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Values-Aligned Philanthropy: Discussing Responsible Giving With Donors
Publication, Toolkit
Foundation leaders committed to values-aligned philanthropic policies, which ensure grantmaking efforts does not fund hate and extremism, emphasize the importance of ensuring all stakeholders understand both the policies and the reasons for their creation. Values-Aligned Philanthropy: Discussing…
Self-defense Lobbying Exception for Private Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
Internal Revenue Code § 4945(e) allows private foundations to appear or communicate with a legislative body concerning a decision of that body that might affect the existence of the foundation, its powers and duties, its tax-exempt status, or the deductibility of contributions to it.
What…
FAQ: End of Year 2024
Legal Compliance Guidance
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) Gifts and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
May a donor make a QCD from an IRA to their donor-advised fund (DAF) or someone else’s DAF?
What happens if a donor chooses to transfer money from their IRA into a DAF? Do we have to tell them they have…
Marketing Toolkit: The Center for Community Foundations
Toolkit
We’ve heard your feedback and are thrilled to announce the launch of the new Center for Community Foundations! The Center will act as a dedicated hub for community foundation resources, as well as a place for those who are new to, or curious about, the field to learn more.
We hope you’ll…
FAQ: AAER v. Fearless Fund Settlement
Legal Compliance Guidance
What is Section 1981?
Does the outcome of this case set a new standard for grants that are race-based or race-conscious? If so, why?
How will this settlement impact a foundation’s ongoing commitment to DEI within their grantmaking?
Will the settlement impact foundations collection of…
Discussion Guide: Connecting Philanthropic Values and DEI Principles
Toolkit
Use this document to help initiate conversations about how your foundation's mission and values connect to integrating DEI policies and practices.
2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Board Compensation Tables
Publication, Research
The 2024 Board Compensation Tables provide foundation board and staff with the tools they need to benchmark their board compensation policies and practices against peers in the field. This report contains data collected through the Council’s 2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey and presented…
2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report
Publication, Research
The 2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report contains the most comprehensive and up-to-date data available on U.S. philanthropic sector salaries, benefits, and demographic details, with information presented by grantmaker type, foundation type, asset size, and geographic location. The 2024…
2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Key Findings
Research
The 2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits (GSB) Key Findings is an illustrated, three-page document highlighting important trends shaping the philanthropic sector. Also available as a free PDF, the 2024 GSB Key Findings is just a small fraction of the expansive dataset available in the 2024 GSB…
Coming Together, Not Apart
Publication
Coming Together, Not Apart: How Philanthropy Supports Connection in a Time of Dangerous Division is the first of three Council on Foundations publications exploring philanthropy's involvement in developing the heartset, mindset, and skillset to lead collaboratively across differences. It dives deep…
2023 Council on Foundations - Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations (CCSF)
Publication, Research
The CCSF Study is the field’s most comprehensive and authoritative study on investment and governance policies and practices. The 2023 CCSF studies 291 private and community foundations that represent $126 billion in assets. Topics covered include:
Returns and Investment Objectives
Asset…
Considerations for Working With 501(c)(3) NIL Collectives
Legal Compliance Guidance
More than 120 “NIL collectives” have been established in the U.S., many of them as tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, to raise funds and enter into agreements that compensate student-athletes at specific higher-education institutions in exchange for using the student-athlete's name,…
Philanthropy's New Voice: Building Trust With Deeper Stories and Clear Language
Publication
United States foundations are an essential element of America’s social sector, supporting causes from public libraries to groundbreaking research, to new approaches to building a more equitable world. But despite their reach, foundations have an identity problem. From small towns to Washington, D.C…
Webinar Recording: Self-Dealing Concerns for Corporate and Private Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance, Recording
In this webinar, the Council’s Legal Resources team took an in-depth look at the self-dealing rules applicable to private foundations under section 4941 of the Internal Revenue Code. This webinar provided an analysis of the relevant rules and regulations governing transactions between private…
How Foundations Can Partner with USAID
Fundamentals
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…
Scholarships
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
Part of Mastering Foundation Law
Providing scholarships to individuals is a popular method of charitable giving in the U.S. But following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and the ongoing Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund case,…
About Council Resources
As a benefit of membership, the Council on Foundations attorneys and legal staff provide information and education to Council members regarding a variety of topics related to foundation operations and legal compliance. All information on this website, and all publications, articles, e-mail correspondence and telephone consultations provided by Council attorneys and legal staff are intended for informational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. Council attorneys are not licensed in every state and cannot provide legal representation.
The information is not a substitute for expert legal, tax or other professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances, and may not be relied upon for the purposes of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. Council members may e-mail legal@cof.org with inquiries and for more information.
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