Led by Council on Foundations staff with collectively decades of experience with global philanthropy, the Global Grantmaking Essentials will also feature guest speakers with deep knowledge on specific issues or countries.

Course Hours

• Tuesday, April 22: 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET
• Thursday, April 24: 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET
• Wednesday, April 30: 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET

This virtual training will be conducted live on Zoom and is designed around your participation, creating space for you to directly engage with peers and content. We ask that you plan to be fully present during the hours of the training, minimizing distractions to the best of your ability. We do not offer a recording of the course due to platform and privacy issues.  Please plan to actively participate during all three sessions.

Each of the three sessions is 4 hours and includes two breaks. 

About Global Grantmaking Essentials 

The Global Grantmaking Essentials course is built on the Council’s more than 40 years of experience in supporting foundations who work and grant internationally.  

This three-day training will provide attendees with a thorough understanding of the regulatory frameworks governing global grantmaking, offer tools and resources to help navigate these complex systems, and suggest better ways of operating internationally based on trends, data, and research. 

Global Grantmaking Essentials also includes time for networking and discussion based on the type of grantmakers in attendance, providing unique space for dialogue and reflection among peers. 

Who Should Attend

This training is primarily designed for grantmaking, program, or legal staff at U.S.-based foundations with no prior experience making global grants or for staff with working knowledge who are seeking additional insights and tools.  

Global Grantmaking Essentials is open to staff at independent and family foundations, corporate grantmakers, community foundations, and public charity grantmakers such as global intermediaries. This training is also open to Board members of foundations. 

Please note, this course is limited to foundation staff and Board members only. Foundations registered outside of the U.S. are welcome to participate but please note the course is targeted to U.S.-based grantmakers with a focus on U.S. law as it impacts global grantmaking. 

Participants will explore the following during the course:

• Introduction to Global Grantmaking 
• The Legal Basics of Global Grantmaking 
• The Scary Acronyms 
• Receiving Country Laws 
• Working with Intermediaries 
• Locally Led Development 

Group Rate

Trainings are designed to be taken individually at a personal workstation, not in a group setting. Registration rates are per person. Group rates are for Council Members that send 5-7 people from one organization, each person must be registered individually to attend. Email educate@cof.org to register a group. 

Cancellation Policy

All registration cancellations must be submitted in writing to educate@cof.org. All cancellation refunds before March 22, 2025 will incur a 25% administrative fee per registration. No refunds will be provided after March 22, 2025.

The Council on Foundations proudly unveils an exciting new member benefit tailored for foundations of all types, DEI Peer Learning Circles. This engagement opportunity is designed to connect foundation staff of all levels across the country who are working to explore, design, implement, or refine their organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Chaired by Celia Yapita, Community Leadership & Learning Director at the Albuquerque Community Foundation, the group will meet monthly or as the group decides.

In today's ever-evolving philanthropic landscape, our circles serve as more than just a platform for growth; they are a response to the urgent issues and DEI challenges unfolding in philanthropy and beyond. Through lively discussions, real-world case studies, and collaborative troubleshooting sessions, participants will gain invaluable insights, forge meaningful relationships, and acquire practical strategies and innovative approaches to drive DEI initiatives within their communities.

This will be a monthly series. While you're welcome to drop in for individual sessions, we encourage you to make this space your own by attending regularly.  

This circle will be our final one for 2024!

The Fearless Fund and Fearless Foundation announced a settlement with the American Alliance for Equal Rights and will end its grant program for Black female entrepreneurs, which AAER claimed was racially discriminatory in its suit, filed last August. The most recent ruling before the settlement, from the 11th Circuit appeals court, said that AAER had standing to sue and that the grant program was likely to violate Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1886 because it created a contractual relationship between Fearless Foundation and its grantees. 

Fearless says the settlement does not restrict any of its charitable activity outside of the grant contest. But what does it mean for foundations and other charitable organizations dedicated to supporting historically marginalized groups? Join the Council and Independent Sector to hear our advice and get your questions answered.

Elective Pay (also known as Direct Pay) was passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Eligible organizations can receive a tax credit for making clean energy investments. Kristin Tracz walks us through how community foundations and their grantees can take advantage of this program for building clean energy projects.

State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) were allocated to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments under the American Rescue Plan Act to support their response to and recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency. These funds can be invested in local charitable nonprofits, yet with a deadline of December 31, 2024, billions of unspent dollars may have to be returned to the federal government. David L. Thompson and Jessica Mendieta from the National Council of Nonprofits share time-tested steps foundations, and their nonprofit partners can take today to advocate for how our communities can access those remaining dollars before it is too late.

During this session, participants will engage in a Q&A discussion with Council on Foundations Director of Legal Resources Ben McDearmon, Staff Counsel Remy Barnwell, and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Yoo-Jin Kang, to address DEI and legal questions in the wake of the Fearless Foundation ruling and more. Registrants will have an opportunity to share top questions/concerns for legal review prior to the session.

This roundtable will explore how to reimagine and redistribute power within philanthropic organizations to foster more equitable decision-making processes. Operationalizing DEI requires a fundamental shift in how power is held and shared, ensuring that diverse voices are included in shaping organizational direction and impact.