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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…
This article explores one of the more common questions about conflicts of interest: May the foundation's lawyer serve as a trustee?
Foundation Lawyer/Trustee
Often, the lawyer who drafted a foundation's organizing documents stays on as counsel to the organization. He or she may be asked to…
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,…
This perspective offered by William Graustein of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund in 2013 provides useful context on creating your own foundation's mission and vision statements.
When you get down to it, the reason a charitable foundation exists is to change the world or, at…
Most people do not think of their family as having a “culture.” For many, it's a group of familiar people doing what they always do.
Yet it is exactly this—a characteristic way of thinking, feeling, judging, and acting—that defines a culture. Both in direct and subtle ways, children are molded…
The Stewardship Principles for Corporate Grantmakers are a set of governance best practices that embody how corporate philanthropies can reflect fundamental values including honesty, integrity, fairness, and trust, in their board governance, management, and grantmaking.
Under the rules applicable to private foundations, directors or trustees and staff members may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the foundation's charitable activities. Such expenditures fall under the heading of administrative costs and will generally…
Can we pay our board members? Should we?
The issue of whether to pay foundation board members is always a controversial topic. Expect the media, regulators, general public, and even your grantees to scrutinize the decisions you make.
What is legal?
Though the rules may vary slightly by…
What do you do when a grantee—or potential grantee—asks someone on your board or staff to sit on their board? Does such a request constitute a conflict of interest? Are there times when such a situation can actually benefit one or both of the organizations involved?
Let’s look at some of the…
Sabbaticals are not too uncommon in the nonprofit world for foundation executives or senior management. It can be a useful time to reflect on past accomplishments, revitalize, and gain renewed inspiration for future work. Sabbaticals for board members likewise can have similar positive effects but…