Grantmaking Policies

How Foundations Can Partner with USAID

JasonLudwig — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 20:34:11 +0000

How Foundations Can Partner with USAID JasonLudwig Thu, 03/14/2024 - 16:34

How Foundations Can Partner with USAID

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 staff is available to help connect those foundations with USAID staff to begin exploring ways they can work together.

In 2023, 15 global foundations joined with bilateral donors to endorse a Donor Statement on Locally Led Development. Since then, we've seen steadily growing momentum for establishing both informal and formal partnerships between philanthropy and government aid agencies.

Establishing a Formal Partnership with USAID

Foundations are increasingly establishing formal partnerships with USAID, utilizing Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on a range of activities. Some examples of these partnerships between foundations and USAID include:

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation: Through this agreement, USAID and the Hilton Foundation will identify and apply their respective organizational strengths to advance locally led efforts in areas of shared interest, such as early childhood development, youth empowerment, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, safe water systems, and engagement with faith-based and community organizations. The two organizations will leverage their convening power, share networks, and coordinate outreach to mobilize U.S.-based and global philanthropies, civil society, and other stakeholders to prioritize elevating local leadership of development and humanitarian assistance.
Hewlett Foundation: USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Center for Global Development (CGD) focusing on approaches to evaluation and evidence-generation. The partnership launches USAID’s Evidence Localization Initiative, to begin in Africa, and contributes to USAID, CGD, and Hewlett's broader priorities on advancing evidence-informed policy and locally led development.
Humanity United: Humanity United signed an MOU with the USAID’s Center for Conflict and Violence Prevention establishing a three-year collaboration to work towards advancing best practices related to locally led development and inclusive peacebuilding; facilitating information gathering and sharing through structured feedback sessions with local peacebuilders and USAID Missions; and creating a network of domestic and civil society organizations to provide input and guidance as locally led development practices evolve.
Skoll Foundation: USAID and the Skoll Foundation signed an MOU to explore and evaluate innovative, efficient, and, where appropriate, joint approaches for locally led development, particularly around (a) engaging local intermediaries who serve as fiscal agents or provide administrative support (e.g., payroll, award management, human resources, etc.) to a local network of organizations; and (b) identifying, coaching, and elevating local actors to be better positioned to receive awards from USAID and other donors. Additionally, USAID and Skoll will strengthen collaboration at the local level in USAID partner countries and build multi-stakeholder partnerships, including with additional foundations and likeminded donors, to support health, climate, and gender equality and equity, and optimize investments to address information manipulation, strengthening the resilience of information and media environments. USAID works in tandem with the Skoll Foundation in countries such as Brazil, where they aim to expand the abilities of local actors to execute projects that push forward climate action, biodiversity conservation, and thriving communities in the Brazilian Amazon.

USAID and Locally Led Development

USAID has doubled down on locally led development during the Biden Administration. In November 2021, agency Administrator Samantha Power announced two targets in pursuit of these goals: (a) by Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, USAID will direct a quarter of its funding directly to local partners; and (b) by 2030, at least half of USAID programs will create space for local actors to exercise leadership over priority-setting, activity design, implementation, and defining and measuring results. USAID's FY22 progress report notes that it reached $1.6 billion in direct local funding – a step in the right direction, but far from its targets.

USAID has also released a Local Capacity Strengthening Policy and an updated Risk Appetite Statement, clearly communicating how it intends to support its local partners.

Learn more about how USAID is supporting research and initiatives around locally led development.

Democracy Delivers Partnerships

The Democracy Delivers initiative was launched in 2022 by Administrator Power and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to bring together partners across sectors that can surge resources to countries undergoing moments of democratic renewal to maximize the likelihood that their democratic gains endure. Foundations who have made commitments to support Democracy Delivers include:

The Ford Foundation, which committed $20 million in new grants to support civic engagement in Moldova and Zambia and to advance the work of democracy-oriented actors in Tanzania and Nepal.
The Rockefeller Foundation, which committed up to approximately $28 million to benefit the Democracy Delivers cohort through rural electrification, climate resilience, food security, and more.

