One year ago today, our nation was rocked by the horrific attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. In a message expressing our solidarity with those affected by the attack, we noted that it was particularly tragic because this event occurred at a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and…

Editor’s Note: This blog post spotlights Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, which was one of 10 recipients of the 2017 HUD Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships. The awards are a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Council on…

Council staff are back in D.C. after a whirlwind Annual Conference in Dallas last month, where we were joined by more than 1000 attendees from around the world. You can see conference highlights at cof.org/2017annual. Thank you to all of our global speakers and especially to our global conference…

Three years ago, I met Charles Story at the Grants Managers Network annual conference in San Diego. He was a featured panelist on a session about Extreme Management — successfully leading teams in constantly changing organizational environments. I was so impressed with his insights that we would…

April came and went, and it packed a punch.  I am grateful for the 200 community foundation (CF) leaders who joined over 1,000 philanthropic leaders in Dallas, Texas, for the 2017 Annual Conference. Please take a look at the highlight videos, which feature many examples of the type of…

In this conversation with Champions for Social Good's Jamie Serino, Council President and CEO Vikki Spruill delves into the Council's concept of Leading Together, which focuses on how foundations can come together, collaborate, and leverage resources to magnify impact and advance social good. She…

Healing Across the Divides (HATD) is a new member of the Council on Foundations. We joined the Council to learn from others facing similar challenges globally and connect with funders to explore issues such as finding ways to better build grantee sustainability. Our mission is to “improve the…

In January, I shared some trends that will shape philanthropy in 2017, many of which also apply directly to community foundations. Now is a time of significant opportunity for community foundations, which I've seen through our customers and conversations with community foundation professionals like…

At #COFAnnual, our Global Philanthropy Reception and Dinner will focus on the issues and opportunities facing women and girls in the United States as well as around the world. In preparation for this event and in honor of Women’s History Month, we’d like to share the following blog post from the…

This was first published on March 22 in The Hill. Washington, D.C., may be the most partisan place on earth, where anything and everything is judged by which political party you support, rather than the substance of what’s being discussed. Well, thank goodness that perspective is not shared by our…

Excited, relieved, eager, anxious—those were some of the feelings I experienced when I found out I was selected as an Atlas Corps Fellow to serve at the Council on Foundations. I was working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Jamaica when I received the confirmation email…

How did you celebrate International Women’s Day this year? Council staff wore red in solidarity with the “A Day Without a Woman” campaign. Are you worried about how proposed cuts to USG development funding might impact your international grantmaking? I recently spoke to the Chronicle about what we'…

This post also appeared on SDG Philanthropy Platform's blog on March 14, 2017. What do Mexico, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the U.S. have in common, when it comes to helping implement the Sustainable Development Goals? In all four countries, philanthropy associations are working with local networks of…

In my humble opinion, this month ushers in some of the greatest occasions: March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, and the first day of spring. What more could you ask for? How about renewing your membership with the Council before the April 30 deadline? To take advantage of all the Council has to offer…

Do you know what happens when the U.S. sanctions U.S. charities? If you answered no, you wouldn’t be alone. It can lead to funds being frozen indefinitely, despite tax rules requiring that they be distributed for charitable purposes when a charity shuts down. Cherie L. Evans of Evans & Rosen…

In April, my tenure as chair of the Council on Foundations’ Board of Directors will end, and I will near completion of my board service, a term bounded by two historic presidential elections and begun when our country experienced an economic collapse rivaled only by the 1929 market crash and the…