Discover how a Milwaukee funder collaborative is designing a mixed-use neighborhood while prioritizing community voice.

Join this webinar to learn how the Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF), the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), Royal Capital (a Black-owned developer), and the residents of three Milwaukee neighborhoods are partnering on the ThriveOn Collaboration: A $120 million investment and new place-based approach to addressing interrelated health, economic, social and racial inequities.

These neighborhoods are resilient, historically Black and have long stood as beacons for art and culture in Milwaukee, and residents have been engaged since the launch of the project. The residents are responsible for designing the Community HUB - the first-floor space of ThriveOn King, a development housing GMF's offices, multiple MCW community and research centers, and mixed income housing. The Community HUB will include tenant businesses reflecting what the community identified as priorities. Join us to learn how the ThriveOn Collaboration embedded community engagement, moving at the speed of trust, and participatory grantmaking in their strategy.

This project is designed around power-sharing, centering lived experiences, and working collaboratively to support positive change while mitigating the negative impact of neighborhood growth and redevelopment. Explore how you could implement these strategies in your community.

This webinar is a continuation of our Leading Locally Conference programming. Explore and register for each session in the series: Leading Locally All Year Long

Enter the Summit

In this time of significant transformation, HR, talent, and culture leaders and practitioners have emerged as pivotal drivers in making the workplace more inclusive. Leveraging the lessons learned and fundamental work that occurred over the past few years, organizations have a tremendous opportunity to foster profound, equitable, and systemic changes to move the workforce forward.

The 2023 HR Summit: Moving the Philanthropic Workplace Forward, co-hosted by the Council on Foundations and CHANGE Philanthropy, will present a unique opportunity to engage, virtually, with distinguished HR and talent leaders in philanthropy. Join us as we explore an array of dynamic plenary sessions, thought-provoking concurrent sessions, and engaging peer-led conversations.

This year’s Summit will focus on three major themes:

• Integrating Equity-Driven Change Management
• Guiding Leadership Effectiveness
• Redefining Workplace Culture

Who Should Attend?

The HR Summit is open to professionals who lead the human resources function at a philanthropic organization, with programming designed for those from large and small staff organizations.

The Council on Foundations is recognized by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP.

Co-Hosted by:

Each year, CF Insights invites US community foundations to contribute to an updated snapshot of the field and a growing peer benchmarking dataset built to inform practice and strategic decision-making. Key takeaways from the most recent survey include:

• Many community foundations, among the most responsive philanthropic entities during a crisis, reported significant increases in fundraising totals over 2020 levels, while maintaining or increasing grantmaking levels as the COVID-19 pandemic entered its second year.
• Donor-advised funds continued to be a significant source of grantmaking, representing nearly 60% of all funds given among those who participated in the survey.   
• Market conditions and increases in fundraising contributed to accelerated asset growth across the field in 2021, with the median community foundation reporting a 19 percent year over year increase over 2020.  

CF Insights Annual Survey results include several other data points, such as how different segments of the field sustain their operations and allocate resources to best serve their respective communities. 

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States announced their opinion in a pair of cases — Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. The Court held that "Harvard’s and UNC’s admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

Over the last few months, the potential ramifications of a decision have been a growing topic among foundations and other charitable organizations. Join legal experts as they share what this opinion means for nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve. In addition, our speakers will share their predictions about what comes next and answer your questions.

To ensure we get to as many questions as possible, please include them in the registration form or forward them to legal@cof.org.

This event will be updated as we have additional speakers or information. 

In Partnership With:

Recent years - even recent months - have seen an increasingly pitched debate about the role of companies in society. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, the public believes companies are not doing enough to address today’s challenges and are more likely to buy from, work at, and invest in companies that align with their beliefs and values.

With the emergence of stakeholder capitalism, the backlash against ESG, a looming recession, and the conflict between purpose and polarization, CSR and ESG Leaders are navigating through intense scrutiny, increased need for disclosure, waves of politicization, and a host of other ramifications for corporate foundation and giving programs.

Join the Council on Foundations, ACCP, CECP, and Points of Light in a closed-door discussion to examine how corporate philanthropy can navigate these crosswinds while staying true to organizational values.

