The Upside Foundation of Canada went public with the news that it had been accepted as a charitable foundation by the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency on February 1, 2013 . The foundation has developed a unique way for startups to be charitable in Canada. Upside encourages corporate philanthropy by asking successful start-ups to “share the upside” and support charities in Canada by giving away stock instead of cash. The charity targets early-stage companies with high-growth to help support local efforts and share their success with the community. Since their is no cash involved, Upside Foundation waits until it has a chance to sell out shares or options and then utilize the money to fund charitable organizations dealing with education, poverty, and technology.
Co-founder of Upside Foundation, Robert Antoniades, states that, “While we were convinced that the Charities Directorate would appreciate the enormous potential of the Upside Foundation to grow the pool of Canadian charitable giving, it is nice to know that the legalities of the approval are behind us.”
Upside Foundation uses a model that has been worked on in several different location around the world. An affiliate in Israel called Tmura and one in California have successfully used the unique charity method to successfully disperse millions of dollars.
Mark Skapinker, another co-founder with extensive experience in entrepreneurship and venture capital said that, “The Israeli model has shown us that entrepreneurs appreciate being given the opportunity to contribute to something meaningful and by sharing their ‘upside’ with others, they have created a stronger business culture and enhanced their success. Our discussions with Canadian entrepreneurs, Venture Capital firms, incubators, accelerators and Angel investors have been very positive, which reinforces our strong belief that the Venture Capital community cares about giving back.”
Startups that choose to work with Upside Foundation have a lot to gain form the process. They get a chance to help others with out committing hard cash and time right away. Their future success will enable others to get donations that they need while the company gets a chance to utilize the Upside Foundation network. Their is also the advantage of attracting employees that wish to work with companies that care about their fellow human beings.
Source: Tech Vibes