Additionally, in 2023, the following foundations announced investments supporting Democracy Delivers countries and objectives: The Chandler Foundation, The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Google.org, Humanity United, The International Chamber of Commerce, The Mott Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Skoll Foundation, The Tent Partnership for Refugees, The Tinker Foundation, The UPS Foundation, The Vodafone Foundation, and WINGS.

Read more about how foundations have supported global efforts to advance locally led development and democracy in Inside Philanthropy.

Additional Resources About Partnering with USAID

Interested in Partnering with USAID?

The Council can help. Contact govt@cof.org.

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September Public Policy Update: What’s Happening in Congress?

caroline.healey@cof.org — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 18:04:44 +0000

September Public Policy Update: What’s Happening in Congress? caroline.heale… Thu, 08/24/2023 - 14:04

Webinar

September Public Policy Update: What’s Happening in Congress?

Join this webinar to learn about trends and pending legislation in Congress that may impact your philanthropic grantmaking.

Congress is back in session this month and facing several decisions and deadlines that could impact your work—and bring the government to a standstill. With federal funding set to expire at the end of September, plus must-pass defense and agriculture legislation that’s causing fights across the aisle and within both parties, we could be in for a wild ride. Join us to hear from the Council's external lobbyists, Ken Kies and Arshi Siddiqui, about what’s happening on Capitol Hill and how it might impact the policies and causes you care about.

Presenters

Ken Kies

Managing Director

Federal Policy Group, LLC

Arshi Siddiqui

Partner

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

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Artificial Intelligence in Philanthropy: Trends and Responsible Use

caroline.healey@cof.org — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 15:13:05 +0000

Artificial Intelligence in Philanthropy: Trends and Responsible Use caroline.heale… Mon, 07/31/2023 - 11:13

Webinar

Artificial Intelligence in Philanthropy: Trends and Responsible Use

View the recording of this thought-provoking webinar on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and its significance in shaping digital infrastructure and enhancing equitable outcomes for the social sector.

In this session, speakers from the philanthropic sector discussed how the power of AI and generative AI systems are transforming how social sector practitioners and foundations are doing their work and achieving their missions. This session is geared toward philanthropic leaders in decision-making roles involved in high-level strategy, organizational effectiveness, grantmaking, or operations. If you’re looking to more effectively drive the future of philanthropy through innovation, ethical practices, and compassion, this webinar is for you.

Hosted in partnership with:

Speakers

Sarah Di Troia

Senior Advisor

Project Evident

Chantal E. Forster

Executive Director

Technology Association of Grantmakers

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Values-Aligned Philanthropy for Community Foundations

emily.moses@cof.org — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 14:10:16 +0000

Values-Aligned Philanthropy for Community Foundations emily.moses@cof.org Fri, 06/10/2022 - 10:10

Values-Aligned Philanthropy for Community Foundations

Through our Values-Aligned Philanthropy project, the Council on Foundations is encouraging foundations to take steps to ensure that they are not funding hate. Our white paper created a landscape scan of the issue and the work being done in the philanthropic sector to combat hate funding. We also maintain an online hub with updated links to resources and sample policies.

This toolkit is the latest addition to these resources: a step-by-step guide for community foundations developing and implementing an anti-hate policy, including suggestions for the structure and wording of the policy.

View a webinar recording for further guidance on using the toolkit.

Download for free in Store

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How Community Foundations Can Support Individuals and Small Businesses During the Coronavirus Pandemic

council-webteam — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 18:40:22 +0000

How Community Foundations Can Support Individuals and Small Businesses During the Coronavirus Pandemic council-webteam Wed, 04/22/2020 - 14:40

How Community Foundations Can Support Individuals and Small Businesses During the Coronavirus Pandemic

During the pandemic, many of us expected the stock market would fare poorly, that there would be long lines at food pantries, and that public health systems would be overwhelmed. Many of us did not expect to see record levels of unemployment, widespread permanent closures of small businesses, or the looming crisis that is impacting many communities that were already in turmoil.

