Philanthropic organizations face heightened attention and expectations. To support Council members, our Legal Resources team hosted a webinar on what philanthropic organizations need to know to engage confidently and responsibly in civic engagement work.

This session covered what organizations can and cannot do, and how to participate in civic engagement with integrity and impact. Whether your foundation is planning education efforts, community conversations, or other activities, this webinar will provide you with helpful information.

Watch this webinar to strengthen your understanding and ensure your civic engagement efforts remain compliant.

Members, view the event recap and the session recording.

We’ll discuss the essential elements of stories that are authentic, accurate, and ethical and that serve our communities and issues well. 

In this session, you’ll learn: 

1. How to incorporate a range of voices into your stories, including those closest to the issue, decisionmakers and people with a range of expertise. 
2. Principles for ensuring that the stories you share accurately reflect the experiences of the people they’re about. 
3. How to apply the principles of “asset framing” to highlight strengths and potential, 
4. How to select and represent characters inclusively in storytelling efforts, applying storytelling techniques that create meaningful transparency and foster trust
5. How to incorporate systems into your stories–including how they started, who they serve, and how they help or harm real people. 
6. The importance of committing to and sustaining engagement in narrative change work over time.
7. How to make the case for better storytelling with others in your organization and get the resources you need. 
    

Annual reports, 990 PFs, and all the other language foundations use don’t help people understand what we do. This workshop will help you replace the jargon and harmful metaphors with visual, memorable language. You’ll also learn the essential elements of stories that build trust. Bring your jargoniest content and let’s decode it together. Replace your philanthrospeak with compelling, memorable language, and tell unforgettable stories that displace harmful narratives about the issues you work on or the communities you serve. 

Learn to tell fascinating, compelling stories about how change happens and how the charitable sector works with communities to make a difference on today’s most pressing issues.  We’ll discuss how narratives are formed, the essential elements of stories that build trust and understanding, and how to create collaborative narratives that show how communities and the charitable sector work together to drive change. Everything you learn will be rooted in insights from our Philanthropy’s New Voice report, the largest study ever conducted on narratives in the charitable sector. 

Over this 3-hour workshop, you’ll:

1. Learn the science behind compelling, unforgettable stories that help people see issues in new ways.
2. Discover which elements of storytelling build trust and understanding of your foundation and how to incorporate them into your own stories.
3. Apply the principles of great storytelling to your own work. 
4. Learn to tell stories that resonate with a range of moral values, 
5. Bring your work to life with vivid, detailed language. 
6. Make language choices that replace buzzwords, acronyms and jargon with memorable, meaningful language. 

In this session, you’ll learn to align your stories with your theory of change and develop meaningful measurements that go beyond clicks, likes and shares. 

You’ll learn:

1. How to set meaningful goals that align with your organization’s mission and theory of change.
2. How to write a theory of change for your communications efforts.
3. How to identify the people who can make that change happen. 
4. How to know whether you’re reaching the right people.
5. The distinct and significant value of including both output and outcome measures in your communications strategy–and how to write both. 
6. How to design an evaluation for your communications efforts that holds you accountable to your strategy and the outcomes you’re working toward. 
    

Workshop Hours

• Tuesday, August 25: 1-5 p.m. ET
• Thursday, August 27: 1-5 p.m. ET

Government policies and programs, at the federal, state, and local level, affect almost every aspect of our lives, from housing, healthcare and the environment to education, transportation, and safety.  For foundations striving to create equitable, inclusive, and widely prosperous communities, it is necessary to focus on strengthening and reimagining policies and systems.

Participation in advocacy is an essential strategy to advance the mission of community foundations. Yet a lack of understanding of the rules of advocacy and lobbying, confusion about the appropriate governance and risk management, as well as a dearth of tools and internal capacity needed to be successful prevents many community foundations from engaging in public policy. 

This learning opportunity is intended for staff from community foundations of all sizes that are committed to getting more involved in policy and advocacy work.

