Hacking the Sustainable Development Goals: Can US Cities Measure Up?
External Resource
The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to address the world’s most pressing challenges, from poverty to climate change, by aligning priorities and developing shared metrics to measure progress. While the SDG framework is designed for nations, all levels of government will need data to track…
Sustainable Development Goals Event Toolkit
Sample Document
In 2017 and 2018, the Council on Foundations hosted a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) events in various states across the country. We created an events toolkit to support you as you host your own SDGs event in your community. The toolkit includes useful resources such as a sample…
Achieving a Sustainable Urban America: SDSN’s first U.S. Cities SDG Index
External Resource
America is the world’s richest large economy, with the world’s leading technologies and institutions of higher learning. Yet, the United States of America (U.S.) is falling behind other countries on a range of indicators relating to quality of life, economic opportunity, and environmental…
Economic Development as a Charitable Activity
Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
Economic development grants raise all sorts of intriguing legal issues. May a charity participate with non-charitable and even for-profit companies in a development project it does not control? What…
Community Foundation Marketing Toolkits
Toolkit
Through partnership and with the leadership of Council of Michigan Foundations, the Council on Foundations is excited to share customizable marketing tools repackaged from the original portfolio created by the National Marketing Action Team (NMAT).
Whether you need to jumpstart your…
The Long Haul: Lessons From Charitable Responses to Previous Disasters
External Resource
The following content was writen by Michael Seltzer and originally appeared in Philanthropy News Digest, a service of Candid.
While media outlets — both online and print — have been quick to offer suggestions as to how individuals should channel their charitable impulses to help…
The State of Change: An Analysis of Women and People of Color in the Philanthropic Sector
Publication, Research
The Council’s report, The State of Change: An Analysis of Women and People of Color in the Philanthropic Sector, examines the demographics of the philanthropic sector, looking back over the last five and ten years, with a specific focus on the representation of women and people of color. The data…
Local Communities with Global Reach: International Giving by U.S. Community Foundations
Publication
The Council, in collaboration with the Foundation Center (now Candid), created this first-ever analysis of international grantmaking by U.S. community foundations.
Beyond statistics on global grantmaking trends, the report also includes interviews with five community foundations - The Boston…
Supporting Organizations
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter discusses the federal tax laws governing supporting organizations. As a result of the Tax Reform Act of 1969, private foundations receive considerably less favorable treatment under tax law…
What to Expect from an Audit
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter addresses what foundations should expect from an audit. Nonprofits, including private foundations, are bracing for an uptick in audit activity from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as it…
Foundation Finance and Investment Management
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter examines Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) and other laws that govern the management and investment of endowments and other foundation financial assets. It also…
Starting a Foundation: Formation and Considerations
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
Many people want to start foundations, but few start out knowing exactly what sort of organization they are going to create. The purpose of this e-book is to help potential donors understand the many different entities that are commonly referred to as foundations and to provide an understanding of…
An Overview of the Law Governing Community Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter is intended to examine and explain those common legal characteristics shared by community foundations and to provide a comprehensive legal overview of the rules and regulations that govern…
Webinar Recording: Introduction to Legal and Tax Compliance for Corporate Grantmakers
This 2017 webinar explores the complicated landscape of legal and tax compliance and discusses how you can stay compliant while maximizing your impact.
Download the presentation slides
Corporate Philanthropy and the SDGs
Fundamentals
Throughout the lead up to adoption of the goals, many organizations have been working with private sector partners to establish frameworks for engagement by corporate philanthropy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A leading coalition in this effort is Impact2030, a global…
Advocacy Toolkit
Toolkit
Sometimes the hardest part of engaging in advocacy can be figuring out where to start.
Government is the mechanism for public policy process, and elected officials and their staff are driving and creating policies. As their constituents and important stakeholders in civil society, they need to…