In partnership with:

The Essentials of Policy Advocacy for Grantmakers course will help foundation staff use their resources effectively to advance public policies that support the greater good. Rather than focusing on what policies foundations should address, this training will focus on how to engage in policy advocacy to advance your goals. This training is designed for private foundation staff with a basic understanding of policy, but it is also applicable for staff at all experience levels whose work touches policy advocacy. 

Led by Council on Foundations staff and philanthropic leaders, this training will address policy advocacy strategies that support effective practices. Participants will gain helpful tools and resources while networking with peers who are developing and implementing their foundation’s advocacy strategy.

• Wednesday, September 27: 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET
• Thursday, September 28: 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET

Participants will explore the following during the course:

The Big Picture

• Why engaging in policy advocacy is essential for foundations to achieve their goals
• A refresher on legal rules governing grantmaker funding and actions
• Inside the Foundation: Understanding staff roles and how to build internal support

Building understanding and support across the foundation for policy advocacy engagement

• How different staff roles across the foundation can support advocacy
• Characteristics of grantmaking that support effective policy advocacy
• Outside the Foundation: Working with others to advance policy 

Using all a foundation’s assets to advance policy

• Funding vehicles that support effective policy advocacy
• Building an effective relationship with nonprofit partners and grantees to advance advocacy
• Appropriate evaluations of partner contributions
• Real-life Challenges and Action Planning

Explore current challenges with fellow participants in peer breakout groups

• Discussion of initial action planning and next steps
• Additional support available from the Council on Foundation

Who should take this training?

• Private foundation staff with a basic understanding of policy work.
• Foundation staff of all experience levels that incorporate policy advocacy into their work - such as those in leadership, communications, grants management or strategic planning.

Please note, this course is limited to foundation staff and Board members only.

In this webinar, you’ll learn ideas for collaboration with different communities and stakeholders to enrich the quality of your programs. You’ll walk away with strategies for developing trust and collaboration for community-led initiatives.

In 2020 Comunalia, launched the Active Communities Fund in collaboration with the Coca-Cola Foundation, the Inter-American Foundation and the Charles S. Mott Foundation. The aim of the fund was to promote economic and social recovery of communities affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the project succeeded in bringing together 15 community foundations along with many more organizations and grassroots groups. The first phase of the fund developed 42 initiatives, impacting 35 thousand people in the areas of Humanitarian Aid, Access to water, Support for micro and small business, and Empowerment of youth and women

During the second phase (2021-2022), Active Communities Fund focused on local development and the role that the community plays in the planning and execution of projects; that is, in grassroots development, while meeting the objective of economic and social recovery of the communities affected by the health emergency. In this phase, 11 community foundations supported 50 participating projects from civil society organizations and grassroots groups. While identifying the milestones in the development of each project, this civil society organizations and grassroot groups recognized their own assets and mutual contributions to leverage local community engagement and their influence in matters that are central to their desired development outcomes. In this webinar, we’ll hear more about the strategies, outcomes, and lessons learned for this community-led program design.

Join us to we share, reflect and discuss: what are best practices for developing local initiatives with a community-led approach?

Note: This webinar will be offered in Spanish and live interpreted to English

This webinar is a continuation of our Leading Locally Conference programming. Explore and register for each session in the series: Leading Locally All Year Long

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Cómo ampliar la participación de la comunidad para abordar problemas comunes

En este seminario web aprenderá ideas para colaborar con diferentes comunidades y partes interesadas a fin de enriquecer la calidad de sus programas. Aprenderá estrategias para construir confianza y colaboración en iniciativas lideradas por la comunidad.

En 2020 Comunalia lanzó el Fondo de Comunidades Activas en colaboración con la Fundación Coca-Cola, la Fundación Interamericana y la Fundación C.S. Mott. El objetivo del fondo era promover la recuperación económica y social de las comunidades afectadas por la pandemia del COVID-19, y el proyecto consiguió reunir a 15 fundaciones comunitarias junto con muchas más organizaciones y grupos de base. La primera fase del fondo desarrolló 42 iniciativas, impactando a 35 mil personas en las áreas de Ayuda Humanitaria, Acceso al agua, Apoyo a micro y pequeñas empresas, y Empoderamiento de jóvenes y mujeres.

