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.
Philanthropy and the Health of the Internet
On Feb. 11, the Ford, Knight, Open Society, MacArthur, and Mozilla, Foundations together launched NetGain: Working Together for a Stronger Digital Society as a major shared initiative. The NetGain initiative advocates that building the Internet as…
Council on Foundations Peer Networking Event
Join Council staff members, Kim Bluitt, Member Relations Director, Pacific, and your peers in the Southern California area for peer networking and conversation on the benefits of Council membership. The Council provides an array of services to assist foundation members. We are constantly seeking…
Dispatch from this Year's Hispanics in Philanthropy Conference and the HIP Giver Gala
A few weeks ago, we were happy to join several hundred of our colleagues in San Francisco for Hispanics in Philanthropy’s (HIP) 2015 Conference and HIPGiver Gala. The daylong series of events focused on Latino leadership in the philanthropic sector, as well as exploring the needs and opportunities…
Power in Philanthropy - Lessons of Failure & Success
Tiziana Dearing is the former CEO of Boston Rising, a place-based, anti-poverty, public foundation that aimed to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by replicating the Robin Hood Foundationand Harlem Children Zone’s models in Grove Hall, a Boston neighborhood inundated with poverty and…
Webinar Recording: Cross-Border Philanthropy Regulations and Current Challenges
Recording
Download a copy of the slides from this webinar.
The American Dream at Risk: Using the Opportunity Index to Improve Communities
Where you live shouldn’t determine how far you can go in life.
The Opportunity Index is the nation’s first tool to holistically measure opportunity in communities. Connecting multiple economic, educational, and civic factors, the Index is a powerful way for states and counties to track and advance…
New Report Provides Comprehensive Operations and Demographic Data on Foundations
The Council on Foundations today announced the release of the 2014 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Report, the most comprehensive information available on staff composition and compensation for U.S. foundations and corporate giving programs. Salary information is provided for 35 executive,…
Access to Care for Military Veterans and their Families
Download the slides for this webinar.
Sponsored by the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University, this webinar explored the scientific realities behind an important policy issue - veterans and access to health care. Specific topics included the barriers to care, access to care, the…
2015 Annual Meeting Sessions
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2015 Annual Meeting Preconference Programming
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Independent Sector and charitable allies urge House to pass America Gives More Act of 2015
This legislation includes several important provisions that will help charitable and philanthropic organizations serving communities in every Congressional District across the country. Specifically, H.R. 644 would permanently enact three temporary and currently expired giving incentives – the IRA…
Webinar: Philanthropy Exchange Walk-Through
Are you having trouble with the Exchange? Have no fear! I'm here to help.
This webinar covered how to post, search the libraries, and find other members. It's an easy way to get to know this new platform and learn all the great things it has to offer.
If you have questions, take a look at…
Interview with Emily Kessler, Interim Director of EPIP
I recently had the opportunity to interview Emily Kessler, the interim director of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy. In this interview, Emily shares how she got her start in philanthropy and what she is hoping to do to help emerging professionals and increase the value of an EPIP membership…
Federal Liaisons
The Council’s Philanthropic Engagement Liaisons in the Executive Branch
Since November 2011, the Public-Philanthropic Partnership Office in the Council’s Public Policy Department has hosted a quarterly meeting with a cadre of staff from various federal departments and agencies. The…
How Foundations can Help Entrepreneurs Save the American Dream
Last week, the Milstein Commission, a national initiative co-chaired by Steve Case and Carly Fiorina, released a report, Can Startups Save the American Dream? The report highlighted over how the past quarter-century, startups and small businesses accounted for 65% of net job creation, yet…
Policy Issues
The policy issues that impact philanthropy are wide-ranging. Our issue pages include the latest developments on policies that impact your foundation and nonprofit partners, including:
Charitable Deduction
Donor-Advised Funds
Federal Budget
Global Philanthropy
IRA Charitable Rollover…