefits from in-kind and cash contributions. NSPN participants discussed technology solutions to processing the large volume of applications and managing the review process. The group also discussed choosing to make equivalency determinations or exercising expenditure responsibility. Finally, NSPN members shared experiences that emphasized the importance of building internal and external communications strategies.

The North Suburban Peer Network members shared lessons learned about demonstrating the value of corporate community involvement and barriers to strategic efforts.

• Demonstrate corporate involvement by working with other business units. Other business units make product donations and report it, but corporate contributions programs often do not know about it.
• Work toward involving the executive level to become strategic.
• Develop internal teams comprised of marketing, public relations and corporate contributions to create synergies and build mutual knowledge.
• Expanding giving programs to other cities is challenging when companies try to make a difference with a small budget.
• Develop partnerships with community institutions that relate to the business mission and resources.
• National giving is effective when relationships are developed at a national level. Effective corporate recognition strategies include disbursing checks through local plant managers.

The group considered the question of whether companies are getting the correct tax benefits from in-kind and cash contributions. Issues for corporate involvement programs reflect structural matters, particularly when other business units or units in other field locations manage in-kind donations.

NSPN participants discussed technology solutions to processing the large volume of applications and managing the review process. Several NSPN members are using online grant management software.

Participants commented that the online application process is very successful but online reporting is difficult. Applicants still want personal contact and continue to call, although the number of phone calls has decreased.

Several NSPN members give internationally. The question of making equivalency determinations or exercising expenditure responsibility led to a suggestion to partner with organizations like Americares, particularly for product donations overseas.

Participants described their internal and external communications strategies and emphasized the importance of both to the company. Activities include: hiring a writer to produce an article every three weeks that integrates corporate social responsibility into employee engagement. Companies rely on nonprofits to write their own press releases on their own letterhead. Companies highly value local newspaper coverage. Other strategies: intranet, website, newsletter page.

Participants identified the following structural units where their contributions departments operate: government affairs, corporate communications, public affairs, corporate affairs, development, human resources, consumer affairs and community relations.

Holiday Networking Event
December 2, 2003 -
The North Suburban Peer Network held its annual Holiday Networking Event at ITW.

Peer Exchange
October 22, 2003 -
The North Suburban Peer Network held a peer exchange. The topic of discussion was "How do corporations and foundations respond to increasing pressures from nonprofits?". Strategies included:

• Let nonprofits know about the company newsletter so they can seek to place a notice in it to recruit volunteers among the company's employees.
• Refer nonprofits to the company's resource for office furniture donations.
• Provide guidance on writing proposals.
• Clarify funding priorities, especially when the company only supports organizations in the communities where its employees live and work.
• Train staff assistant to screen calls and delegate the responsibility.
• Refer nonprofits to the company website's community relations section if the funding guidelines are not on the site.
• Identify opportunities for nonprofit mergers or collaborations among agencies providing similar services or working in the same

Peer Exchange
September 24, 2003 - The Peer Network held a meeting at the Motorola Campus, Schaumburg. The group reviewed and affirmed the statement of purpose that Susan Kessler and Mary Ann Mallahan drafted:

The purpose of the North Suburban Peer Network is to provide an open, comfortable forum for discussion of issues related to corporate and foundation grantmakers in the north suburban Chicago area. Discussions are strictly confidential and attendees must be corporate or foundation grantmakers. The networking group is supported by the Donors Forum of Chicago.

Participants discussed how corporate contributions programs could be part of the team in corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. During corporate change:

• Branded programs are important in raising awareness of the contributions program.
• Identify tax issues associated with closing an acquired foundation; refer issues to corporate attorney.
• Discuss whether to disallow matching gifts promised before companies were acquired; discuss whether to honor scholarships of employees' children even if business units are divested.

Other topics and problem-solving on the agenda:

• Using company intranet to track in-kind contributions from sites around the country.
• Accepting proposals online with company access to login anywhere.
• Strategic planning for disaster relief that ties corporate products or services to donations and builds relationships for the company.
• Ideas for companies' holiday activities: serve at-risk children, families of military who are overseas
• Outsourcing matching gifts and other support
• Conducting internal audits to assess what to change

Networking Meeting
June 24, 2003 - NSPN held a networking meeting at Illinois Tool Works on June 24.