Durante la segunda fase (2021-2022), Fondo Comunidades Activas se centró en el desarrollo local y en el papel que desempeña la comunidad en la planeación y ejecución de los proyectos; es decir, en el desarrollo de base, al tiempo que se cumple el objetivo de recuperación económica y social de las comunidades afectadas por la emergencia sanitaria. En esta fase, 11 fundaciones comunitarias apoyaron 50 proyectos participantes de organizaciones de la sociedad civil y grupos de base. Al tiempo que identificaban los hitos en el desarrollo de cada proyecto, estas organizaciones de la sociedad civil y grupos de base reconocieron sus propios activos y contribuciones mutuas para impulsar el compromiso de la comunidad local y su influencia en asuntos que son fundamentales para los resultados de desarrollo que desean. En este seminario web, conoceremos mejor las estrategias, resultados y lecciones aprendidas en el diseño de este programa dirigido por la comunidad.

Participa para compartir, reflexionar y debatir juntos cuáles son las mejores prácticas para desarrollar iniciativas locales con un enfoque dirigido por la comunidad.

Nota: Este seminario web se ofrecerá en español y se interpretará en directo al inglés.

Join us to learn strategies for trust-based and equity-focused evaluation for grantmaking in disaster contexts!

The Greater New Orleans Foundation has learned how evaluation, if done with sensitivity to stakeholders' needs, can guide disaster response towards equitable outcomes and hold grantmakers and responders accountable. We are living in a world where disasters are occurring more than ever. In addition to the obvious example of the COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple variants, climate change is wreaking havoc on all parts of the globe in various ways. Greater New Orleans knows this all too well; the city was an early epicenter of the pandemic, and then hit by Category 4 Hurricane Ida in late August 2021, not to mention Hurricane Katrina and the BP Oil Spill.

In this webinar, you’ll learn the frameworks GNOF used for making and evaluating trust-based grants responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida. The Greater New Orleans Foundation staff and their evaluation partners will share their experiences in disaster contexts, including what has worked to prioritize grantee partners' well-being and promote equity. Through guided group discussion this webinar with elicit perspectives from others about their approaches, challenges, and lessons learned for adopting trust-based and equity-focused grantmaking and evaluation in diverse disaster contexts.

This webinar is a continuation of our Leading Locally Conference programming. Explore and register for each session in the series: Leading Locally All Year Long

Learn how your foundation can help be a part of the solution by developing a housing trust fund!

Like many places across the country, the Black Hills in South Dakota are seeing a massive lack of affordable housing. After convening a Housing Summit in 2018, the leaders at the Black Hills Area Community developed a public/private/philanthropic model to address this need.

The Strategic Housing Trust Fund provides low-interest loans to developers building affordable housing and acts at the top of a capital stack. The housing trust fund model is flexible, outside of government. Dollars revolve back to the community foundation for lasting impact because the fund offers the loan. The oversight board includes developers, bankers, city staff, economic development staff, private foundation staff, and community foundation staff.

In this webinar, we’ll learn from the Black Hills Area Community Foundation's experience with this unique and collaborative funding model. Attendees will also explore an interactive tool created by the community foundation to assess your organization’s ability to offer it’s own housing trust fund.

This webinar is a continuation of our Leading Locally Conference programming. Explore and register for each session in the series: Leading Locally All Year Long

Hear how the Barry Community Foundation created space to explore diversity and equity with their community. We’ll learn from their experience on how you can implement this strategy in your community.

With the goal of bringing forward diversity, equity and inclusion concepts to members of the community, three nonprofits in Barry County, Michigan came together to host Courageous Conversations for More Equitable Communities. Barry Community Foundation and their partners hosted three conversations in the series: what diversity, equity and inclusion is, mental health, and the return on investing in diversity in your community. You’ll hear the BCF organizers on how they created engaging spaces to address diversity in a homogenously white community. This webinar will offer encouragement and guidance on creating these spaces to engage people where they are.

Learn how to put together conversation topics that can be difficult for people in an educational and respectful environment. In this webinar, you’ll learn actionable steps for creating, funding, facilitating, and evaluating this program in your community.

This webinar is a continuation of our Leading Locally Conference programming. Explore and register for each session in the series: Leading Locally All Year Long