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.
Partners
The Council would like to thank all of our Partners for their generous support of the 2019 Endowments & Finance Summit.
Leadership & Networking Reception Partner
TIAA Institute
www.tiaa.org/public/land/endowmentsandfoundations
The TIAA Institute helps advance the ways…
Reimagining the Council: Focus Group Findings & Our Next Steps
q{
quotes: "\201C""\201D""\2018""\2019";
padding: 10px 20px;
line-height: 1.4;
}
q:before {
content: open-quote;
display: inline;
height: 0;
line-height: 0;
left: -10px;
position: relative;
top: 5px;
color: #002d4d;
font-size: 30px;
}
q:after {
content: close-quote;…
2019 HR Summit - Schedule
Schedule
This schedule is subject to change.
Wednesday, September 11
11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Wellness Experience - Healing & Self Care Practices
Location: The Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center
Human resource and talent leaders must learn healing and self-care practices, like mindfulness,…
Our Divided Nation: Is There a Role for Philanthropy in Renewing Democracy?
Publication
American democracy faces challenges that raise difficult questions for philanthropy. Have funders done everything possible to shore up democratic values and aspirations, or pursued their own ideas of the public good and turned a blind eye to these challenges? To what extent can philanthropy’s…
Washington Snapshot: House Passes Bill to Redesign the IRS; Bill Related to Opportunity Zones Reintroduced
Please note, we will take a break from publishing Washington Snapshot while Congress is on recess from April 15-26, as well as during the week of the Leading Together 2019 Conference. Our next edition is scheduled for May 9. However, if any important executive or regulatory developments occur, we…
2019 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey Demo
Interested in the Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report? Join Council staff for a demonstration of the survey process and learn how you can participate in this important resource for the field.
CyberGrants presents "The Seven Deadly Sins of Grantmaking"
Grantmaking tends to be a pretty virtuous endeavor. However, given the complexity of the process and endless details and data, it’s easy to fall prey to one of the many “deadly sins of grantmaking”. In this interactive session, we’ll highlight some common “sins”…
The Value of Learning from the World
What do you do when you have a difficult and complex problem? If you’re like me, you start by trying to understand it. You think the problem through from all angles, looking at the data, talking to people in your community. You study the problem, inside out.
Now, what do you do when you're looking…
Reimagining the Council on Foundations: A Member Visioning Session with Kathleen Enright
What is the highest and best role for philanthropy? And how can the Council support our members and the field to reach our potential and address the most pressing issues of our time? Join Kathleen Enright, President and CEO of The Council on Foundations, for an interactive visioning session to…
Out @ COF: LGBTQ Funders Reception
Are you a grantmaker committed to LGBTQ issues? Did you know in 2017, grantmaking by U.S. foundations in support of organizations and programs addressing LGBTQ issues totaled $185.7 million, and the South became the most funded region with more than $22 million in funding, occupying the top…
Washington Snapshot: Possible Retirement Overhaul, Bill to Redesign the IRS Clears Committee
In This Week's Edition of Snapshot...
Preserve Charities and Houses of Worship Act Introduced
Request for Information on Opportunity Zones Regulations
At-Risk Community Index for 2020 Census
States Continue Enacting Targeted Tax Credits
The Council Hosted Public Policy Preconference in…
Reimagining Council Membership: What We've Learned So Far
Last month, we announced our work to Reimagine Council Membership and asked for feedback as we review Council membership and dues.
More than 400 individuals – representing grantmaking organizations of different types, sizes, geographies, and member status – responded to our survey and shared ideas…
Town Hall: Philanthropy Bridging Divides
No matter our political persuasion, most of us can agree that America is a divided nation. Elected officials, political parties and the media often fan the flames of division, leaving our nation more angry and our citizens more isolated from each other. What is the role of our sector during these…
2019 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey Demo
Interested in the Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report? Join Council staff for a demonstration of the survey process and learn how you can participate in this important resource for the field.
Big Data for Proactive Philanthropy
Urban Institute will feature three cases of innovative tools designed to make big data more easily accessible to decision makers: 1) Public Good Projects' Social Media data tool for the Opioid Crisis; 2) Urban Institute Education Data Portal; and National Center on Charitable…