Last week, I predicted that the itemized deduction could soon be back on the table as Congress looks for ways to raise revenue. It may not have been a great leap to predict that, but my crystal ball is working: Yesterday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) announced a…

As the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, and a veteran myself, the challenges those who serve face when they come home are topics near and dear to my heart. There are so many ways to lean into this conversation. We can talk about mental health issues and the suicide rate within this population.…

As foundations continue to assess where they can maximize the social return on their charitable investments, many are looking at issues of gender norms and equity. While gender may impact every issue a funder addresses, often grantees and staff aren’t challenged to do innovative, intersectional…

It took many long hours—and hundreds of e-mails—to get to this point, but we finally, officially, proudly launched the Next Gen Donors report at last week’s Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference in San Jose. This launch represents the culmination of more than a year of data…

Who can argue with Bill Gates and his call for a more thoughtful and holistic approach to measurement? It sounds like a simple equation: If you want to achieve progress, you set a clear goal and find a measure, or measures, that will drive progress toward that goal. Ideally, however, measurement is…

“Family foundations evolve, so they need to be able to evolve.”—Kelin Gersick, author, Generations of Giving As I participated in the preconference transitions workshop at this week’s Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference in San Jose, I was struck by the simple truth of this…

Earlier this month, I joined the Council on Foundations after following a rather unique road in government relations, the law, and public policy. I’ve worked in all three sectors: public, private, and now independent. From my perspective, this new opportunity—this leap of faith that I’ve taken—is…

This year’s Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference is challenging those of us in family philanthropy to consider how systems thinking applies to our work. At the opening plenary, David Peter Stroh from Bridgeway Partners defined a system as “an interconnected set of elements…

The central piece of the vision for the Council on Foundations 2013 Family Philanthropy Conference  is found in our theme of “systems thinking.” To be most effective and find the right approaches given our capacities we need to understand how these systems are affecting the issues we care…

It’s no accident that the Council on Foundations 2013 Family Philanthropy Conference takes place this week in Silicon Valley. This is Ground Zero for technological innovation. Ideas birthed here have changed—and continue to change—the world. Silicon Valley has been the workshop of some brilliant…

Blessed are the family foundations graced with harmonious board interaction, for they may be focused on their grantmaking. Running through case studies in preparation for our session at this month’s Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference in San Jose, I am struck by the power of a…

Today, 600,000 high-tech manufacturing jobs remain open in the United States and more than 82 percent of manufacturers report that these jobs are unfilled because they can’t find people with the necessary skills. More specifically, according to a Manufacturing Institute survey, there is a critical…

In 2012 there were further signs that the once staid tradition of employees taking part in annual workplace giving campaigns has been upended by digital technology, younger workers with new ideas, and the need for more engagement between employers and employees. Those are the preliminary…

If you’re a busy professional, you may be interested in locating apps that can help you be more effective. But with more than 700,000 apps currently available in Google Play, finding the right ones to install on your Android phone can be difficult. With that being said, here are five free apps I’d…

Philanthropy is tightly woven into the fabric of American society. It’s hard to imagine life without the fruits of charitable giving, including hospice care, insulin, vaccines, civil rights, Sesame Street, the 911 system, and even white lines on roadways. These and other advances are among the…

Cities like Cleveland typically have rich assets in their “eds and meds”: top-tier academic and medical institutions that draw people from around the world. In NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology, we at the Cleveland Foundation and our partners have created a dynamic resource that…