How do companies
choose among many good causes?
Some companies confine
their philanthropy to specific:
- populations such as children,
- program areas such as the arts or health,
- locations such as where they have plants or headquarters,
and/or
- expenditures such as capital campaigns or operations.
Check corporate websites to learn their priorities. “It’s unfortunate to tell someone that
their request is outside of our four key areas,” says
Patricia C. DeYoung, assistant director/administrator
of the Darden 
Restaurants Foundation. The company
has a long history of philanthropy in the Arts, Social
Services and Education beginning while they were
part of General Mills, Inc., and they added Natural
Resources/ Environmental when they were spun off
in 1995.
Noticeably health is not one of their categories,
yet the foundation is a funding partner for the eXtreme
Health Challenge—a puppetry program that
teaches children about obesity and healthy lifestyles. “None
of our Trustees has medical training and they have
elected not to fund in areas where they do not have
the knowledge to help them make sound decisions,” DeYoung
explains, “but we do fund Nutrition projects.
We look at this grant as not only an arts project,
but one that teaches good nutritional habits. We
also value collaboration with other grantmakers.”
Many funders have confidence supporting a health
project that has received a grant from the Local
Funding Partnerships program of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation. After the yearlong competitive
review by the nation’s largest philanthropy
committed solely to health and health care, grantmakers
are free to focus on other considerations such as
what types of expenses they are being asked to support.
Unlike some foundations, corporate philanthropy
may allow contributions to capital or basic operations. “We
do some capital funding,” notes DeYoung, “but
we do more operational and program funding. You can
have a new facility and wonderful program strategies,
but if you can’t keep the lights on, the phones
working and employ enough staff: it’s just
a building.”
DeYoung adds that no matter how many millions are
allocated to the foundation each year, “It
is never enough, the needs are so great.” So
how do they decide among applicants? Their website
(http://www.dardenrestaurants.com/com_overview_mission.asp) spells out their criteria.
In addition to fitting into one or more of their
funding areas, there is location: applications must
come from Central Florida (company headquarters)
or one of their 10 CAP (Community Alliance Program)
cities. The nonprofit must also demonstrate that
their operation reflects the company’s core
values such as diversity, integrity, teamwork and
standards of excellence.
Finally, there is the “sweat equity” factor. “If
our employees already volunteer with this organization
or are engaged in this cause, we try to honor their
investment with corporate support,” says DeYoung.
The Darden Restaurants Foundation served as
the nominating funder for MicheLee Puppets 2005 LFP
matching grant for the
eXtreme Health Challenge.
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