Tableau Foundation:

Disrupting Corporate Philanthropy to Prompt Social

Change

Jean Chen, Joleen Oerman, Kirk Kroeger and Sarah Foster prepared this case with the intention to prompt classroom discussion. This case is not intended to critique the Tableau Foundation or reflect the author’s opinions regarding the foundation. Information and data presented in this case are based on Tableau’s website and an interview with Neal Myrick (November 19, 2014) unless otherwise noted.

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On December 1, 2014, the Seattle Times released an article1 announcing the formation of

the Tableau Foundation and the distribution of two grants total $300,000 in funds with additional

value given in software. The article briefly speaks to the formation of the foundation through a

donor advised fund created with pre-IPO stock. Though it is apparent that Tableau is attempting

to create a large social impact, it may, as the article alludes to, be an unpopular decision amongst

shareholders. Half of the foundations assets ($10 million) come from the sale of stock at IPO.

Tableau seeks to turn philanthropy on its head by pushing the envelope and bending

rules. This moves away from traditional giving meant to increase the triple bottom line and give

the company a competitive advantage. Tableau’s boundary pushing philosophy embodies huge

risks, but if successful, has the potential to drastically improve corporate philanthropy. Upon the

release of this article, Neal Myrick, Tableau CSR Director, needs to decide what strategy to take

considering the skeptical opinions of Tableau shareholders. Does Neal continue to implement

unconventional strategy that has the ability to create significant change or does he choose to

appease shareholders and implement a traditional strategy developed to give the company a

competitive advantage?

Tableau Overview

Tableau is an emerging software company with a simple mission: to “help people see and

understand data.” Engineered to provide consumers with the best possible platform for both

aggregating and presenting data, Tableau’s software is available on numerous interfaces.

Customers in every sector currently use their software. Since 2003, the company has grown from

three employees to over 1,000 and now owns offices on four continents.2

1 "Tableau software makes charitable move - The Seattle Times." 2014. 5 Dec. 2014 <http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2025131275_briercolumn01xml.html>2 "About Us | Tableau Software." 2007. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://www.tableausoftware.com/about>

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Tableau began with three key actors: Chris Stolte, a computer scientist; Pat Hanrahan,

Stanford professor of computer graphics; and Christian Chabot, a Stanford educated

entrepreneur. As a PhD candidate in Computer Science Department at Stanford University,

Chris Stolte studied data visualization techniques in an effort to create more intuitive data

analysis tools.3 The basic technology behind Tableau was conceived when Chris teamed up with

his faculty advisor, Pat Hanrahan (the co-founder of Pixar), to tackle a data analysis project

requested by the Department of Defense.4 Through this collaboration, Chris and Pat eventually

succeeded in integrating two previously discrete fields of computer science: graphics and

databases. The result was dynamite and it was not long before it caught the attention of

entrepreneur Christian Chabot at the Stanford School of Business. In 2003, Chris, Pat, and

Christian founded Tableau and began work “to help people see and understand data.”5

Over the last ten years, new data visualization technologies have emerged from Tableau’s

development team at an incredible rate. In an effort to provide technology that is increasingly

intuitive, Tableau addressed many different dimensions of the human mind. They employed a

color cognition expert to design their visualization theming and meticulously studied “the cycle

of visual analysis”6 to better align their product with human query patterns. Tableau continues to

improve upon their alchemy of computer graphics and database functions in order to provide

services that are accessible in all contexts. 7

3 "How To Get a 20 Million Dollar Pre-Money Valuation for ..." 2010. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://www.sramanamitra.com/2010/03/05/how-to-get-a-20-million-pre-money-valuation-for-series-a-tableau-software-ceo-christian-chabot-part-3/>4 "Tableau Software : Our Story." 2012. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://careers.tableausoftware.com/ourstory>5 "Tableau CEO Chabot: Seattle is the promised ... - GeekWire." 2013. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://www.geekwire.com/2013/christian-tableau-seattle/>6 "Products | Tableau Software." 2007. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://www.tableausoftware.com/products>7 "Products | Tableau Software." 2007. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://www.tableausoftware.com/products>

