Registration now open!

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 foundations 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 and effective practices. Participants will gain helpful tools and resources, network with peers developing and implementing their foundation’s advocacy strategy and create a summary action plan to guide their next steps.

Workshop Hours

• Thursday, October 6: 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET
• Friday, October 7: 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.

Register Now!

As organizations committed to strengthening community foundations, CFLeads and the Council on Foundations are partnering to offer a new public policy and advocacy training course for community foundations. This updated training will provide community foundation leaders and staff with the knowledge and resources needed to excel in advocating for the nonprofits and communities doing the hard work of social change. 

Workshop Hours

• Wednesday, February 1: 1:00-5:30 p.m. ET
• Thursday, February 2: 1:00-5:30 p.m. ET

Government policies and programs 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 CEOs and senior leadership 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 possible community foundation strategies to engage in effective public policy advocacy 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: 

It is easy to get hung up on what you think you cannot do when engaging with policymakers. The good news is, you can do more than you may think!

Though the law varies among different types of foundations, all foundation types can engage in advocacy! The Council on Foundations Legal Team explained all the ways foundations can engage in public policy and advocacy.

Participants learned what constitutes permissible, non-partisan advocacy. We will explore regulations versus legislation, learning the difference and why it matters. Attendees will find out about exceptions to the limitation on lobbying. We will also discuss how grantmakers can support civic engagement, including what foundations can do to educate voters during election year politics and what it means to support or oppose a candidate.

In this webinar, we explored:

• What constitutes permissible, non-partisan advocacy and whether bi-partisan action is as good as non-partisan action
• The difference between regulation and legislation and why it matters
• Exceptions to the limitation on lobbying
• What foundations can do to educate voters and support civic engagement
• What qualifies as support or opposition for a particular candidate

Featuring the Council on Foundations Legal Team:

Join us for the June meeting of our new Peer Learning Circle dedicated specifically for community foundations who are working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work.

Meeting Topic: CF Insights Annual Survey, previously known as the Columbus Survey, is known by many as the “census of the community foundation field.” It was originally launched by the Columbus Foundation in 1988, and administered by CF Insights, a service of Candid, since 2008. The survey collects data to uncover financial trends and operational activity among community foundations in the United States. Last year, with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the New York Community Trust, CF Insights rebuilt the survey, and added a series of questions dedicated to understanding the extent to which community foundations engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Guest Speakers: David Rosado, Director of Network Engagement at Candid, is responsible for guiding the programmatic direction and long-term vision for Candid's two formal partner networks: the Funding Information Network and CF Insights.

Connect with community foundation peers to learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The group meets monthly by Zoom to discuss SDG hot topics including education, local implementation, community alignment and communication, professional development, data, grantmaking, and more. This community is primarily focused on expanding the SDGs in the United States through community foundation action, but all nationalities are welcome.

By registering for this event, you agree to share some identifying information with the Central Florida Foundation, the partner for this event. 

Peer Discussion Leads

• Laura Simmelink, Senior Director of Programs, Community Foundation of Collier County
• Marian Clowes, Associate Director for Community Leadership, Parkersburg Area Community Foundation

Philanthropy Exchange is a peer-to-peer platform that connects Council members through shared interests, topics or resources. On the Exchange members can:

• Connect with their peers around the globe to discuss topics of shared interest
• Search an online library of best practices and template documents
• Seek and give candid advice in a private community of their peers
• Find members funding similar issues or performing similar roles in their foundation
• Share resources to develop stronger relationships that advance their work

Learn more about the Exchange by contacting, Jessica Chaparro.

Presentation Slides

Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) recently released a report "Philanthropy and COVID-19: Examining two years of giving" to see how philanthropy has responded to the pandemic. In partnership with the Council on Foundations, CDP and Candid presented a webinar that highlighted the key learnings and provided recommendations for funders as the world continues to struggle with the impact of COVID-19. 

Key questions addressed included: 

• How have funders - in the U.S. and globally - responded financially to the pandemic?
• What are the trends in giving and how have they changed over time?
• What do funders need to focus on in the next few years? 
• What are the trends in grantmaking practices that have come in response to the pandemic? 

Speakers

Moderator

Natalie Ross

Vice President, Membership, Development and Finance
Council on Foundations

Welcome Remarks

Lori Bertman

President & CEO
Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation

This webinar was funded by the Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation and co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. 

Resources

• "Philanthropy and COVID-19: Examining two years of giving" Report by Center for Disaster Philanthropy and Candid (2022)
• Philanthropy's Commitment During COVID-19  Pledge, Council on Foundations
• Center for Disaster Philanthropy's Race and Intersectional Equity Statement
• "Stronger Together: Supporting Mutual Aid for Equitable Recovery," by Tanya Gulliver-Garcia, Center for Disaster Philanthropy (2021)
• "Balancing Speed, Equity, and Impact during a Crisis" by Benjamin Soskis, Laura Tomasko, Shena Ashley, and Fay Walker - Urban Institute (2020)

Recent data and research from sources such as the Edelman Trust Barometer suggest declining trust in nonprofits and philanthropy in the United States. Fraying trust in institutions, perceptions that nonprofits and philanthropy are politicized, intensifying critiques of philanthropy as a “ruse” or self-promotion, increasing societal polarization, and well-publicized scandals all may play a part.

How does declining trust in institutions affect our ability as nonprofit organizations to make social change? Could it impact charitable giving? Lead to new governmental regulations? Or make it difficult to build the kinds of partnerships that advance our work? And what can and should philanthropy do to rebuild that trust?

This panel discussed current challenges, opportunities, and examples to help guide our work.

Moderator

• Phil Buchanan, President, Center for Effective Philanthropy

Panelists

• LaTida Smith, President, The Winston-Salem Foundation
• Chelsea Peters, Chief Strategy Officer, Walton Family Foundation
• Beth Breeze, Director, Global Challenges Doctoral Centre and Centre for Philanthropy, University of Kent
• Kathleen Enright, President & CEO, Council on Foundations

In partnership with