This training will provide community foundations across geographies and of all sizes with:

• Increased understanding of the importance of public policy to improve outcomes
• Improved policy practice
• Increased advocacy action

In this training, participants will:

• Understand a comprehensive picture of community foundation strategies to engage in effective public policy advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels, that advances the greater good
• Understand the complex dynamics around foundation staff’s relationships with policy advocacy organizations and explore the optimal relationship for your foundation
• Learn how to build support for advocacy among your foundation’s staff and board
• Learn how to improve your foundation’s grantmaking to more effectively participate in policy advocacy

Offered in partnership with: 

Are you looking for a supportive community of funders to help you build constructive dialogue and understanding across differences? You’ll get just that with the Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort.

The Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort is a facilitated virtual learning experience meeting monthly from April 2026 until November 2026 (with an orientation in March), hosted by the Council on Foundations in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley (GGSC). This cohort will support and help move forward the work of the Council's Building Common Ground Strategic Pillar.

The deadline to apply for the 2026 Cohort is 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, February 20. 

Learn more about the cohort and apply

In Partnership With:

This event is the Council's annual retreat for early-tenure Community Foundation chief executives who want to step away from the challenges of their day-to-day and find renewed energy and motivation in fellowship with other new CEOs.   

Hosted by Javier Alberto Soto, President and CEO of the Denver Foundation, the retreat will take place in-person in Denver, CO, from noon on October 8 until 2pm ET on October 9, 2026. 

This retreat is intended for executive leaders (CEOs, Presidents, Executive Directors) of community foundations who have been in their current executive role for three years or less.   

Over the two consecutive half-day sessions, attendees will delve into both the practical and existential issues facing foundation executives new to their role, such as navigating change, transforming operations, and building institutions for the future. Through peer support and coaching we will also explore the collective wisdom of our fellow leaders, and equip participants with an expanded network, fresh ideas, and new motivation.

 Retreat objectives:  

• Raise and discuss key challenges for early-tenure foundation executives;   
• Provide peer coaching on top-of-mind leadership challenges;   
• Build peer relationships and exchange tips/resources. 

Past retreat attendees have told us how valuable it is to have this time to step away:

“Thank you so much for organizing such a fantastic retreat. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow leaders and learn from each other. The peer coaching sessions were invaluable, and I feel inspired and motivated to implement new strategies in my own organization.”

This event is the Council's annual retreat for early-tenure private foundation, corporate foundation and giving program chief executives who want to step away from the challenges of their day-to-day and find renewed energy and motivation in fellowship with other new CEOs.

Hosted by Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation, the retreat will take place in-person in Louisville, KY, from noon on June 8 until 2 p.m. ET on June 9, 2026.

This event is intended for executive leaders (CEOs, Presidents, Executive Directors) of private foundations, corporate foundations, and giving programs who have been in their current executive role for three years or less.

Over the two consecutive half-day sessions, attendees will delve into both the practical and existential issues facing foundation executives new to their role, such as navigating change, transforming operations, and building institutions for the future. Through peer support and coaching we will also explore the collective wisdom of our fellow leaders, and equip participants with an expanded network, fresh ideas, and new motivation.

Retreat objectives: 

• Raise and discuss key challenges for early-tenure foundation executives;
• Provide peer coaching on top-of-mind leadership challenges;
• Build peer relationships and exchange tips/resources.

Past retreat attendees have told us how valuable it is to have this time to step away:

“Thank you so much for organizing such a fantastic retreat. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow leaders and learn from each other. The peer coaching sessions were invaluable, and I feel inspired and motivated to implement new strategies in my own organization.”

Building Together isn’t your typical conference — it’s a hands-on experience to help leaders at all levels build relationships and skills to connect and collaborate across difference. During the conference, you will learn, process, and practice in real time while developing the heartset, mindset, and skillset needed to build relationships across lines of difference.

You may have never experienced an event like Building Together before. That's why we're hosting this space to give an overview of what you can expect during the three days and answer any questions you may have.

Join us for a conversation to learn more about applying to and participating in the 2026-27 Career Pathways Program. 

During this session we will answer questions regarding:

• 2026-27 program schedule
• Curriculum
• Application Process
• Waldman Scholarship
• Program benefits, outcomes, and much more! 

Details to Note

• Come prepared with questions for the Q&A
• This session will NOT be recorded
• Applications for the Career Pathways 2026 are due March 2, 2026.

For more information about Career Pathways leadership development program, visit cof.org/careerpathways or email Careerpathways@cof.org.