As with anything, the definition of a foundation varies significantly from country to country. In the United States, for instance, there are strict rules about how much a foundation has to give before it can use the word foundation in its title. In other countries, Belgium for example, practically any organisation can call itself a foundation. In some countries, foundations are often formed simply for the tax relief that comes as one of the benefits of being a foundation, and serve no charitable purpose at all. Examples of foundations that you may know of are the Prince's Trust , the Diana Fund, and the Ireland Funds.
Many companies have independent foundations .
The endowment is provided by the company along with guidelines about which field grants are to be made in. After that it is up to the foundation to mange the endowment and to award the grants. The C.S. Mott Foundation is a good example. Some companies have corporate foundations. They receive an annual donation from the company and are included as part of the corporate strategy.