Corporate donations are indeed deductible, but generally speaking it's when the actual grant is made. If the grant is made when the stock has a low strike price, then there's really no benefit attached. If the grant is made when the strike price is high, then it's a significant cost on the business and dilutive to all parties involved.

The solution that 1% of Nothing provides is that it's the individual giving the shares instead, only exercised when there's an exit (IPO or acquisition).

Not necessarily, I work with companies that utilize philanthropy as a way to market to the locals. It's a sort of, "Look guys, come here, we give back to our community." and it seems to work rather well.