The group agreed upon the importance of the confidentiality of its discussions. A strategy for sharing lessons learned through the group with others is to refer grantmakers to the individual who shared issues at a meeting, rather than directly sharing comments provided at the meetings with those who did not attend. Susie Kessler stated that she would draft a statement of purpose for the group that includes confidentiality. She and Mary Ann Mallahan will review it and then share it with the group.

The group emphasized the value of its quarterly peer exchanges and will continue this practice, reserving time for problem-solving at each meeting.

The group discussed several topics:

• Administration of matching grants programs can be facilitated through online sources such as cybergrants that verifies 501c3 status.
• Design of applications for internal business units includes questions about sitting on boards, whether employees volunteer at the organization, and level of review and approval.
• Importance of having a relationship with organizations through employees who may volunteer at the organizations.
• Importance of connecting with other business, operational, functional units to explore how the giving program enhances those efforts.
• Align philanthropic goals with the CEO; focus on corporate social responsibility.

Meeting
April 22, 2003 - NSPN participants discussed their approaches to volunteer programs and noted these key strategies:

• Support employees in their interests, but activities must fit corporate guidelines
• Efforts are administered through the philanthropic services office, community relations or human resources
• Companies have different policies on time off for employee involvement that reflects impact on production lines
• Opportunities for retirees is also a valued contribution.
• Payout is made from foundation or corporation, but is not mixed.
• Employees can use Matching Gifts programs to add to their registration fee for "walks."
• Watch for fraudulent use of Matching Gifts programs.

The group decided to maintain its peer exchange model and not invite outside speakers in order to maintain its "safe space" for sharing issues about operations and policies.

Meeting
January 28, 2003
Participants discussed lessons learned in managing global grantmaking programs and volunteer involvement.

Product donations are handled separately from grants. All grants are made in U.S. dollars and are in the amount of the day of approval; fluctuations in the value of the dollar do not change the award amounts. Giving worldwide through a foundation is easier because tax laws allow giving overseas. If the corporation gives locally in overseas markets, funds must come out of operating budgets. Volunteer participation needs to be more structured for overseas operations.

Participants noted the strain the economy has placed on operating giving programs and corporate foundations in the context of staff reductions and increased numbers of requests for funds. Some funders do not send denial letters to new applicants, only to current grantees. Some funders have stopped sending denial letters or postcards due to the high administrative staff costs.

Global responsibilities:
Participants discussed lessons learned in managing global grantmaking programs and volunteer involvement. Several members noted that companies are in the process of conducting audits or exploring their overseas markets and planning grantmaking.

With more employees and greater profits overseas, a higher proportion of grants is made overseas. Product donations are handled separately from grants. All grants are made in U.S. dollars and are in the amount of the day of approval; fluctuations in the value of the dollar do not change the award amounts. Giving worldwide through a foundation is easier because tax laws allow giving overseas. If the corporation gives locally in overseas markets, funds must come out of operating budgets. Volunteer participation needs to be more structured for overseas operations.

Those just getting started in opening giving in overseas markets should focus on one location, establish some success in working with employee groups there, make funding awards that make a difference, enlist support and reinforcement from top leadership, and then move on to other locations building on the success story.

Matching Gifts:
Members identified different timetables for paying out matching gifts that ranged from weekly and every ten days to quarterly. Matching gifts formulas that were identified ranged from one-for-one, two-for-one for the first $500, to three-for-one up to $2,500.

Members also discussed problems with fraud in matching gifts programs, particularly in payments to scholarship funds. One suggestion was to ask the suspect nonprofit organization to complete and sign an affidavit to verify funds will not be used for tuition.

Barbara Kemmis handed out the Council on Michigan Foundations A Guide for a Successful Matching Gift Program.

Effect of the economy on operations:
Participants noted the strain the economy has placed on operating giving programs and corporate foundations in the context of staff reductions and increased numbers of requests for funds. Some funders do not send denial letters to new applicants, only to current grantees. Some funders have stopped sending denial letters or postcards due to the high administrative staff costs. One company hires temporary staff once a week to prepare correspondence.

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