Georg von Schnurbein

Exclusive corporate philanthropy: rethinking the nexus of CSR and corporate philanthropy

Purpose - This article adds to a better understanding of relationship of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate philanthropy. We argue that corporate philanthropy is exclusive to CSR because of their different characteristics. Design/methodology/approach - This article is based on a profound literature review and discusses the relationship of CSR and corporate philanthropy from a theoretical point of view. By conceptually combining the CSR pyramid and the triple bottom line approach we show that corporate philanthropy has a special role outside of the classical CSR concept. Findings - Four fundaments of corporate philanthropy - economic, motivational, creative, and moral – are described that illustrate the importance and outstanding role of corporate philanthropy for today’s businesses. Based on these, we formulate three new forms of corporate giving, volunteering, and foundations, which we subsume under the novel notion of ‘exclusive corporate philanthropy’. Research limitations/implications - The main contribution of this paper for future research is to regard corporate philanthropy as exclusive to CSR. Future studies might therefore consider the different characteristics of corporate philanthropy and engage in an empirical investigation of this new type. Practical implications - Our model of exclusive corporate philanthropy provides practitioners with a better understanding of how corporate philanthropy can be rolled out today. Originality/value - This paper offers a new perspective on the relationship of CSR and corporate philanthropy. Based on the economic, motivational, creative, and moral characteristics of corporate philanthropy, we establish a clear distinction between the two concepts.

Benefits and Drivers of Nonprofit Revenue Concentration

Nonprofit organizations (NPO) rely on a diverse mix of revenue sources. The existing literature mainly supports diversification among different revenue sources as desirable because it enables organizational stability. Using a new data set of over 200 Swiss fundraising charities, we prove the opposite to be true: organizations that displayed a higher degree of revenue concentration grew stronger between 2005 and 2012. We identify factors influencing the organization’s capital and revenue structure. These factors can be divided into “nature” and “nurture” factors, which allows us to demonstrate which of them may be actively influenced by an organization’s management and which stem from conditions of the organization that cannot be readily overcome by managerial interventions (such as age, size, and legal form). Revenue concentration is positively influenced both by an organization’s geographical range of activity and dependence on its primary revenue source, and negatively influenced by board size and diversity.

Governance systems of grant-making foundations

This article aims at filling an important gap in governance literature. Most governance studies are board-focused and hardly differentiate between different types of non-profit organisations. Surveys on governance structures of independent grant-making foundations are almost non-existent in the current literature. Due to the heavy focus on boards, the roles of executive directors in governance are somewhat neglected. This article presents the results of a multiple case study research project with 12 grant-making foundations in Germany and Switzerland with chief executives as interview partners. Findings show that the roles of the board and the executive director in governance functions vary. Different patterns of foundation governance are evident. Based on a model developed by Saidel and Harlan (1998), we showcase four governance structures in grant-making foundations and use ideal-typical organisational charts for illustration. The results of this study shed light on the black boxes of foundations and inform practice and research alike.

Foundations in Switzerland: Between the American and the German Cases:

This article considers the current state of the Swiss foundation sector in relation to both its own historical development and its counterparts in Germany and the United States. Through a descriptive analysis of the database of the Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS) of 11,619 foundations and a case study of 2,679 foundations in 7 cantons, we show that despite the similarities to Germany in historical growth and to the United States in asset distribution Swiss foundations are unique in density and fields of activity they pursue. In terms of roles Swiss foundations are close to the U.S. foundations in their emphasis on complementarity, but in terms of approach are close to Germany with a significant number of grant-making foundations. Overall, it is found that despite some socioeconomic transformations in Switzerland the categorization of the foundation sector close to a liberal model has not fundamentally changed.

The Codification of Nonprofit Governance – A Comparative Analysis of Swiss and German Nonprofit Governance Codes

Purpose – During the last decade, several nonprofit governance codes have emerged in Germany and Switzerland. In contrast to the corporate sector, where one code exists in each country, the nonprofit sector has not unified its initiatives on governance guidelines. This research study searches for reasons of this heterogeneity by analyzing the content of the governance codes.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a comparative content analysis of 15 governance codes from Germany and Switzerland, this survey gives some insight about the different range of issues and levels of detail.Findings – The findings report a great variety among the nonprofit governance codes. Three different clusters are defined in order to classify the governance codes regarding their information detailedness. Some codes present the basic principles, others give detailed information on focused subjects, and some others function as soft law with a large scope. Additionally, the kind of the producers does have an influence on the content of nonprofit governance codes.Research limitations/implications – The survey is limited because of its geographically focus. However, several implications for further research can be drawn, that are of international relevance. Better knowledge is necessary about the implementation of the governance codes. Additionally, further influence factors on the content of governance besides the kind of the producers have to be analyzed. Finally, it would be interesting to test the acceptance of the codes and the participation process of development among a larger group of organizations that complies with a governance code.Originality/value – For the first time, a complete list of all nonprofit governance codes in the two countries was conducted as a basis for this study. Former studies used a smaller sample of governance codes without clarifying the reasons for the selection.

