It’s officially tax season when the IRS releases its Dirty Dozen List of Tax Scams. We know Council members work hard to be on the right side of the law, but the below info from the IRS can be useful to review with board and staff. Don’t forget, if you ever have a question, the Council’s legal team…

Sandi Roehrig, Executive Director, Fond du Lac Area Foundation Many years ago the community foundation executives in Wisconsin met to collectively talk about a growing concern. At the time, any organization could call itself a community foundation, and if their actions gave the term a bad name, we…

Greetings! It’s been a busy month here at the Council: We’ve been hard at work planning for our Annual Conference in Dallas as well as strategically engaging the new Congress and administration. Below are a number of updates related to corporate foundations, plus future opportunities for you to…

Council President and CEO Vikki Spruill sat down with Philanthropy Hour’s Greg Cherry for an intimate conversation about the impact and value of American philanthropy and the Council on Foundations' role in advancing the common good. Hear what Vikki considers to be trending in the field, what…

The community foundations in the U.S. are not only the oldest in the world, they are certainly the wealthiest and probably the most resilient. They have paved the way for a global movement which currently counts 1,858 community foundations in 71 countries worldwide (see Community Foundation Atlas…

The nature of disruption has been on my mind recently. Our friends at the Greater New Orleans Foundation are coordinating a Helping our Neighbors: Tornado Relief Fund to alleviate the devastation of numerous tornadoes last week. They mobilized quickly to help pave the way for philanthropy to make a…

Basic Rights and Rules for Foundations working with Non-US Citizens Disclaimer: The information in this message and any attachments is being provided for informational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. The information is not a substitute for expert legal, tax,or…

Evaluation and philanthropic learning are essential to driving social change. Here are five trends to look out for in 2017 – and likely beyond: 1. Integrating Evaluation into Strategy In the philanthropic, nonprofit, and public sectors, and more recently with socially oriented businesses, demand…

February marks the observance of National African American History Month, a commemoration with origins dating back to 1926 when Dr. Carter G. Woodson instituted a week-long celebration to raise awareness of African Americans’ contributions to history. 50 years later, as part of the United States…

Happy new year! In the last few months, I’ve reached out to many of you to introduce myself, learn more about your foundations, and discuss ways that we can work together through your membership with the Council. After each of these discussions, I have come away not only impressed, but genuinely…

Did you march with the millions of women in cities around the world last week? Or watch President Trump’s inauguration last Friday? Here in D.C., it’s been a crowded and hectic start to 2017. At the Council, we are busy preparing for our Annual Conference in April and have launched several new…

Our field is of course focused first and foremost on impact. That’s the reason we get up and do the work we do every day. But for me, the trends to watch this year are all related to capital—and specifically, how the sector can put more of it to work better, faster, and cheaper. Here’s what we see…

My wife and I met as Peace Corps volunteers in Sierra Leone in 1987. Three decades later, we were living on the East Coast, both enjoying fulfilling work in social sector careers. Last year, an unexpected opportunity arose to serve as the Walton Family Foundation’s executive director – the third in…

In both 2015 and 2016, the Council on Foundations worked closely with a global nonprofit coalition to advocate for changes to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Since 9/11, more than 140 governments have passed counter-terrorism legislation. In many countries, governments have framed civil…

As the nation approaches the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, our society remains conflicted on our ability to be united as a people. We find ourselves seeking relief from the divisiveness brought about by several events of the prior year: the civil unrest in many of our…

Monday, January 16, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day), a federal holiday in the U.S. The fact that a federal holiday was designated to commemorate the birthdate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is significant - only two other figures have national holidays in the U.S. honoring them: George…