Major actors in the global education community are emerging with new education strategies, including the World Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development and U.K. Department for International Development. These strategies attempt to identify game-changing policies to make strides in global education in anticipation of the Millennium Development Goals deadline of 2015 and beyond. One common thread among these targeted efforts is the special emphasis placed on public-private partnerships to mobilize resources for education. This need for external resources and the emergence of new education strategies make corporate philanthropy timely to examine. This paper addresses the lack of data by asking one central question: Do U.S.-based companies leverage their key philanthropic assets to address global education challenges in a way that maximizes shared value for society and business? To answer this question, this study surveyed more than 500 companies; conducted in-depth interviews with corporate philanthropy leaders; and analyzed the existing literature and reports on corporate social responsibility to assess the magnitude, focus and motivations of U.S. corporate philanthropy vis-a-vis education in developing countries. The first part of this paper examines what companies are doing to support global education and estimates that U.S.-based companies give approximately half a billion dollars to education to developing countries annually, more than initially projected based on philanthropy estimates. The second part of the paper explores why companies make philanthropic contributions to education in developing countries. The third part explains how companies support global education. The last part of the paper highlights the assets and liabilities of corporate philanthropy for global education. The study identifies ten opportunities to achieve greater impact through corporate philanthropy to education in developing countries: (1) Maximize the Effectiveness of Multiple Donors in the Same Country; (2) Broaden Areas of Strategic Investment; (3) Innovate in Education; (4) Invest in Education in Disaster Contexts for Longer-Term, Higher Impact; (5) Incorporate Local Feedback into Philanthropy Strategies; (6) Build Networks for Global Education; (7) Design Metrics and Invest in Impact Evaluation; (8) Improve NGO Engagement with Corporate Philanthropy; (9) Adopt Innovative Financing by Combining Brand, Business and Individual Donors; and (10) Become Corporate Advocates for Education. Appendices include: (1) Participants; and (2) Study Methods. (Contains 1 box, 16 tables, 11 figures and 8 endnotes.)