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Corporate Foundations in Latin America

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Book cover Handbook on Corporate Foundations

Part of the book series: Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies ((NCSS))

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the evolution, context, current characteristics, and future perspectives of corporate foundations in Latin America (Central and South America). The number of corporate foundations has grown considerably during the last three decades, against a backdrop of historical prevalence of informal expressions of generosity under the clout of Catholic charity and State paternalism and of a mostly unfavorable legal and fiscal framework for philanthropy. This growth has run in tandem with the advances of CSR and civil society in the region under the forces of democratization and economic liberalization, and with the encouragement of foreign donors, particularly from the USA. Due to a scarcity of data and the lack of a single legal or fiscal definition for corporate foundations, we first offer a definition reflective of regional traits and then approach corporate foundations through three case studies of Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia – the region’s most populated countries – constructed from multiple sources, including our own database of 262 corporate foundations. We identify six regional commonalities and also important variations between countries, including Brazil leading in terms of sector institutionalization, Mexico staying in close proximity to the US grantmaking model, and an idiosyncratic Colombian pattern of involvement in community development. We close the chapter with practical and research implications.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain

    Marta Rey-Garcia

  2. Inter-American Foundation, Washington, DC, USA

    Michael D. Layton

  3. Fundacion Compromiso y Transparencia, Madrid, Spain

    Javier Martin-Cavanna

Authors
  1. Marta Rey-Garcia
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  2. Michael D. Layton
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  3. Javier Martin-Cavanna
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Correspondence to Marta Rey-Garcia .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands

    Lonneke Roza  & Lucas Meijs  & 

  2. Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS), University of Basel, Basel, Basel Stadt, Switzerland

    Steffen Bethmann  & Georg von Schnurbein  & 

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Rey-Garcia, M., Layton, M.D., Martin-Cavanna, J. (2020). Corporate Foundations in Latin America. In: Roza, L., Bethmann, S., Meijs, L., von Schnurbein, G. (eds) Handbook on Corporate Foundations. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25759-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25759-0_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25759-0

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