Private Foundations

Private foundations make grants based on charitable endowments. The endowment funds come from one or a small handful of sources -- an individual, a family or a corporation. Because of their endowments, they are focused primarily on grantmaking and generally do not raise funds or seek public financial support the way public charities (like community foundations) must.

“Private foundation” is the umbrella term that includes corporate, independent, family, and operating foundations.  As of 2011, there were 73,764 private foundations in the United States (Foundation Center, 2011).  

In 2011, private foundations held more than $604 billion in assets and gave away more than $45 billion (Foundation Center, 2011).  

Below is everything on our site for private foundations. Due to the large number of resources on our website, we highly recommend you use the site navigation or the search feature to find what you are looking for.

Are You a Serial Entrepreneur?

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…

Why the IRS Rulings on PRIs Matter

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…

Making It Happen in the Dan River Region

Time flies when you are doing good work. The Danville Regional Foundation launched its Make It Happen! (MIH!) program in November 2010 to show that everybody can make a difference through incremental changes, no matter how small. Now, approximately 18 months later, we just awarded our 50th MIH!…

Deadline for Career Pathways Program Approaching

The application deadline for the third class of the Council on Foundations’ Career Pathways Program is March 21. Individuals with diverse backgrounds seeking career advancement in the field of philanthropy are encouraged to apply. In two short years, the Career Pathways program has…

Impact Investing Glossary of Terms

External Resource
From Mission Investors Exchange, 2012

Rumor Has It: Dispelling Myths about Private Foundations and Advocacy

On the heels of Foundations on the Hill and many blogs on the topic, some of you may be scratching your heads asking, can a foundation really talk to legislators, educate them about the issues important to your foundation’s mission, and advocate to better position philanthropy? The short answer is…

Conflicts of Interest at Foundations: Avoiding the Bad and Managing the Good

BoardSource | A partnership of the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers and the Council of Michigan Foundations Even the most comprehensive conflict-of-interest policy cannot cover every conceivable situation where there might be the appearance of a conflict. Accordingly, conflict-of-…

Charitable Giving

Issue The charitable deduction is a tax provision which allows individuals to reduce their taxable income by the total amount of charitable contributions they made in that tax year (with some limitations, depending of the type of gift—i.e. cash, stocks, property—or the type of organization…
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