Grantmakers in the News

The Coca-Cola Company recently announced a major change in its charitable giving program. The shift, according to local nonprofit observers, is a profound change for one of Atlanta's highest-profile philanthropic companies, and may lead to a landmark difference in how Coca-Cola gives locally, nationally and internationally.

The proposed change, which observers say is the largest in more than two decades for the company, includes the elimination of Coca-Cola's long-standing corporate external affairs department. In its place, Coca-Cola is creating a new oversight division named Global Community Connections, according to internal company documents obtained by Atlanta Business Chronicle. A Coca-Cola spokeswoman verified the authenticity of the documents, and said the company did not have an official public statement about the reorganization.

The division will refocus on three nonprofit areas: water cleanliness and supply, recycling with an emphasis on sustainable packaging and fitness. Education and diversity will no longer be explicit priorities for giving company-wide.

Ingrid Saunders Jones, the former external affairs head and longtime charitable face of Coca-Cola, will run Global Community Connections (GCC), managing Coca-Cola's global strategy. Saunders Jones will continue to report directly to CEO Neville Isdell. Coca-Cola expects the reorganization to be complete by January 2008, but will gradually transition to the new organization throughout the year.

Coca-Cola North America's Sandy Douglas will assume responsibility for all philanthropy in his region. Saunders Jones will oversee local giving.

The reorganization of Coca-Cola's charitable function comes on the tail-end of nearly a year of internal restructuring throughout the company.

Dennis Young, Georgia State University's director of the nonprofit studies program, said Coca-Cola's philanthropic reorganization follows what other large public companies have done -- closely aligning their nonprofit work with the for-profit company's main business. "Companies have found it really works," he said. "They're thinking about that whole area less as gift-giving and more like a partnership. It's an effective corporate strategy."

But the soft drink giant's biggest change may be who gets Coca-Cola donations. Each global operating region can specify two local initiatives to support beyond the three primary goals of water, recycling and health. But Coca-Cola's giving strategy moves away from long-standing areas like education -- though subsidiaries can still focus on it as part of their two allotted local initiatives -- placing, instead, an unstated emphasis internationally.