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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…
Legal and Tax Compliance for Corporate Grantmakers: Self-Dealing & Conflicts of Interest
Recording
In this third installment of the Legal and Tax Compliance for Corporate Grantmakers webinar, participants continue a review of the rules against self-dealing, where they come from and what they involve, as well as compare to rules regarding conflict of interest. We analyze a case study, a real…
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 Legal Webinar
Recording
View the Webinar Slides
Community Foundations: Gearing up for Year-End
Spend 90 minutes with the Council's legal staff to explore topics associated with year-end. As well, take a moment out to celebrate #CFWeek and gear up for #GivingTuesday!
Topics Include:
Year-end gift…
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…
Webinar Recording: National Trust for Historic Preservation: African American Cultural Heritage Fund
Recording
The events in Charlottesville and the subsequent debates regarding the treatment of monuments and memorials to Confederate leaders and heroes has contributed to further divisions within our society. Many of our communities are grappling with these issues and seeking ways to bridge the…
Webinar Recording: Transforming Community Foundation Scholarship Programs from Administrative Burdens to Strategic Assets
Legal Compliance Guidance, Recording
Download the Presentation Slides
With the Stanislaus Community Foundation, National College Access Network (NCAN), and the Council on Foundations' Legal Team and Director of Community Philanthropy, this webinar explores key findings from a recent white paper published by NCAN on the topic…
Expenditure Responsibility vs. Equivalency Determination: How to Choose
Recording
Are you a corporate foundation that makes grants internationally? Do you make grants to organizations that are not 501(c)(3) public charities? If so, you will want to learn more about expenditure responsibility and equivalency determinations, and understand when each may apply.
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…
2016 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Administrative and Program Expense Tables
Publication, Research
The 2016 Administrative and Program Expense Tables provide foundations with tools to benchmark their expenses – charitable administrative, program service, and qualifying distributions – against peers in the field. Containing data collected through the Council’s 2016 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits…
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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