It’s the time of year when we begin to think about the new Congress and our legislative agenda at the Council on Foundations. To help us get started, I am asking for your support by filling out the Philanthropic Policy Priorities Survey. The responses to the survey will allow the Public Policy…

In recent years, I’ve witnessed two interesting trends in philanthropy that are particularly resonant with community foundations. First, there has been a backlash against “strategic philanthropy” and accusations that foundations have become too focused on measurement and planning, using top-down…

Twelve years ago, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation tried what it thought was an unconventional move. Anxious to jump-start the downtown area, the foundation convened community and political leaders to devise a strategy for reclaiming the area where our city was born. More than $2 billion has been…

More than 30 U.S. community foundations have taken a fresh look at aging in recent years. And they are bringing a new view to their communities—one that considers older adults to be a vast, untapped resource for social change. As part of the Community Experience Partnership, an initiative of The…

Passion, integrity, and engagement: These are the key ingredients to successful outcomes or growth in a community (well, everywhere, really). It takes passion to get involved and make changes. It takes integrity be steadfast and do what you say you are going to do, especially when facing the…

In the U.S., more than half of the children younger than a year old are of color and almost one in every 10 counties is majority-minority. By 2023, the majority of U.S. children will be of color. And by 2042, people of color will comprise the majority of the entire U.S. population. These…

The Fall Conference for Community Foundations* is fast approaching. I want to make sure that you are aware of several opportunities at the conference to learn about the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations™. Developed in the spirit of accountability, transparency, and continuous self-…

Every year at the Fall Conference for Community Foundations, members of the Council’s government relations and legal team provide a legislative and regulatory update, including implications for the philanthropic sector. In addition, they offer tips on how to navigate the sometimes muddy political…

We know donor-advised funds (DAFs) are the engine of growth for many community foundations, but what do we know about the role they play in our communities? This is an often-discussed and debated topic among community foundation staff and boards. Thirty-one community foundations representing…

Why do community foundation CEOs pursue “community leadership” as a key organizing strategy in their foundations? Because there was a leadership void in our community and we realized we were uniquely positioned to step up. Because we recognized we had important assets that could help address the…

Last week, The Merck Company Foundation launched a new three-year, $3 million initiative, the HIV Care Collaborative for Underserved Populations in the United States, to help the local health departments in Atlanta, Houston, and Philadelphia connect more people living with HIV/AIDS to the care they…

On Monday, DRF announced a $10 million grant to fund an entrepreneurship initiative to benefit the residents of the City of Danville and Pittsylvania County in Virginia and Caswell County in North Carolina, the foundation’s Dan River Region footprint. In a global economy, investment in those who…

Following the success of Kentucky’s inaugural Foundations 101 meeting, I was part of a group of several funders in Alabama who joined together earlier this month to reach out to the local staffs of our elected officials for our own 101 session. Unlike the barnstorming meetings some of us attend…

They say two heads are better than one … but how about hundreds of heads? All focused on exploring future possibilities and challenges with the goal to create new realities? For The Patterson Foundation, intentionally connecting with others is essential to our work. What’s one way we…

After a lot of encouragement from the field, the IRS is ready to issue new regulations regarding  program-related investments (PRIs). The regulations don’t change the rules governing PRIs. Foundations will still be able to invest creatively to advance their mission, as well as…

El Pomar Foundation began preparing to respond to one of the worst natural disasters in Colorado history 10 years before the first sign of smoke in Waldo Canyon. In June 2002, the Hayman fire ripped through four Colorado counties, consuming more than 137,000 acres. While those flames were still…