All Resources

Foundations have been partnering with USAID in a variety of ways to advance locally led development, and below are how some of those partnerships are being executed. For member foundations interested in working with USAID on their own locally led development initiatives, Council on Foundations…

Why should corporate philanthropy and corporate social responsibility staff be concerned about this issue? Many corporations are taking steps to ensure that they are not funding hate and extremism through their corporate foundations, direct contributions, or employee giving programs. The reasons…

COVID-19 has prompted a rapid response from funders to channel funding to organizations across the world. To make this happen efficiently, global intermediaries have stepped up to support individuals, foundations, and corporations in directing support to charitable organizations in Asia & the…

It is an unfortunate reality of our times that foundations must respond all too often to mass casualty events in their communities. There are immediate questions that need to be addressed and an ongoing crisis to manage if your foundation is going to raise and deploy philanthropic capital in…

What are Opportunity Zones? Created by changes to the tax code in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017, Opporunity Zones are state-nominated, economically depressed communities that are in need of new investment. These investments could, under certain circumstances, be eligable for…

Why do the Sustainable Development Goals matter to philanthropy? These broad global goals address the same problems that our field is tackling: to reduce poverty, improve livelihoods and quality of life, and create a more equitable global society. Looking at the range of issues in the SDGs, all…

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…

Find your Representative(s) Members of Congress are interested to learn about the work that you are doing in their communities. When identifying your representative(s), it is helpful to think—not only about the district in which your home office is located—but also the areas in which you fund. It…

Many foundation staff members remain mystified (and enamored) with mission investing and the promise it holds for leveraging foundation resources to support their missions. However, it is clear that many foundations do not fully understand the full complement of mission investing strategies and how…

This white paper outlines best practices with proven results that foundations can use to find and create a diverse and inclusive staff and investment advisory team. Readers will learn how to make the business case for more diverse and equitable strategies and link success in this area with…

  What are the benefits of participation? Can I participate? How do I participate? What information will I need to complete the survey? What positions do you collect data for in the survey? Where does my state fall within the geographic breakdowns in the report? How much does the…

Operating endowments can provide stability and long-term sustainability for community foundations. They can also provide resources that enable foundation leaders to play a stronger leadership role in the community and direct resources to the most pressing issues. Developing and executing an…

On September 25, 2015, 193 countries formally adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United Nations. The Council’s president at that time, Vikki Spruill, published an op-ed in the Chronicle of Philanthropy urging philanthropic organizations to partner with others to help…

Community foundations have one thing in common: When it comes to administrative fee structures, no two are alike. While there's no one right answer, it's important to review and compare your foundation’s fee structure to other foundations of comparable size. Many community foundations are doing…