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.
How Intergenerational Programs Can Advance Your Mission
While most foundations focus on defined issues or demographics, others find success maximizing impact with intergenerational solutions. Intended for all foundation professionals, this session shows how The Eisner Foundation, RRF Foundation for Aging, and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund have…
Inclusive Strategies for Community-Driven Philanthropy
In 2012 a network of community philanthropies in Washington State came together, committed to making philanthropy more equitable through community-led and driven solutions. Three cohort members will share how learning together fueled innovation in their approaches to fostering belonging across…
Improve the Civic Health of Communities by Collaborating with Local and Hyperlocal News
Learn how two foundations in two different geographies are using similar approaches to improve civic health and community engagement, fill vital information gaps and build trust by supporting local, hyperlocal and community-based news providers. Working on the local level, these…
Insights from a Place-Based Minority Business Learning Cohort
This session highlights the power of partnerships through learning cohorts. Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund donated $100 million to support small business owners who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami. A national learning…
Increasing Trust Amid Decreasing Attention
Nonprofit leaders and funders alike say storytelling is simultaneously one of their greatest needs and greatest challenges. Attention is increasingly fragmented and audiences are fatigued by marketing campaigns and clever pitches. In this session, you will learn how increasing the dimensionality of…
Leveraging Narrative Power to Inspire Stronger Communities
Participants in this session will gain insight into their role in supporting place-based, community-driven stories. This session is relevant for communications and program staff, executive leaders, and board members. Because narrative work spans all sectors, both place-based and issue-based funders…
How Funders Can Lead with Humility in Community-Centered Collaboration
What does it look like for funders to truly center the expertise and goals of community? The Houston Economic Growth Collaborative is a multi-sector initiative exploring the potential to invest more than $100M over 10 years in resident-defined priorities. Leaders will share early lessons on…
Listening to Shift Power: Kellogg Foundation's Experience with Participatory Philanthropy in Hawai’i
Fund for Shared Insight, a national funder collaborative, invited funders to a participatory climate initiative in Hawai’i. The Kellogg Foundation, which funds in Hawai’i, and is committed to equity, was a core partner. The effort was designed to involve people most impacted by climate change in…
How Can Foundations Affect Family Economic Stability and System Change
How do funders build lasting change in our communities? The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and The Pew Charitable Trusts share examples of recent partnerships in Tennessee and Minnesota on strategies and tools to address eviction and court-enforced debt collection. This session will…
High-Quality Ways to Hear Directly From Communities
Many funders rely on feedback from grantees to improve their grantmaking, but hesitate to go right to the source and listen to the people at the heart of their work. It can be daunting to listen directly to communities, but it’s an essential part of responsible stewardship and equitable strategies…
Getting to 100% Mission Alignment
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation, designed for organizational leaders and foundation investment professionals, that challenges the conventional philanthropic dialogue on grantmaking. Rather than focusing solely on the 5% spending debate, we will discuss the often overlooked 95% of funds…
Looking to the Future of Board Governance
Are foundation boards composed in a just way? Are they equipped to enhance the creativity and innovation needed across the nonprofit sector? Foundation governance mostly occurs out of view and often flies under the radar of discussion and debate in the sector. Two Minnesota foundation CEOs—Tuleah…
Lunch Plenary Session: Funding the Rural-Urban Connection
Rural and urban communities need each other. But while their interdependence plays out in their economies, cultures, and environments, prevailing narratives center on differences and divides. Meanwhile, rural communities account for close to 20 percent of the population, but they receive only 7…
Breakfast Plenary Session: From Rupture to Repair
The journey beyond toxic polarization and record levels of mistrust begins when we reknit the fabric of our civic lives: our places, our institutions, and, most importantly, our relationships. A critical first step is to take responsibility for harm and actively work to repair the ties that have…
Examining Your Foundation's Systems Through an Equity Lens
Hosted by Community Foundation Opportunity Network (CFON)
Join us for an opportunity to examine and gain a deeper understanding of the internal systems change needed for community foundations (and other grantmaking organizations) to authentically engage in external systems change and equity work.…
Moving from Surviving to Thriving Using the Vital Conditions for Health and Wellbeing Framework
Healthy Communities Delaware (HCD), a public private initiative of the Delaware Community Foundation, and ReThink Health, an initiative of the Rippel Foundation are partnering to catalyze and foster thriving communities. Learn how HCD leverages the Vital Conditions for Health and Wellbeing…