Public Foundations
Public foundations are grantmaking public charities that gain their funds from a variety of sources, which may include foundations, individuals, corporations, or public entities. Public foundations may engage in fundraising, and may seek broad public financial support. They may or may not have endowments. There is no legal definition of a public foundation, but most dedicate a significant portion of their annual budgets to grantmaking. Most community foundations are also grantmaking public charities.
Since public foundations may be defined in different ways, and there is no official IRS or legal definition of public foundations, it is difficult to arrive at statistics that are fully representative of the field.
Below is everything on our site for public foundations. We strongly recommend that you use the navigation or our search feature to find what you're looking for on our site. Please also visit cof.org/programs-services/public-grantmaking-charities for curated public foundation content.
Sample Conflict of Interest Policies from Council Members
Sample Document
Sample conflict of interest policies from the Community Foundation of Switzerland County and Triangle Community Foundation.
Can a Foundation Lawyer Serve as a Foundation Trustee?
Legal Compliance Guidance
This article explores one of the more common questions about conflicts of interest: May the foundation's lawyer serve as a trustee?
Foundation Lawyer/Trustee
Often, the lawyer who drafted a foundation's organizing documents stays on as counsel to the organization. He or she may be asked to serve…
Council-Endorsed D&O Insurance Program
Legal Compliance Guidance
Directors & Officers liability insurance provides financial protection for a foundation and its directors, officers, employees, and volunteers in the event of a lawsuit.
Does your foundation need D&O insurance?
A foundation doesn't have to be in the wrong to be sued. D&O insurance…
Developing a Travel Policy
Fundamentals
Under the rules applicable to private foundations, directors or trustees and staff members may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the foundation's charitable activities. Such expenditures fall under the heading of administrative costs and will generally…
Intermediate Sanctions Regulations Checklist
Legal Compliance Guidance
The intermediate sanctions rules prohibit tax-exempt organizations from providing more than fair market value economic benefits to their “disqualified persons.”
The intermediate sanctions rules apply to all section 501(c)(3) and section 501(c)(4) organizations except for private foundations, which…
Pros and Cons of Sharing Board Members With Grantees
Legal Compliance Guidance
What do you do when a grantee—or potential grantee—asks someone on your board or staff to sit on their board? Does such a request constitute a conflict of interest? Are there times when such a situation can actually benefit one or both of the organizations involved?
Let’s look at some of the pros…
Sharing Board Members With Grantees
Many foundation board members wear more than one philanthropic hat. In addition to serving on the board of a grantmaker, they may also serve on the boards of grantseeking charities—or even on their staffs. Several issues may arise when board members find themselves on both sides of a grant request…
Tangible Benefits Resulting from Grants
Legal Compliance Guidance
In the May/June 1998 issue of Foundation News & Commentary, Jane Nober wrote "That's the Ticket" about using foundation funds to pay for tickets to fundraising events. Six years later, questions about tickets and other tangible benefits paid for by the foundation are still among the most…
Accepting Tickets from Grantees
Legal Compliance Guidance
Accepting and using tickets and other tangible benefits of more than minimal value raises questions for foundation managers. Review the general Tax Code rules to learn what is acceptable.
IRS FAQs about Public Disclosure Requirements
External Resource
Tax-exempt organizations must make annual returns and exemption applications filed with the IRS available for public inspection and copying upon request. In addition, the IRS makes these documents available. These FAQs relate to the public disclosure and availability of documents filed by tax-…
Compensate Your Board? Legal and Ethical Considerations
Legal Compliance Guidance
Can we pay our board members? Should we?
The issue of whether to pay foundation board members is always a controversial topic. Expect the media, regulators, general public, and even your grantees to scrutinize the decisions you make.
What is legal?
Though the rules may vary slightly by type of…
Executive Compensation Best Practices
Legal Compliance Guidance
The Internal Revenue Code provides excise tax penalties that can be imposed by the Internal Revenue Service whenever unreasonable or excessive compensation is paid to high-level employees of charitable organizations.
Over and above any legal requirements or public scrutiny, good stewards of…
Legal and Accounting Challenges of Underwater Endowment Funds
Legal Compliance Guidance
By Susan E. Budak and Susan N. Gary
The widespread adoption of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) across the country has already been of great help to charities, in part because the financial markets collapsed just months after the uniform act was approved. Most, if…
Investment Management Practice Tips and Resources
Legal Compliance Guidance
Practice 1. The board (and investment committee and staff, if any) of a foundation should understand and fulfill their respective fiduciary responsibilities and duties under applicable law and the governing documents of the foundation and stay informed regarding any relevant changes in law, duties…
IRS Audit Survival Tips
Legal Compliance Guidance
Things to do NOW – “An Ounce of Prevention...”
Review your organization’s activities – seems simple and basic, but the IRS will be certainly asking about them and the audit context is not the time to learn about someone’s pet project for the first time. Do you have documentation to establish the…
Explanation of Proposed Treasury Regulations: Reliance Standards for Making Good Faith Determinations of Equivalency Determinations
Legal Compliance Guidance
September 24, 2012
The Department of Treasury and the IRS issued proposed regulations applicable to private foundations seeking to make grants to foreign organizations using equivalency determinations. The guidance broadens the range of professionals on whose written advice a private foundation…