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.
Pension Protection Act
The Pension Protection Act (PPA) was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 17, 2006. The PPA was designed to improve pension plan funding requirements of employers, as well as 401(k), IRA, and other retirement plans. The PPA also included numerous provisions that affect charitable…
State Charitable Solicitation Compliance
External Resource, Legal Compliance Guidance
Most states have registration and/or reporting laws that apply to nonprofit organizations soliciting contributions within the state. Information about registration is available through individual states or the Multi-State Filer Project.
IRS Publication 1771: Charitable Contributions–Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements
External Resource
Explains the federal tax law for organizations such as charities and churches that receive tax-deductible charitable contributions, and for taxpayers who make contributions.
IRS Publication 4302: A Charity's Guide to Car Donations
Legal Compliance Guidance, External Resource
Types of car donation programs and their impact on tax-exempt status, taxable income, and deductible contributions.
Accepting Non-Cash Gifts as Charitable Contributions
Legal Compliance Guidance
Accepting gifts of real estate, subchapter S corporations, and business interests (including general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and limited liability companies), as well as determining when or if they trigger unrelated business tax (UBIT).
Grants to Organizations from Donor-Advised Funds: Is Expenditure Responsibility Required?
Legal Compliance Guidance
Use this flowchart to determine if grants from donor-advised funds require expenditure responsibility.
Providing Large Grants to Small Grantees
Legal Compliance Guidance
Lawyers rarely tell foundation managers, "Relax, don’t worry so much!" But in the case of "tipping," that’s been our advice for more than 10 years. What is the so-called "tipping problem" and why are so many foundations (still) so worried about it?
Tipping occurs when a private…
To Check or Not to Check: Complying With OFAC Regulations
Legal Compliance Guidance
After September 11, 2001, many grantmakers and other charitable organizations that were not previously familiar with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), learned of its existence. As one of the key U.S. government agencies seeking to shut down terrorism funding…
The Debate Over Anti-Terrorism Certification
Legal Compliance Guidance
In an effort to ensure that charitable resources are used exclusively for charitable purposes and not used to support terrorist activity, organizations may choose to adopt practices in addition to those explicitly required by law. Among the practices that some charities choose to adopt is including…
Multi-Year Grants: To Commit or Not to Commit
Legal Compliance Guidance
Can we back out of a multiyear commitment we made in a prior year because our foundation’s assets have declined?
The answer in many cases is “no.” That is, unless your grantee is willing to release your foundation from its obligation.
Generally, an unconditional, multiyear grant is considered a…
Faith-based Grantmaking: A Basic Guide for the Perplexed
Legal Compliance Guidance
Generally, there is no legal restriction against making grants to churches, synagogues, mosques or other religious institutions. But there are some things foundations interested in such grantmaking should know.
For years, private foundations and public charities have recognized religious…
Understanding Fiscal Sponsorship
Legal Compliance Guidance
Everything you need to know to stay out of trouble with third-party representatives.
Does hearing the sentence "Just make that grant check payable to my fiscal agent" stop you in your tracks? It should. If your potential grantees are washing your grant funds through an accommodating charity that…
Donor Advised Fund Gift to a 501(c)(3) Donor
Legal Compliance Guidance
Can a 501(c)(3) organization with a donor advised fund at a community foundation make a distribution to itself?
Unfortunately, when the law changed under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, this was left unclear. Intermediate sanctions rules prohibit grants and similar payments to donors from a…
Supporting Individual Missionaries through Religious Organizations
Individual taxpayers cannot take a charitable deduction for making a gift to an individual, even when channeled through a charitable institution, no matter how deserving of charity the recipient may be.
Dewey Diligence, a program officer at the Acme Community Foundation, was accustomed to having…
Increasing the Number and Size of Awards
Legal Compliance Guidance
When donors to scholarship funds see the impact that their money can have on the life of a student, they are often inspired to contribute more. Sometimes they will add more to the principal of the fund so that future awardees can receive bigger scholarships or more scholarships can be awarded.…
Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan
Sample Document
Community foundations have proven themselves to be cornerstones of support to the community, especially in times of need and disaster. When emergencies or disasters strike, the Foundation must be well-prepared to quickly and effectively help itself in order to be able to help others.
This…