Community Foundations

Balancing Purpose, Payout, and Permanence

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Peter F. Bird, Jr., Liz Sak, George Suttles, Nicholas A. Tedesco, Tony Macklin

“How much should we spend?” It’s an essential question for all funders, and an especially complex one for endowed private foundations. The answer of “around 5%” was never universal as foundations sought creative means of ensuring that assets would serve mission rather than the other way around. In recent times, the pressure to revisit payout has increased. Endowed foundations have… Read More

The Future of Family Philanthropy: Positioning Families for Greatness

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Nicholas A. Tedesco, Kimberly Dasher Tripp

winding road_path_journey_future
Philanthropic families are expanding their impact, knowledge of the field, and becoming increasingly sophisticated in their giving. There is further demand for philanthropic guidance and resources as donors and their families leverage multiple philanthropic vehicles, engage the next generation, and look to increase their payout rates or even spend down. NCFP President and CEO Nick Tedesco has spent the last… Read More

Trust-based Family Philanthropy

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Sarah Walczyk, Shaady Salehi, Ellen Friedman, Hanh Le

Trust-based philanthropy is being embraced by a growing number of family foundations as a way to alleviate power imbalances between funders and grantees while fostering more productive and informative relationships. Driven by the central philosophy that funders should approach grantee relationships as learning partnerships, a trust-based approach encourages multi-year unrestricted funding, streamlined reporting, and transparent and responsive communication. In this… Read More

Families Funding Advocacy and Policy Change

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Julie Fernandes, Sara Watson, David Addams

Hands in air_protesting_advocacy
Advocacy is an important tool for funders seeking to address systemic inequalities ingrained in our policies and practices, and it can be the sole focus of an organization or an additional strategy employed to create lasting change. Many families pursue advocacy because of a founder’s interest or legacy, while others have introduced advocacy into their grantmaking portfolio after listening to… Read More

Catalytic Change: Lessons Learned from the Racial Justice Grantmaking Assessment

Posted on June 11, 2020

The Applied Research Center (ARC) and the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE) developed the Racial Justice Grantmaking Assessment following ARC’s 2004 publication of Short Changed: Foundation Giving in Communities of Color. That report documented, as recent reports have confirmed, decreasing grantmaking with clear racial justice impacts, as well as decreasing support for organizations led by people of color. As… Read More

Grantmaking with a Racial Justice Lens: A Practical Guide

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Rinku Sen, Lori Villarosa

Movements have grown in their intersectionality, their sophistication and reach and many nonprofits and organizers have been actively contributing to their gains as well as being pushed themselves. Many funders and philanthropic infrastructure organizations have taken on the language and principles of racial equity in their changing practices. Yet so much work remains, so many inequities continue to be exacerbated… Read More

Community Foundations Network Topical Call: How Are You Managing Your Teams and Philanthropic Services Moving Forward?

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Tony Macklin

video conference call
As counties re-open, how has your foundation decided to balance in-office and virtual work? How are you modifying metrics and performance expectations in your donor service and development plans? And, how are you adjusting service delivery models through the end of 2020? In this peer exchange, we’ll collect insights through verbal responses, chat, and hopefully any policies or documents you’re… Read More

Supporting Youth and Next-gen Philanthropy: How to Get Started

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Vasser Seydel, Kimberly Myers Hewlett, Sammie Holzwarth

Durfee Foundation next-gen board meeting
Multigenerational families use different methods and techniques to teach the next generation about philanthropy. Successful future engagement depends on many considerations, including when and how to best inspire and empower next-gen family members. Please join us for a discussion that will explore a number of important considerations, including when, and how to introduce the concept of giving to your family,… Read More

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