The Great Recession hurt many Americans, and rural communities across the US have had to continue fighting to provide residents with facilities to educate their children, businesses that offer goods and employment, and other institutions to meet residents’ needs. In rural communities, it’s not…

The Council on Foundations' 2016 Annual Conference features a pre-conference session in Baltimore during which participants will visit the Center for Urban Families. This is reprinted from an original post on Washington Monthly. To view the “Successes of Philanthropy” series, kindly…

National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations has been an important resource for the Community Foundation of Central Georgia (CFCG). During CFCG’s most recent strategic planning process, the board set three goals. One of these goals is to be a “trusted, ethical, and excellent organization”.…

I believe the intent of community foundation offerings—from endowment building, convening, to grant making—is to be thoughtful, intentional, and sustainable in their approach to community challenges and opportunities.  My personal experience with community philanthropy is best explained…

When my grandparents, Sam and Helen Walton, set the course for our family’s philanthropic vision in the late 1980s, they set out to make lasting change by empowering individuals. My grandfather often said there is no limit to what can be accomplished when people are given opportunity and…

Historically, community foundations have worked to create change by making grants to local nonprofits, advocacy groups, and other organizations. But a new breed of funders is showing how, by serving in yet another role, they can foster change that is more comprehensive, more responsive to residents…

This is reprinted from an original post on Washington Monthly. To view the “Successes of Philanthropy” series, kindly visit Washington Monthly. Introducing “Successes of Philanthropy” In America, more so than in other countries, philanthropies play a unique and important role of supporting…

"Can you imagine if we designed the entire city for children?" This was stated by Enrique Peñalosa Londoño, former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, and it has stuck with me for many years. The idea of designing an entire city for children, or better yet, giving back to a community that our children, and…

As part of the Learn Foundation Law team, I am excited to announce the launch of our new training course, Working with Government Officials: Rules for Private Foundations. This course is designed to help private foundation staff navigate the rules and regulations surrounding interactions with…

Today we celebrate a major victory for community foundations and your donors. The charitable “tax extenders” are no longer “extenders” that must be reinstated each year, but have become a permanent part of our tax code. In a historic vote, Congress passed the IRA Charitable Rollover into…

This article appears in the December 2015 edition of Alliance Magazine. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an opportunity to not only address challenges in developing countries, but also to make progress on many of the same challenges that persist in ‘developed’ countries. Each of the…

Today, more than 30,000 organizations, countless individuals, and a host of policymakers are celebrating the importance and impact of charitable giving and philanthropy. Under the banner of #GivingTuesday, Henry Timms & New York’s 92nd Street YMCA in partnership with the UN Foundation have…

According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the nation’s top 50 donors committed $1.6 billion to support a wide range of scientific research initiatives. The foundations investing in scientific research are helping to pave the way for many significant advances that are saving lives, reducing costs…

Sherry Magill PhD, Chair of the Board of Directors I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Rick Cohen. He and I first met in the mid 1990s when he served at national LISC and we were attempting to develop a local LISC chapter in northeast Florida. Over the years, we met annually at the…

Last Friday, a string of terror attacks took place across Paris, killing more than 130 people on a warm, lively Friday evening. The day before, a double suicide bomb attack killed more than 40 people and wounded 200 more in a market in South Beirut. These attacks happened the same week as a bomb at…

  As the number of foundations choosing to sunset increases, the learnings from which all foundations can benefit are increasing as well. Even foundations choosing to fund in perpetuity often have programs, strategies and grants that come to a close. There is value in…