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During the summer of 2004, we interviewed several corporate community relations managers to gather advice for new staff in similar positions. Their comments are summarized here, and direct quotes appear in italics. While First 100 Days is not a detailed job description, it will provide novice…

As family members come together in their collective role as trustees of the family foundation, they must grapple with many issues. Along with their grantmaking responsibilities, they set policies for governance and management and oversee the investment of the foundation’s assets. Unlike officers of…

This briefing will help your board consider three main questions: what are the advantages and limitations of CEOs on boards? If the CEO is on the board, should they have full voting rights? How do your colleagues approach this decision?

This article will help your board consider three main questions: What are the advantages and limitations of large versus small boards? What size will help us best accomplish our mission? How do our colleagues approach this question? Although board size varies significantly among different…

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…

A mission statement gives all who are interested an idea of why the foundation was established and how it defines its own work. The statement is usually broad, worded to reflect the donor’s intent, and give a flavor of the foundation’s values and interests. For family foundation trustees,…

Family foundations must grapple with many questions when determining who will serve on the board. For example, who is eligible for board service? The easy answer for many foundations is that all family members are eligible, but how do you define "family member"? This document highlights some…

Many foundations may be uncertain about what’s involved when it comes to succession planning. Some wonder why they should worry about the future at all when they have so much work to do in managing their grantmaking, community leadership and development, and administrative duties. Succession…

Working with the media should be part of your overall communications plan. Even if you don't have a written communications plan, you still need to focus some attention toward the media. Working with the media—that is, public relations—establishes a strong public presence and image for your…

As different as foundations can be from one another, they all share the need to know what works and, especially, what works well. The more foundations can show how their grants are making a difference, the more value they can bring to their communities. To know what works, foundations must…

Social media is an increasingly prevalent part of our world. Whether it’s on the news, sitting in traffic, or talking with colleagues, you’ll be hard-pressed to avoid mention of Facebook or Twitter. Is there a good way for your foundation to become involved? Perhaps your board chair suggested that…

Note to the Program Officer The scope of the program officer job description has evolved. Where it was once primarily tactical—reviewing funding requests and developing requests for proposals—the program officer’s role more commonly includes strategic activities. Program officers must master three…

One of the greatest challenges encountered in thinking about evaluation is that there usually is more than one acceptable way to evaluate a given grant, project, or program. The form that an evaluation takes and the products that it yields will depend on choices made about the following issues…

Question: Our corporate foundation is planning to establish a scholarship fund for our employees' children. What do we need to keep in mind and what steps do we need to follow to ensure we are complying with the legal requirements? Response: The granting of scholarships, fellowships, and…

Keeping donors interested and excited about their philanthropy is a fundamental task for a community foundation. After all, donors are your best source for additional gifts and larger “legacy” gifts in the future. Community foundations provide donor services to achieve two main goals - to keep…