Engaging purpose-driven companies

Written by Jeff Bennett, Chief Innovation Officer

A new year is right around the corner. As many nonprofits celebrate big successes from Giving Tuesday and year-end campaigns, 2026 could be a splash of cold water. Here’s why:

–Congress’ 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act introduced a new 1% taxable income “floor” that corporations must exceed before any charitable contributions become deductible. This means that routine or modest corporate gifts will no longer generate a tax benefit unless they surpass that threshold, making philanthropy a less financially incentivized activity for many companies.

–At the same time, the existing 10% cap on corporate charitable deductions remains in place, so companies will need to navigate both limitations together, complicating their giving strategies.

–As a result, some companies may delay or reduce their charitable support, prioritize fewer but larger gifts, or shift their giving toward sponsorships classified as marketing expenses rather than charitable donations. Understanding this changing landscape will be essential for you and other nonprofits as you plan donor engagement and corporate outreach in the year ahead.

In light of upcoming changes, it’s more important than ever for your team and board to seek out companies that integrate a well-defined social purpose into their business operations and strategy. These companies are more likely to view their philanthropic partnerships as strategic investments rather than simply transactional gifts. Here’s how you can make this work for you:

–As you meet with corporate leaders, be sure to mention research signaling that some purpose-driven companies post up to 25% higher revenue and up to 22% higher pre-tax profit than those that don’t focus on purpose.

–Approach purpose-driven companies by positioning your conversation not simply as a funding request but as a collaborative opportunity: alignment between the company’s business purpose and your community impact.

–Discuss specific opportunities for a company’s support to help boost the company’s brand and public image; enhance employee engagement, recruiting efforts, and retention; and most importantly, achieve meaningful results for Central Indiana where the company’s employees live and work.

As always, lean on CICF Collaborative as a sounding board! We offer a wide range of charitable giving tools for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and we are happy to help structure gifts to your organization where a business would like to establish a corporate fund, set up funds for employees, and make it possible for executives to donate a wide variety of assets.

We look forward to hearing from you!

About the CICF Collaborative

CICF Collaborative is a partnership of philanthropic organizations working together to strengthen communities across the region. Each entity within the CICF Collaborative (including the cornerstone entities, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Hamilton County Community Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, the Indianapolis Foundation, and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana) brings deep knowledge, strong relationships, and its own individual, focused mission. The CICF Collaborative unites the entities by providing shared services, allowing the entities to operate more efficiently and effectively. By leveraging what we each do best, we’re able to better serve our communities and create more lasting impact, together. Learn more »

About the Author

Jeff Bennett, chief innovation officer, brings nearly 30 years of civic, nonprofit, and government leadership experience to CICF. He develops new partnerships and advances CICF’s regional impact. Prior to joining CICF, Jeff served in key leadership roles for the City of Indianapolis, where his work in neighborhood development, housing stability, human services, and pandemic response helped shape long-term strategies to support residents and strengthen communities.