Values-Aligned Philanthropy: Foundations Resisting Hate and Extremism
Publication
In late 2020, the Council on Foundations (the Council) launched the Values-Aligned Philanthropy project to continue to build on their previous efforts within the philanthropic sector to respond to growing concern about the issue of funding hate and extremism. The Council took this step recognizing…
Sample Documents for Scholarship Funds
Sample Document
Community foundations that award scholarships and other grants to individuals from funds with donor involvement should be sure these funds comply with the requirements of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
The PPA prohibits grants to individuals from funds that meet the fairly broad definition of…
FAQ: Global Grantmaking
Legal Compliance Guidance, Fundamentals
What are the legal requirements for private foundations wishing to make cross-border grants?
What is equivalency determination?
What is expenditure responsibility?
How do I decide whether to use equivalency determination or expenditure responsibility?
What are the legal requirements…
FAQ: Scholarships
Legal Compliance Guidance, Fundamentals
What are the advantages, disadvantages, and likely costs of scholarship programs?
What do the private foundation rules require, and how should community foundations apply the rules?
What rules or procedures govern community foundation scholarship programs?
Does a community foundation need to…
Conflicts of Interest - Key Issues for Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
With Congress and the media focusing on corporate governance and foundation administration, now is the time to make sure that all grantmakers have a strong conflict of interest policy in place. Both private foundations and public charities (such as community foundations) should have clear…
FAQ: Donor-Advised Fund
Legal Compliance Guidance, Fundamentals
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 includes the first comprehensive regulation of donor-advised funds. These requirements generally took effect at the beginning of the tax year following enactment of the Act, for charities that hold assets in such funds. However, a provision barring the payment…
Legal Basics: What Every Foundation Leader Should Know
Legal Compliance Guidance
A guide to legal basics for foundation leaders covering: tax on investment income, self-dealing, payout requirements, excess business holdings, jeopardy investment rules, taxable expenditures, intermediate sanctions, reasonable compensation, and grants to non-charities.
990 Filing for Corporate Grantmakers
Legal Compliance Guidance
Electronic Filing: While the requirements regarding electronic filing of Forms 990 and 990-PF have not changed, the electronic filing requirement for some organizations is still relatively new. For that reason, you may want to revisit the mandatory electronic filing rules to determine whether your…
Board Compensation
Fundamentals
Introduction
Should your foundation board members be compensated for service, or should they serve in a voluntary capacity? Whether you are considering this issue for the first time, or whether it’s a question that has arisen before, compensation has become more than an internal management…
Community Foundation Field Guide to Impact Investing
External Resource
The interactive resource guides community foundations through the three main stages of the impact investing journey: Learn, Design, and Activate. At each stage, you can click on various topics to learn more about what the topic entails and how other community foundations have approached place-based…
Basic Options for Global Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations
Fundamentals
The Council on Foundations' definition of “international grantmaking” includes grants made by U.S. foundations and corporations to overseas recipients as well as grants made to U.S.-based organizations operating international programs. This also includes grants made toward activities wholly within…
Determining Supporting Organization Status
Fundamentals
Private foundations and donor advised funds must follow special rules when making grants to certain supporting organizations.
Why is it important to determine if a public charity grantee is a supporting organization?
Supporting organizations are a type of Section 501(c)(3) public charity.…
FAQ: Supporting Organizations
Legal Compliance Guidance, Fundamentals
Summary
A supporting organization qualifies as a public charity because it has a close relationship with another publicly supported section 501(c)(3) organization. Based on the relationship of the supporting organization to the public charity it supports, a supporting organization will be…
FAQ: Agency Endowment Funds
Legal Compliance Guidance, Fundamentals
What is an agency endowment?
What types of organization can establish an agency endowment at a community foundation?
When a public charity establishes an agency endowment at a community foundation, which organization owns the contributed funds?
Since the agency is releasing legal…
Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility
Legal Compliance Guidance
Private foundations wishing to make a cross-border grant must ensure that:
The grant is clearly for a charitable purpose, and
The grant counts as a qualifying distribution for the purpose of meeting the foundation’s annual distribution requirement.
The easiest way for a private foundation to…
Sample Conflict of Interest Policy
Legal Compliance Guidance
Editable conflict of interest policies for staff and board members.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the…