Led by Council on Foundations staff with collectively decades of experience with global philanthropy, the Global Grantmaking Essentials will also feature guest speakers with deep knowledge on specific issues or countries.
- Wednesday, October 9: 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET
- Thursday, October 10: 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET
- Wednesday, October 16: 1-5:00 p.m. ET
Who Should Attend
This training is primarily designed for grantmaking, program, or legal staff at U.S.-based foundations with no prior experience making global grants or for staff with working knowledge who are seeking additional insights and tools.
Global Grantmaking Essentials is open to staff at independent and family foundations, corporate grantmakers, community foundations, and public charity grantmakers such as global intermediaries. This training is also open to Board members of foundations.
About Global Grantmaking Essentials
The Global Grantmaking Essentials course is built on the Council’s more than 40 years of experience in supporting foundations who work and grant internationally.
This three-day training will provide attendees with a thorough understanding of the regulatory frameworks governing global grantmaking, offer tools and resources to help navigate these complex systems, and suggest better ways of operating internationally based on trends, data, and research.
Global Grantmaking Essentials also includes time for networking and discussion based on the type of grantmakers in attendance, providing unique space for dialogue and reflection among peers.
Participants will explore the following during the course:
Introduction to Global Grantmaking
- What are the various mechanisms or methods grantmakers can use to make international grants
- Who are the main actors and which foundations do global grantmaking
- What does the data say about global funding trends from the U.S. over time
The Legal Basics of Global Grantmaking
- What laws and regulations do global funders need to follow
- What are expenditure responsibility and equivalency determination, and when to use each one
- How do funders need to report on global grants
- How to fund general support, capital assets, foreign governments, and international organizations
The Scary Acronyms
- What are OFAC, FATF, AML, CFT, FCPA, and FARA
- How can global funders navigate sanctions, money-laundering, and counter-terrorism laws
- What are trends in the global enabling environment for philanthropy
Receiving Country Laws
- How do other countries regulate their nonprofit sectors
- What are some of the common challenges global funders face in getting money to nonprofits in other countries
- Which countries make it difficult to make grants to their nonprofits and which countries cannot receive grants from U.S. foundations
Working with Intermediaries
- What is an intermediary and why or when would they be used
- How do U.S.-based intermediaries differ from those registered in other countries
- What are the nuances in different types and structures of intermediaries
- What are some reasons to choose one intermediary over another
Locally Led Development
- What is locally led development and similar ideas like localization, decolonization, shifting power, and funding proximate leaders
- How can funders authentically practice locally led development
- What are some of the challenges funders face when practicing locally led development
Please note, this course is limited to foundation staff and Board members only. Foundations registered outside of the U.S. are welcome to participate but please note the course is targeted to U.S.-based grantmakers with a focus on U.S. law as it impacts global grantmaking.
