Edwards Lifesciences Corp. Chief Executive Mike Mussallem said he was inspired at a young age to give back by his older brother George, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome as a young child.
“From my mother’s example and her tireless work on behalf of George and others like him, I learned the importance of compassion and helping others,” Mussallem, whose medtech firm (NYSE: EW) is Orange County’s largest public company with a market cap of $52 billion, told the Business Journal. “And because of my brother’s huge heart and the love he brought our family, I have been inspired to focus my philanthropy on supporting individuals with special needs.”
That belief was certainly reflected in the Business Journal’s annual list of corporate donors.
Edwards donated $1.9 million in 2019, a 31% jump from a year ago. It moved from No. 7 to No. 4 on this week’s list. That comes after a 50% increase in 2018.
Overall, the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation last year donated $9.7 million, a 25% increase. The foundation’s assets climbed 8.5% to $77 million.
The only other firm with a higher growth rate than the maker of heart valves and other medical devices was the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, where donations climbed 205% to $115,448. The foundation has $24.6 million in assets, a 1.1% rise from the prior year.
The Mitsubishi Foundation supports entities such as Yorba Linda-based Dreams for Schools, which introduces middle school students, including those with disabilities, to coding, website and app development. It also supports Project Search that provides internships for young people with developmental disabilities to gain practical work experience when they finish high school. Graduates from the program are working on the front lines of the pandemic at hospitals like CHOC by filling vital roles sterilizing the facilities, keeping medical supplies stocked and transporting patients.
“There has never been a more critical time to support people with disabilities—they are incredibly vulnerable to economic displacement,” said Kevin Webb, senior director of the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation. “The foundation increased our grant investments in organizations that are working to empower youth with disabilities, and we are working with our grantees as they adapt their training programs to a virtual environment.”
In OC, the 17 firms on the Business Journal’s annual list last year gave $22.6 million in cash and in-kind contributions, a 2.7% growth rate from 2018. That compares with a 2.2% decline in 2018 over the prior year.
Their assets climbed 4.1% to $2.8 billion, a sharp change from 2018 when they dropped 13%.
Foundations, along with a smattering of corporate givers, were ranked by their giving to local entities and charities, if they provided data or a 2019 Form 990, filed by U.S. charitable foundations and which includes financial information such as the group’s giving and total assets.
PacLife Tops
Topping the list for the second straight year was Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Foundation, which reported donations declined 1.7% to $4.6 million. It is affiliated with the second-largest private company headquartered in OC, Pacific Life Insurance Co., which had $12.3 billion in revenue in 2019. The foundation’s assets climbed 20% to $113.1 million.
Every January, the Pacific Life Foundation announces its initial annual recipients, which this year was nearly $2 million in grants to 155 local area nonprofit agencies, including $150,000 to the Orange County Ronald McDonald House and $1 million for United Way.
The foundation plans to donate a total of $7.25 million this year, up from the $7 million in 2019 reflected on this year’s list.
Notables
• No. 2 Wells Fargo & Co. increased its OC giving 3.7% to $3.8 million. Companywide, the firm gave $455 million, a 2.5% increase.
• No. 8 The Allergan Foundation reported a 14% rise in local donations to $1.3 million. Its giving companywide increased at a faster pace, 22%, to $10 million. Its assets declined the most on the list, 17% to $31 million.
• No. 9 Angels Baseball Foundation in Anaheim grew its giving 7% to $1.3 million. That follows 2018 when its giving rose 24%.
• No. 11 Broadcom Foundation in Newport Beach increased its giving 21% to $762,500, which follows a 10% rise in 2018.