Risiko- und innovationsorientierte Förderleistungen von Stiftungen

Das Stiftungswesen erlebt seit gut zehn Jahren eine intemationale Renaissance. In der Schweiz lasst sich das mit einigen Fakten belegen: Seit 1995 hat sich die Anzahl der unter eidgenossischer Aufsicht stehenden Stiftungen von 1′347 auf 2′531 fast verdoppelt und das ausgewiesene Stiftungskapital fur diese Stiftungen betragt ca. 22 Mrd. CHF.1 Insgesamt gibt es in der Schweiz rund 10.000 gemeinnutzige Stiftungen mit etwa 40 Mrd. CHF Stiftungsvermogen und die Tendenz ist weiter zunehmend.2 Auch in anderen Landern Europas wachst der Stiftungssektor unubersehbar.3.

Die philanthropische Infrastruktur der Schweiz für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung

Die Idee der nachhaltigen Entwicklung hat sich seit dem Brundtland-Bericht im Jahre 1987 als umfassendes Transformationskonzept im politischen und gesellschaftlichen Diskurs weit verbreitet und etabliert (Takeuchi und Komiyama 2006). Vor allem Unternehmen wurde eine entscheidende Rolle im Nachhaltigkeitsdiskurs zugesprochen, da sie zum einen Ausgangspunkt von Nachhaltigkeitsproblemen sind und gleichzeitig wesentlich zu ihren Losungen beitragen konnen (Schaltegger und Beckmann 2014).

Finanzierung und Wachstum von Nonprofit-Organisationen

Die Finanzierung von Nonprofit-Organisationen (NPO) unterscheidet sich in wesentlichen Aspekten von der Unternehmensfinanzierung. Aus der Literatur lasst sich erkennen, dass vieles, was die Entwicklung von NPO beeinflusst, bereits bei der Grundung der Organisation festgelegt wird. Deshalb wird im Folgenden auf der Grundlage der Pfadabhangigkeitstheorie das Finanzmanagement von NPO betrachtet, um zu klaren, welche Folgen ein statisches Organisationsverhalten auf die Finanzierung der NPO hat und welche Faktoren finanzielles Wachstum in NPO beeinflussen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Organisationen in einem Lock-in-Status weniger freies Organisationskapital aufbauen konnen und uber geringere Ertrage verfugen. Mit Blick auf die Finanzierung von NPO stellt sich deshalb die Herausforderung, einen stabilen – und damit planbaren – Finanzierungs-Mix fur die eigene NPO zu entwickeln. Dazu bedarf es eines umfassenden Finanzmanagements, das Spenden, Staatsbeitrage, eigene Ertrage und Finanzertrage unter Berucksichtigung des eigenen Organisationszwecks aufeinander abstimmt und gleichzeitig die Gefahren einer zu starren Finanzplanung verhindert.

Giving in Switzerland: High Engagement and International Outreach

The philanthropic history of Switzerland reaches back to the middle ages (Degen, 2010). Wealthy people donated based on Christian belief and charity for hospitals, orphanages and almshouses. Some of these early examples of giving continue to exist today, such as the ‘Inselspital’ in Berne which roots back to a foundation from 1354 (Purtschert, von Schnurbein, & Beccarelli, 2003). Despite these early examples, the development of philanthropy in Switzerland is closely related to the development of the modern Confederation1 in the 19th century (Degen, 2010). During the brief existence of the first centralized state, the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1809, the old elites lost their hegemony while new forms of social engagement developed. The Swiss Benevolent Society (Schweizerische Gemeinnutzige Gesellschaft), founded in 1810, was especially a driving force in the development of social standards and establishment of many nonprofits in areas such as education, poor relief, elderly care and youth welfare (Schumacher, 2010). Other relevant movements in the 19th century were self-help organizations (co-operations), leisure and culture associations, and the foundation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863 (von Schnurbein, 2013). The idea for the ICRC was developed by Geneva citizen, Henri Dunant, after having witnessed the aftermath of the Battle at Solferino. He wanted to create a neutral organization that offered assistance to war victims regardless of affiliation or nationality.

Foundation Governance im Kontext von Reputation und Legitimation

Stiftungen stehen heute starker im Blickfeld der Offentlichkeit. Einerseits nutzen die Stiftungen dies, um ihre Tatigkeiten kommunikativ zu unterstutzen, andererseits werden Stiftungen auch kritischer betrachtet. Fur den ersten Aspekt ist die Reputation von zentraler Bedeutung, der zweite Aspekt stellt die Legitimation der Stiftung in Frage. Dieser Beitrag untersucht mit Hilfe theoretischer Gestaltungsansatze, wie Foundation Governance zur Starkung von Reputation und Legitimation der Stiftung eingesetzt werden kann. Zentrale Aspekte sind dabei die Stakeholder-Orientierung der Stiftung sowie die Governance-Grundsatze Transparenz, Machtausgleich und Wirksamkeit.