Corporate philanthropy: This is our moment to innovate  

I have been thinking a lot lately about the power of corporate philanthropy, especially at a company like Ford that has a 122-year history of supporting communities around the globe. We have stepped up to help during world wars, pandemics, and global disasters. 

But the needs of today’s communities are increasingly urgent and varied. Our country faces record-breaking billion-dollar natural disasters, and food insecurity affects one in five children. Compounding this, 77% of nonprofits say the demand for their services and programs has increased. 

This is the moment to innovate. It’s going to take all of us, working together and trying new approaches, to address some of our communities’ biggest challenges. Here are three key ways that corporate philanthropies can get more strategic about maximizing impact:  

Build on your core strengths.

Funding is, of course, always important, but innovative philanthropy is about so much more than just writing a check. Think about what other resources you can activate when, for example, a disaster hits or you’re trying to help solve a problem related to food or healthcare access. Your products? Your technologies? Logistics infrastructure?

Earlier this year, I participated in a great discussion at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference on how corporate philanthropy can better align its core competencies with the needs of the communities they serve. AT&T Foundation president Nicole Anderson shared how AT&T deploys mobile command centers to help people impacted by disasters access internet connectivity. PepsiCo Foundation president C.D. Glin talked about engaging PepsiCo’s distribution network to get resources to communities in need.   

In Ford’s case, our mobility expertise is an obvious strength, but so is something less obvious: a global dealer network with over 9,000 locations, each deeply embedded in its communities. We look at them as hyperlocal activation hubs—places where we can partner to host blood drives, food collections, disaster preparedness trainings, and more. We even built an interactive volunteer map to connect dealers and community partners with resources and support. It’s a highly efficient way to increase both the local relevancy and the scale of our impact.  

Empower your people and lean on their expertise.

Your people, and their passion for giving back, are a powerful asset. How can you make the most of their desire to volunteer? Start by matching your employees’ skills to real community needs. This can come in many forms. Imagine structural engineers lending their time to an organization like Habitat for Humanity, or vehicle designers and technicians helping to customize mobile health units.

Also, think more strategically about how the structure of your volunteering initiatives will best support your partners. Ford Philanthropy works with a number of disaster relief organizations, so we’ve helped champion an extended PTO policy at the company that empowers employees to volunteer for multiple days at a time. This was especially helpful in our work with partner Team Rubicon following Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year, and we’re currently leveraging this policy to mobilize employee volunteers to support relief and recovery efforts in communities impacted by the recent devasting Central Texas flooding. 

Create alliances.

No individual, company, or organization can solve every problem. But when we collaborate together, we can do so much more than we imagine. That’s why our philosophy is to put our nonprofit partners at the center of our work, telling their stories. They are the boots on the ground that best understand the needs of local communities, and everything we do is designed to help them scale their operations and expand the reach of the incredible work they do every day.

Beyond our partner relationships, we are also always thinking about ways that we can act as a “convener” by rallying industry peers, local stakeholders, and other connections that can complement our efforts. So, as you look to maximize impact, think also about who else you can bring to the table. Perhaps it’s an organization that can help fill a resource gap or share a unique perspective or area of expertise. More people at the table leads to more ideas, more innovation, and more impact.  

Communities need more support than ever, and meeting the current moment requires fresh ideas and a willingness to evolve beyond traditional approaches. That’s why Ford recently launched a new effort—Building Together—that unites the full power of our people, products, expertise, and dealer network behind four of our nonprofit partners: American Red Cross, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity, and Team Rubicon.

In practice, this means training and mobilizing volunteers with specific skills to support our partners when fresh food needs delivering or after a disaster strikes. It means providing loaner vehicles, fleet management technology, and activating our vast dealer network in a more coordinated way, with the goal of helping our partners expand their capabilities and reach. And it means having a strong foundation in place to quickly and effectively meet diverse and ever-changing community needs, both urgent and ongoing. 

Strong, resilient communities don’t just happen. They’re built by people and organizations willing to roll up their sleeves and take action. Now is the time for corporate philanthropy to get innovative about how we channel the full strength our resources, knowledge, and connections to help communities thrive. At Ford Philanthropy, we’re eager to work with like-minded corporations with similar goals. We know that we can have much more impact together.  

Mary Culler is president of Ford Philanthropy.