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. You can use the filtering options on the right to narrow these results.
A Private Foundation View on Recommendations from Our Sector Colleagues
Like many leaders of private foundations, I have strong beliefs about the importance of growing philanthropy in ways that build trust and advance equity in the field.
That is why I am so appreciative of the work that the Strengthening Community Philanthropy Ad Hoc Working Group (the Working Group)…
PhilEx Live: Non-profit Resilience
Developed out of a trending conversation on the Philanthropy Exchange (PhilEx), the Council invites you to join a member-only peer-led discussion around how foundations are approaching non-profit resiliency in 2022.
Join peers from across the country in a discussion focused on:
Peer Discussion…
Washington Snapshot: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer Announces Retirement
What You Need to Know About Public Policy This Week...
News From the Council
White House Fact Sheet Summarizes New Federal Funds for Local Communities
National Solar Credit Ready Initiative and Philanthropic Partnership
Department of Commerce Seeks Community of Practice Leader
Democrats…
Council on Foundations Welcomes Three Strategic Leaders to 2022 Board of Directors
WASHINGTON, DC - The Council on Foundations (the Council) today announced that its membership has approved the appointment of three philanthropic executives to its board of directors: Srikanth Gopal, Managing Partner of Humanity United; Galen Maness, Chief Operating Officer of the San Francisco…
Career Pathways 2022 Cohort Selected to Represent the Future of Philanthropic Leadership
WASHINGTON, DC - The Council on Foundations today announced the selection of 51 philanthropy professionals for participation in Career Pathways, a leadership development program designed to diversify the talent pipeline for executive-level roles in Philanthropy. In this highly selective program,…
Strengthening Community Philanthropy Ad Hoc Working Group Final Recommendations
The Strengthening Community Philanthropy Ad Hoc Working Group, convened by the Council on Foundations, released the following recommendations on donor-advised funds (DAFs), outlining steps to improve their effective and transparent use.
Standardizing Community Foundation Inactive Funds Policy…
Strengthening Community Philanthropy Ad Hoc Working Group Releases Donor-Advised Funds Recommendations
Community foundations have a long history of working locally to bring together leaders, nonprofits, donors, and others to address persistent problems and identify paths forward. The ongoing pandemic has underscored how local philanthropy, in particular, can address community needs in times of acute…
Ask the Council: Strengthening Community Philanthropy Working Group DAF Recommendations
Last July, the Council on Foundations convened a group of community foundation leaders to develop a set of principles and policy recommendations to strengthen community foundations and donor-advised funds (DAFs) long into the future. Released on February 2, 2022, these recommendations are…
Washington Snapshot: New op-ed on donor-advised funds from the Council's President and CEO.
What You Need to Know About Public Policy This Week...
News From the Council
Midterms and Retirements Shake Up Tax-Writing Committees
Senate Votes to Keep Voting Rights Filibuster
Opportunity Zones Come Under Scrutiny
Joint Committee on Taxation Lists Expiring Federal Tax Provisions…
2021 Year in Review
Dear Friend:
2021 was an historic year in many ways, for philanthropy and for the people and communities we care about.
It was a year of loss and heartache as families and communities continued to suffer the effects of the pandemic and many other hardships. It was a year of advocacy to advance…
Washington Snapshot: IRS Update for Tax-Exempt Organizations
What You Need to Know About Public Policy This Week...
Congressional Democrats Negotiate Election Reform
Office of Management and Budget Solicits Feedback on Learning Agenda
IRS Releases Updates for Tax-Exempt Organizations
Department of Commerce Seeking Comments on New Rural Business Center…
Philanthropy's Response to 2021 Tornadoes
OVERVIEW
More than 50 tornadoes struck multiple states on December 11 and 12, causing devastation and significant loss of life. The states impacted include, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky -- with the most significant loss of life occuring in…
Global Philanthropy Update - December 2021
Today is the second day of the 2021 Summit for Democracy, and the issues at hand are too urgent to ignore. While the world faces pressing humanitarian crises like climate change, COVID-19, and racial injustice that threaten global progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, the Summit draws our…
Washington Snapshot: Details of a New Plan from the White House to Combat Human Trafficking
What You Need to Know About Public Policy This Week...
News From the Council
Congress Addresses End-of-Year Priorities
IRS Releases Notice on ERTC Termination
White House Announces Plan to Combat Human Trafficking
Happening in the States
News from the Council
This will be the last issue of…
Member Week 2021: Foundation Leader Q&A with Lori O'Keefe
Lori O'Keefe, Triangle Community Foundation
Question: What drew you to the field of philanthropy?
Answer: My entire career has been in the nonprofit sector; I came to the Foundation nearly 17 years ago because I could see the power of connecting those with resources to the nonprofits doing the…
Member Week 2021: Foundation Leader Q&A with Mari Kuraishi
Mari Kuraishi, Jessie Ball duPont Foundation
Q: What drew you to the field of philanthropy?
A: After decades of working on the edges of philanthropy by making loans to sovereign governments and building up a crowdfunding platform, I had become intrigued by the idea that philanthropy extended…