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Most community foundations operate a competitive grantmaking program that is responsive to their community—meaning they make grants in response to requests from those seeking grants. At times, however, you may ask: Is this approach the most effective use of our philanthropic dollars?
Some…
Question:May a corporate foundation allow corporate board members who do not sit on the foundation’s board to designate grants from the corporate foundation?
Answer:No. All grants from the corporate foundation must be approved by the corporate foundation’s board of directors. No individual—…
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…
Question: Our foundation has been funding a local nonprofit for the last ten years. The nonprofit has one full-time employee and an annual operating budget of about $300,000. The nonprofit recently requested a $50,000 grant for operating expenditures or it will have to close down immediately. Even…
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…
Question: We are trying to decide how to structure our grants programs between our direct-giving program and our corporate foundation. Are there any general guidelines to help us?
Answer: Many factors influence how to allocate grantmaking programs between a corporate giving program and…
Question: May our corporate foundation or corporate giving program provide a grant to an organization that is not a charity?
Answer: Yes, but the process required to make a grant to a non-charity depends on the type of corporate giving vehicle used to make the grant. Private foundations…
Question:
In light of current economic conditions, the corporation has asked whether the company's private foundation may honor grant commitments already made by the corporate giving program. Can the private foundation make these grants?
Answer:
Maybe. The facts and circumstances…
Question: May a private company foundation support the volunteer activities of the sponsoring corporation's employees?
Answer: Company foundations sometimes play a role in coordinating volunteer activities of the sponsoring corporation's employees. The IRS has approved company foundations'…
Foundation recordkeeping is an inherently dull topic—unless it’s done wrong. The foundation manager who has not kept adequate documentation regarding expenditure responsibility grants risks an IRS audit. Similarly, a foundation manager confronted with a trustee succession battle will find the…