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Tableau has a stable business model that is poised for long-term success. In their year-

end financial review for 2013, Tableau boasts total revenues of $232.4 million, up 82% from

2012. In just the third quarter of 2014, revenue totaled $104.5 million, a 71% increase from

2013. Tableau also staged its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on May 17, 2013. They sold 8.2

million shares and opened at $31 per share, raising $254 million for the company. The company

expanded internationally and continues to do so with international revenue growing at 115% in

just this last quarter. 8

Tableau serves people by providing them with the means to integrate data into their

everyday operations to make decisions. Perhaps because they have done so well in achieving

this aim, Tableau finds that its services are now being used in every context. They are

experiencing both consumer buy-in to their philosophy that data empowers people and consumer

appreciation for the interface they have built to address that need.

Creation of the Tableau Foundation

Chris, Pat and Christian founded Tableau with the intention to incorporate a CSR division

when the company was large enough, as each founder has a passion for giving back. In 2013,

Tableau put pre-IPO stock into a donor-advised fund at the Seattle Foundation. In May 2013,

Tableau launched their IPO. As the stock went public, the Seattle Foundation sold the stock. The

three founders then matched the monetary amount of the stock. This totaled $20 million that is

now in a donor advised fund at the Seattle Foundation.9

Tableau established the Tableau Foundation shortly after the increase in the donor

advised fund. Though named a foundation, the use of the word is just for branding purposes. The

8 "Tableau Software - Financial Reports & Filings." 2013. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://investors.tableausoftware.com/financial-reports-and-filings/default.aspx>9 Myrick, Neal (2014, November 19). Personal Interview.

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Tableau Foundation is not a legal foundation. The foundation is not a 501c nor does it have tax-

exempt status. Not wanting to be bound to rules a tax-exempt status carries, Tableau chose to

keep the donor advised fund at Seattle Foundation and use the name Tableau Foundation when

making grants.10

The mission of the foundation is to “encourage the use of facts and analytical reasoning

to solve the world’s problems.” The foundation consists of one CSR director and a team of 15

volunteer members from within the company. Since 2013, Neal Myrick has overseen the Tableau

foundation as the CSR Director. Neal is located at Tableau’s home base in Fremont as are the

majority of the 15 volunteer team members.11 With an extensive background in philanthropy,

Neal also spent ten years in the high tech industry. From high tech, he entered the world of

philanthropy working at Casey Family Programs. Neal then spent three years on the grantee side

as an Executive Director of a mid-size nonprofit. Neal returned to the tech industry and began

working at Tableau about a year before accepting the position of CSR Director.12

Prior to the press release, the foundation has awarded $120,000 in grants to nonprofits.

The basis of giving has been divided into three programs, including a strategic grants program, a

community program and a disaster relief program. Tableau Foundation’s initial giving breaks

down as follows:

● Strategic Grants Program○ Code.org--$50,000○ Mathcounts--$25,000

● Community Program○ Seattle Give Big--$25,000

● Disaster Relief○ Typhoon Haiyan--$10,000○ Oso Landslide--$10,000

10 Ibid.11 Myrick, Neal. (2014, July 21). Internal Memorandum.12 Myrick, Neal. (2014, November 19). Personal Interview.

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The Tableau Foundation plans to embark on creating another program titled The

Nonprofit Software Program. This program will sell Tableau software at a lower rate to smaller

nonprofits that want to “change the world”. Additionally, Tableau established an Employee

Matching Grants and Volunteer program. This program is designed to match the gifts

employees’ give to organizations they care about or give dollars for volunteer hours.13

