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.
2015 Annual Meeting Programming
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2015 Annual Meeting
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2015 Annual Meeting Registration
Registration
Online registration is now closed. If you would still like to register for the conference, please fill out the paper registration form and bring it to the registration table in the Yerba Buena Foyer on the Lower B2 Level of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.
Registration Rates…
Politics, Policy, and Philanthropy: How Your Funding Priorities Could be Impacted This Year
Please join Council on Foundations members and others within the Southern California philanthropic community for a unique program to learn about the opportunities and challenges affecting the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors at a local, state, and federal levels as the 2016 election cycle gets…
Quarterly Member Update: 1st Quarter 2015
Join us to hear more about how you can maximize the Council's network to further enhance your work in the field. Senior leaders from the Council will be present to discuss additional services, initiatives, and updates that have an impact on the larger philanthropic community.
Register Now…
Giving As Good As We Get
As my boss and Blackbaud CEO Mike Gianoni noted, “#GivingTuesday has gone from a simple idea to become a genuine global phenomenon.” The unofficial start to the end-of-year giving season once again kicked off this #GivingTuesday, December 2nd 2014, and with #UNselfies shared and charitable gifts…
FREE WEBINAR: Philanthropic Engagement Opportunities in HUD’s National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC)
Free Webinar Open to All Philanthropic Organizations
Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 1pm ET
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) in September 2014. Through the NDRC, HUD is partnering with the Rockefeller Foundation…
Increasing Influence and Measuring Impact for Organizational Social Media
An article recently published in Research & Development shared how researchers are using social media to draw attention to their research. Discussing their work with reporters and sharing on social media seemed to increase the likelihood that one’s research is cited, thereby…
Disappointment as House Fails to Make Charitable Provisions Permanent
This afternoon, the United States House of Representatives failed to advance the Supporting America's Charities Act (H.R. 5806), a milestone bill that would have widely benefited philanthropy and charitable organizations across the country. The vote broke down along party lines, with 275 Members…
Council Applauds New Philanthropic Pledges to Support Veterans and Military Families
Joining Forces Impact Pledge organizers announced five new pledges to the Philanthropy Joining Forces Impact Pledge at an event at Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum last week. With the new commitments, a total of 35 participants have pledged more than $200 million over the next five years to…
2015 Annual Meeting Call for Sessions
Call for Sessions Details
Thematic Areas
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Key Dates
The Council on Foundations' Annual Meeting is the premier philanthropic event that showcases innovative strategies, trends in the field, thought leadership and…
Leadership Development: An Essential Investment for Nonprofits
This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series.
See where it all began at our
Fall…
A Stellar Community: Community Foundation heightens Stellar Community effort
This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series.
See where it all began at our
Fall…
Record Retention for Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
Foundation recordkeeping is an inherently dull topic—unless it’s done wrong. The foundation manager who has not kept adequate documentation regarding expenditure responsibility grants risks an IRS audit. Similarly, a foundation manager confronted with a trustee succession battle will find the…
It Takes a Community to Build a Community Foundation
This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series.
See where it all began at our
Fall…
Avid about AVID: Student credits success to Destino grantee
This post is part of the #CF100 Series of blog posts. The Council on Foundations is marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first community foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, by highlighting the roles of community foundations with this series.
See where it all began at our
Fall…