Knowledge Center | Ask the Center

What is a private operating foundation, and should we consider using this option?

June 14, 2017 | Jason Born
The IRS distinguishes between public and private foundations and, within private foundations, between operating and non-operating (grant-making) foundations. While private operating foundations may choose to make some grants to other charitable organizations, they must engage primarily in direct charitable activities by running their own programs (i.e., using their own facilities, staff and resources to directly further their charitable operations). Read More
Knowledge Center | Ask the Center

Should our foundation focus on being “strategic” or “responsive” in our grantmaking?

When your board approves a grant, you are hoping and expecting that your philanthropic investment will make a significant impact. In order to become an effective grantmaker, your giving should always align with the core beliefs of your foundation. Beyond this, there are two common approaches that boards take when considering how to allocate the foundation’s resources: strategic or responsive.  Read More
Blog | Voices from the Field

Letter to the Field: No Time for Business as Usual

May 25, 2017 | Sharon Alpert
These are extraordinary times. For more than 25 years, Nathan Cummings Foundation’s mission has explicitly named a commitment to democratic values and social justice, supporting the most vulnerable, respecting diversity and promoting understanding across cultures, and empowering communities. Today, we are facing assaults on the values we hold dear. Read More
Blog | Uncategorized, Case Studies

Using a Donor-advised Fund to Nurture Family Philanthropy

The R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation is the legacy of Howard Dobbs, Jr., a lifelong Atlantan who was a respected businessman, a civic leader, and a generous philanthropist. He did not have children of his own but was very close to his sister’s three children. As Mr. Dobbs grew older and began making decisions about the long-term future of the family foundation he’d established in 1959, he turned to his nephew and nieces for leadership. He asked them to join the foundation’s board and tasked them with responsibility for its stewardship after his death. Read More
Knowledge Center | Tool

“Pretty Good Tools” for Collaboration, Strategy, and Partnership

If you’re a philanthropy practitioner — staff member or trustee — these tools should be useful. The Giving Practice works with foundations and philanthropy organizations of all types and sizes, and they hear common questions and dilemmas. The Giving Practice's consultants are developed Pretty Good Tools to help you with the more challenging aspects of your job. Read More