Analysis of Portfolios

If designed effectively, CSR has the ability to offer a competitive advantage while

providing a significant benefit to society. Yet, according to Porter and Kramer, corporations fail

to do so.14 Porter and Kramer continue to suggest that if corporations “analyzed prospects using

the same frameworks that guide their core business choices, they would discover that CSR could

be much more than a cost, a constraint, or a charitable deed”.15 They continue to add, “it (CSR)

can be a source of opportunity, innovation and competitive advantage.”16

Porter and Kramer contribute much of the failure to add a competitive value to the notion

that CSR is ranked in four schools of thoughts including: “moral obligation, sustainability,

license to operate, and reputation.”17 Porter and Kramer note that each school of thought is weak

as it only focuses on the tension between society and business.18 Throughout their argument,

Porter and Kramer illustrate the difference between strategic and responsive corporate social

13 Myrick, Neal. (2014, July 21). Internal Memorandum.14 Kramer, Mark R, and ME Porter. "Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility." Harvard business review (2007).15 Ibid.16 Ibid.17 Kramer, Mark R, and ME Porter. "Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility." Harvard business review (2007).18 Ibid.

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responsibility. Upon analysis, Tableau’s giving portfolios can be categorized according to the

framework provided by Porter and Kramer, identified as follows:

● Generic Social Issues: defined as issues that are important to society but are not affected

by the company or influence competitiveness.19

Tableau’s Disaster Relief portfolio is categorized as a generic social issue. Contributing

to disaster relief benefits society, but Tableau does not cause the disaster. If the disaster is not

located in an area that affects Tableau operations, then it has no effect on the company’s

competitiveness. Thus far, as noted above, Tableau donated to Typhoon Haiyan and Oso

Landslide relief efforts. Neither locations directly affected operations at Tableau (though Oso is

located about 45 miles north of Tableau’s home base).

Though the Community Portfolio has potential to be categorized as a value chain social

impact, the only grant given at this time is to Seattle’s Give Big, a one-day charitable event

hosted through the Seattle Foundation. As Give Big is meant to raise funds for all participating

local nonprofits, donating to this fund is neither strategic nor competitive, yet still valuable for

societal good.

● Value Chain Social Impact: defined as issues that are significantly affected by the

company’s operations.20

Neal Myrick identifies the Strategic Grants Programs as “grants for projects and

organizations across the nonprofit spectrum that tightly align with the Foundation mission.”21

Each aforementioned organization provides educational opportunities for youth to learn the hard

skills necessary to achieve success in the technology field. As Tableau strives to use data

19 Ibid20 Kramer, Mark R, and ME Porter. "Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility." Harvard business review (2007).21 Myrick, Neal. (2014, July 21). Internal Memorandum.

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effectively, it is important to continue to educate youth to have the skills necessary to create and

analyze data so that there can be future returns in the tech industry.

According to Porter and Kramer, the grants given that fall under the category of generic

social issues are considered responsive CSR.22 Defined as acting as a good corporate citizen,

responsive CSR paints a picture of being socially responsible, but does not strategically align

with the company’s value chain to create social impact. Additionally, responsive CSR can serve

as a way for corporations to respond to stakeholders’ social concerns or mitigate effects that are

attributable to operations of the company.23

Alternatively, strategic philanthropy positions companies to give resources to causes that

supply a competitive advantage to the company.24 Corporate social responsibility initiatives align

with the company’s value chain when CSR is considered strategic. It is clear that investing in

education, specifically in STEM, results in creating a new workforce, yet it is hard to determine

whether or not those educated in these programs will return to work with Tableau or with data at

all. For Tableau, to have this competitive advantage, it would make sense to include the software

in grants to create brand loyalty.

Comparing Tableau’s CSR to Other Tech Companies

Since Tableau considers Seattle home base, it is important to consider other CSR

ventures within like companies in the Seattle area. Mid-sized tech companies do not have any

reportable CSR strategy at this time. Yet, larger tech companies in Seattle have a very influential

presence in corporate social responsibility and philanthropy.

