Sydney 7 January 2015. Business owners strive to become successful. That is usually the number one goal when starting a business. Some business owners take that success one step further and become philanthropists giving away their profits to help charities and other non-profit organizations, not because it provides them with an "image" of being generous, but because it is something that comes from their heart. Bob Parsons, founder of GoDaddy, is an example of one of those business owners who wants to give back, not as a tax write off but out of the kindness of his own heart.

With that being said, most big businesses do give sizable charitable donations, usually on an annual level, but it's always nice to look at those charities and see what types are being benefited and by whom.

Usually when looking at those business owners who are more charitable than the annual charity giving, they usually are people who come from humble beginnings and they want to give back to the communities that helped their business grow and those who helped shape them into the people they are today. They work very hard to get their business from start up to success and they don't forget who helped them get there along the way.Big businesses will include philanthropic goals as part of their overall planning in their business model. Business owners have advisors that help them narrow down their choices for charitable donations. Companies like to have a common ground for who they benefit so they can include all parts of the company even if it spans throughout different geographical regions.

When a company wants to make a charitable donation, there are a couple different ways they can do this. Those contributions can be broken down into the following categories:

Direct Gifts to Public Charities
Establishing a Private Foundation
Establishing a Fund at a Community Foundation

The most common type of philanthropy is giving direct gifts to public charities. This is what most companies do and it's the simplest way to give back to the community with little effort or paperwork. Generally, the business will donate an amount of cash to the charity and will allow the charity to use those funds wherever they feel it is needed.

For companies who are trying to take philanthropy to the next level, they may want to establish a private foundation. When creating a foundation, the business will want to set up a Board of Directors who oversees the foundation's operation. Through this foundation, the company can gather large sums of money and then allocate it to charitable efforts, either under their own name or donating it to a national charity.

One final way for business owners to get their feet wet in philanthropy is to establish a fund at a Community Foundation. Through this method, the business owner can create an effective way to invest in their own personal community. They can focus on specific organizations or issues or they can create a fund with a flexible purpose.

Whatever way a business decides to start their foray into philanthropy, there are many ways to do that while still maintaining an upstanding company that is successful.