22 Kramer, Mark R, and ME Porter. "Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility." Harvard business review (2007).23 Ibid.24Ibid.

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Microsoft

Forbes selected Microsoft as the company with best CSR reputation in 2013. They fulfill

both responsive and strategic CSR categories as identified by Porter and Kramer, and their

efforts extend internationally. Microsoft’s CSR includes six foci: ethical business conduct and

governance, employees, serving communities, human rights, responsible sourcing, and

environmental sustainability.25

Microsoft provides a fair working environment and has demonstrated a commitment to

increasing the proportion of women in management. They also work with their hardware supplier

to increase the health of their working environment and worker safety. They encourage

employees to serve their communities as volunteers. The total annual donation to Microsoft

communities surpasses $1 billion, including cash and in-kind donation. To cultivate youth,

Microsoft has set up the Microsoft YouthSpark Initiative to create educational opportunities for

227 million young people by making technology resources accessible to them. As a software

company, Microsoft serves nearly 11,500 global nonprofit organizations with their program

Microsoft 365. They have also paid close attention to human privacy by instituting new privacy

and data security measurements, as well as strengthening legal protection for customers.

With regard to the environment, Microsoft works with customers, business partners,

governments, NGOs and others to leverage the power of information technology against pressing

environmental problems. They also promote and assist cloud technology to reduce the material

used in hardware.

Microsoft is the leader in the industry. The amount that they have invested in CSR is

incomparable. They serve as a valuable reference point for Tableau that should inform their

25"Microsoft Citizenship Reporting | Download 2014 ..." 2011. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/reporting/>

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direction and basic principles. In particular, Microsoft might be useful as a long-term reference

for Tableau’s CSR program.

Adobe

The Seattle branch of Adobe is near the main office of Tableau. Their CSR is not as

complicated as Microsoft and can perhaps serve as a good short-term reference for Tableau.

Adobe’s mission is to create positive change through creativity. Adobe has three main issues in

its CSR: community, education and sustainability.26

Every year, Adobe invests 1% of pre-tax profit into relevant communities. They also

encourage employees to give their time and talent to nonprofit organizations and provide them

with the tools and resources required to make a meaningful impact. They have a volunteer team

and multiple employee community funds in their locations around the world to serve local

communities. To provide tools and resources, Adobe donates its products to schools and

nonprofits in an effort to help students and organizations succeed. As it produces multi-media

software, Adobe initiated a program called Adobe Youth Voice to help young people express

their creativity digitally, shining the spotlight on local or global issues that concern them. This

worldwide program encourages young people to use multi-media not only to express their

opinion, but also to launch successful careers.

Adobe also works hard to operate sustainably. The company has a green office building

and is always looking for new ways to reduce energy consumption. By reducing the energy

demand, generating power on site, and purchasing renewable energy credits and verifiable

emission reductions, Adobe was named third greenest company in the world by Newsweek’s

26 Adobe Corporate Responsibility." 2012. 6 Dec. 2014 <http://www.adobe.com/corporate-responsibility.html>

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2014 Green Ranking. They are also inventing technologies that reduce hardware products and

make cloud technology accessible to customers.

Tableau’s Boundary Pushing Philosophy

“I think it’s all broken. The whole system is broken really… A lot of things we’re

doing with our grant making now, we’re trying to actually break some of the rules

and challenge some of the the ways that other groups have done it. Take some risks.

Kind of see what happens.”27

The Tableau Foundation is in its nascent phase. This status allows for Neal and his

committee to have freedom in designing and implementing how the Foundation distributes its

grant funding. As noted above, the mission of the Tableau Foundation is “to encourage the use of

facts and analytical reasoning to solve problems of the world,” with the intent to “disrupt the

nonprofit space in a constructive, helpful manner.”28 There are grand ideas for the Foundation to

explore in the upcoming years, which will allow for creative and strategic methods to address

systemic problems.

Neal wants to run the Foundation differently than other foundations he worked for. He is

adamantly against the idea of the current “transactional relationship” between foundations and

grantees. Short, transactional relationships keep people thinking in the short-term and do not

allow for systemic changes. These shallow relationships allow grantors to feel good about what

they’ve appeared to have done to solve the problems at hand, and then walk away from the

grantee. He thinks that this kind of relationship “is a terrible way to do this kind of work,”29

27 Myrick, Neal (2014, November 19). Personal Interview.28 Ibid.29 Myrick, Neal (2014, November 19). Personal Interview.

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regardless of how well intentioned a foundation hopes to be. Neal wants the Tableau Foundation

to focus on building relationships with its grantees.

Neal is more concerned about results than reports, an integral component to the current

transactional relationships. This perspective on reporting is another way in which the Tableau

Foundation is departing from the current method of distributing grants. Many foundations are

concerned with metrics and measurements to show that the grantee is putting the funds to good

use. Neal, having worked as an Executive Director, knows that this reporting takes a lot of time,

wastes the nonprofits’ resources and does not show what a nonprofit actually does to change the

world. He does not want the Tableau Foundation to “buy some outcomes from [the nonprofit]

for $100,000”30 the way other foundations might. Instead, he focuses on the stories of their

grantees.

The Tableau Foundation makes no official request for proposals, but, instead, provides a

one-page application for the grantee to fill out. Once the grant is distributed, the grantee has

freedom in reporting how helpful the grant has been to the organization. Neal wants the grantee

to “report back what they think we [Tableau Foundation] need to hear to keep the relationship

going.”31 There is no definitive length of time for funding to be distributed to grantees. As of

now, any technology donation they may give is for two years because that’s the length of

licensing for the product. However, Neal says it would be odd to not continue to fund an

organization after that period. The Tableau Foundation acknowledges that their relationship with

each grantee is the most important element in their philanthropy. Good relationships, he argues,

will affect greater, systemic change than metrics and measurements.

30 Ibid.31 Ibid.

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Tableau Foundation grants are for operational purposes so that the grantee can increase

efficiency. There are very few limits on how the grant can be used. Other foundations usually tie

many stipulations to the grants given to a nonprofit. This leads to nonprofits either not being able

to use funds efficiently or changing their actions in order to conform to what a funder wants.

Neal, when distributing a Tableau Foundation grant, “send[s] a letter and I set expectations on

what the money should be used for, without making it a legal contract. The only restriction is

they can’t use it to buy Tableau products or services.”32 Neal knows that the nonprofit knows

better how to use its money than the Foundation does; unrestricted funds are the best way for a

nonprofit to fill their needs.

Another innovative aspect of the Tableau Foundation is the amount of risk it is willing to

accept when funding different nonprofits. Since Neal knows that he wants to attack large,

systemic issues, he knows that there needs to be new ideas. With any innovation comes risk. He

made his executives well aware of this:

“When we started our foundation, I told the execs that, you know, we’re going to

make mistakes, and, in fact, if we don’t make mistakes we’re not pushing the

envelope hard enough. So I’m trying to set that culture where, you know, we’ll have a

failure at some point and that needs to be OK.”33

Another element that spurs innovation is the team he works with. They are all volunteers and

have no experience in philanthropy; their common factor is that they are all passionate people.

Neal appreciates this fact about his team: “They challenge stuff more than others would which is

really great.”34 The ideas that develop from this group, with a paradigm-shifting director, can

create great, systemic changes that other professional philanthropists may not be able to do.

32 Myrick, Neal (2014, November 19). Personal Interview.33 Ibid.34 Myrick, Neal (2014, November 19). Personal Interview.

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Funding at the Time of the Press Release

Tableau is funding organizations that need operational system support. PATH is an

international global health nonprofit organization with a mission to improve health, specifically

for women and children, around the world. PATH came to the Tableau Foundation requesting

software to support a new program designed to combat HIV and Malaria in Kenya.35 It is an

organization that needs up-to-date information regarding the location of people in need, tracking

necessary supplies and other operations that would benefit from easily accessible and

understandable data. It has everything else in place and the software would be used to enhance

their capabilities. The Tableau Foundation decided to not only donate software to PATH, but to

also provide professional training services for its products at both PATH’s Seattle and Kenya

offices in addition to $100,000 for other operations. PATH is tackling a systemic problem by

increasing access to medical care. The data that PATH uses to analyze its operations needs to be

understood by its staff. The software, training and money all increase PATH’s capacity to fight a

problem in the world, as well as build a relationship between Tableau and PATH.

Another organization that the Tableau Foundation has funded is Dimagi. Dimagi is a

benefit corporation, or a B Corp, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a mission to

“deliver open and innovative technology to help underserved communities everywhere.”36 The

requested grant would be used to help fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.37 It seems that

Tableau Foundation appreciates that another organization is using technology to change the way

people access information and improve outcomes based on this information. The Foundation has

35 "Tableau software makes charitable move - The Seattle Times." 2014. 5 Dec. 2014 <http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2025131275_briercolumn01xml.html>36 "About « Dimagi." Dimagi RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.37 "Tableau Software Announces Foundation to Reinforce Mission through Philanthropic Efforts; Issues Round of Inaugural Grants." Tableau Software Announces Foundation to Reinforce Mission through Philanthropic Efforts; Issues Round Of... N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

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donated $200,000 to help Dimagi further its mission. This grant is not necessarily unique in

theory, but Neal is excited to donate to a B Corp; he hopes that the Tableau Foundation will

donate to more B Corps in the future.

The Future of the Tableau Foundation

Neal wants to think strategically about which grants the Tableau Foundation accepts.

While the Foundation will maintain the Individual Matching Program and Volunteer program,

the nonprofits seeking grants will be evaluated against the Foundation’s mission. There are two

different granting groups in the Foundation: the Community Grants Team and Strategic Grants

Team.

The community grants are distributed through a community engagement model.

Community, as discussed in terms of the Foundation, is whatever area each Tableau office

chooses to consider its community. There are 15 members of each Community Grants Team.

Each of the members of this team needs to go into their community in order to understand its

needs. They use this information to assess community grants. The Grants Team then chooses

their favorite grants and distributes information about these potential grantees to the rest of

Tableau. The staff of Tableau then vote on which ones they want to support. Once the office

determines its preferred organizations, the Grants Team goes back to the community to do site

visits or whatever is necessary to determine which organizations they will fund. At the end of

this process, the Foundation grants funding to approximately five organizations during one grant

cycle. This amount of engagement among the employees, as well as between Tableau and the

communities it serves, creates the type of inclusive relationship needed for long-term changes

that the Tableau Foundation is looking to support.

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As for their strategic grant making, Tableau Foundation is looking at three different

venues for how to truly engage in its mission. These grants will focus simultaneously on:

● Increasing access to data by investing in open data projects to get more data available and accessible to nonprofits

● Increasing data literacy for those in the nonprofit sector working with data to make informed decisions

● Mobilizing people who have data skills and helping them find volunteer opportunities in the nonprofit space

These three components to access, understand, and use data will change the way that nonprofits

can operate. In addition to these aspects, Neal and the Strategic Grants Team want to hear a good

story from organizations in order to earn a grant. They want to know the impact the grantee is

trying to achieve.

Future Changes to Disaster Relief Portfolio

So far, the grants given to support disaster relief have come in the form of monetary

donations. While those are important, Neal sees the Foundation’s role as something that can

change the way that disaster relief is approached on the ground: to make technology and data

available to front line disaster relief workers. For example, Neal mentioned a water drop in an

area after a disaster. In order to serve the survivors effectively, disaster relief organizations need

to know where a water drop has occurred so that the same area does not get another water drop,

ignoring other areas. Logistical snares like this happen frequently when responding to a disaster

because there is not enough information available during tumultuous times. Having data on the

location and timing of a water drop accessible to workers immediately could reduce inefficiency.

This is an instance of using data and analysis to address a problem and produce better outcomes,

exactly as the Tableau Foundation wants.

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Marrying Corporate Giving and Business As Usual

Since Tableau is a publicly traded company, it is important for the Foundation to act

responsibly with their shareholder’s earnings. They do this through policies on donating its

software and prioritizing staff time.

Most organizations that request a grant from Tableau pursue them for their software. It is

technology that will make it easier for nonprofits to not only understand data better, but also to

display data for its donors and boards more easily. However, this is not what the Tableau

Foundation intends to do. In fact, Neal states, “I don’t believe in free software.”38 As a

businessman, he wants people to use his company’s product correctly in order to become more

successful. With free software, this is not always the case. He says:

“I want them to pay something. One, so they have skin in the game. Two, so they

actually have to think about it before they go there and demonstrate they have some

capacity to actually do something well with it. And then, three, so that we can… they

can get support and we treat them like real customers, not second-class citizens.”39

He is designing a pricing and business model for a license that nonprofits can purchase for a

lower price. This sentiment falls in line particularly well with Neal’s ideology. He wants for

there to be a relationship, albeit more professional, between the nonprofit and Tableau’s

company. He does not want either the Foundation or the grantee to take the relationship for

granted.

The second way that the Tableau Foundation prioritizes business over the Foundation is

the way in which it treats its committee. Everyone on the committee is a volunteer. Neal is the

only paid staff member for the Foundation. The committee members’ first priority is doing the

38 Myrick, Neal (2014, November 19). Personal Interview.39 Ibid.

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job for which they are paid. If a member from the committee needs to finish a task or project

before a deadline, they are expected to do that work while Neal does what he needs to in order

for the Foundation to move along. The Foundation has looser rules with administering grants,

such as only needing a quorum of votes instead of unanimity when it comes to granting

decisions. This flexibility allows for there to be less tension between Tableau as a business and

Tableau as a foundation.

The Tableau Foundation is just getting off the ground. It is pursuing methods to distribute

grants to nonprofits that want to use data to make better-informed decisions in their operations.

The Foundation is engaging its employees with their community while using nontraditional

granting mechanisms. However, these granting strategies are, for the most part, funding generic

social issues. The recent giving to PATH and Dimagi, though admirable, does not necessarily

give the company a competitive advantage. The connection between Tableau’s value chain and

PATH and Dimagi’s missions are nonexistent. To create an effective strategic CSR, based upon

Porter and Kramer’s definition, it is imperative that the missions of grantee organizations align

with Tableau’s value chain.

Moving Forward

“When you’re on the activist side of life and you’re bitching and moaning because

you don’t think corporations are doing enough good in the world, and you’re also on

the activist side of life from when they start doing good, then you bitch and moan

because they’re self-serving. You’re not really giving companies a graceful way to

engage in solving societal problems… The place I have to get Tableau to is: are we

ready and willing with our brand to take that issue on. Personally, I would love to

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tackle that issue. I think if it was OK for companies to do good things for self-serving

reasons, then more good things would get done.”40

Given the unfamiliarity of his team to corporate philanthropy and the recent publicity,

Neal needs to address the issue of the shareholder’s concern. Although Neal is ready to pursue

risk, the company may not be in a position to. Moving forward, Neal needs to decide if he should

push for innovation or consider a more traditional strategic giving plan that more clearly aligns

with Tableau’s value chain. Considering all implications of the recent press release, Neal sits

down and begins drafting a memorandum to his team regarding an action plan for the future of

the Tableau Foundation.

40 Myrick, Neal (2014, November 19). Personal Interview.

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