In this new reality, foundations can play a vital role in supporting both individuals and small businesses.

Getting Started

Begin with the Council’s Comprehensive Coronavirus Legislation Guide for the Charitable Sector, which includes informationon what resources the federal government intends to provide. The coming availability, or not, of public resources will influence and impact your plans.

With this information about public sector resources in mind, you can begin to establish philanthropic support that fills the gaps or bridges to public support. As you do so, be certain to engage in your community’s conversations about how public-private capital can work together.

Supporting Individuals

While individuals across the country await unemployment and stimulus payments, many are in desperate need. Community foundations have long played a role of channeling funds to individuals in need in the wake of disasters.

Grants to individuals during a crisis must be made in a fashion similar to match typical scholarship requirements: there must be a broad enough pool of recipients and the grants must be objectively made. Council on Foundations attorneys released guidance on grants to individuals to help you learn more and explore the limitations in supporting individuals, noting:

Foundations that have engaged in disaster or hardship related grantmaking to individuals in the past can likely redeploy the procedures established previously. For those making grants to individuals for the first time, the foundation may need to implement new procedures around evaluation and recordkeeping for such grants.

Supporting Small Businesses with Grants

From restaurants to dry cleaners, barbers to boutiques, small businesses are in dire straits in this crisis. Philanthropy is no stranger to supporting economic development, community revitalization, and entrepreneurship. This form of philanthropic activity matters now more than ever.

Here are some important considerations for you to keep in mind when you are supporting for-profit businesses.

Engage Local Expertise

From the outset and throughout your efforts, engage frequently, consistently, and deeply with your local Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development office, Small Business Administration office, and similar local government agencies. Their insights and knowledge of local small business activity and economic development efforts are a vital component of your strategy.

Review IRS Publication 3833

Start by reviewing IRS Publication 3833. This publication is the best guidance we have so far on how to provide charitable support for small businesses. While the publication was written to guide support for communities in crises created by natural disasters, the parameters and examples it contains offer a roadmap for how we can adapt in this new circumstance we face as a nation.

IRS Publication 3833 states that disaster assistance may be provided to businesses to achieve the following charitable purposes: to aid individual business owners who are financially in need or otherwise distressed, to combat community deterioration, and to lessen the burdens of government.

Using the publication as a guide, keep in mind the following:

Document the nature of the curtailed business operations that are causing “financial need or otherwise distressed” business owners
- For financial need: Focus on minority-held businesses, or those in minority or underserved/underinvested communities or neighborhoods
- For otherwise distressed: Focus on businesses that can easily document how their operations are reduced or lost due to the COVID-19 public health crisis
To “combat community deterioration,” follow the above criteria for areas likely to feel the impact sooner (i.e. underserved/underinvested communities)
Related to lessening “the burdens of government,” follow the criteria above and focus on gaps between COVID-related public support and actual needs

Make “Recoverable Grants”

A recoverable grant is one in which you can recover a portion or all of the grant in the future. Use this tool as much as you can when supporting for-profit businesses, with the option to not recover if the business can prove its usage for charitable purposes. Examples of such charitable purposes include:

Use of funds to pay rent, when the loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic is demonstrated
Support to a restaurant providing food delivery service to home-bound residents
Support to a business that is providing free storage space to a food bank

However, because of the unknown nature of this crisis, be prepared that you may not recover all the recoverable grants you make.

Sample Recoverable Grant Agreement

Utilize CDFIs

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are banks, credit unions, loan funds, microloan funds, and venture capital providers that share a common goal of expanding economic opportunity in low-income communities. Whenever possible, community foundations should utilize CDFIs to make the actual decisions for who receives funding from the community foundation. The CDFI is a qualified grantee of the community foundation and can administer the selection and distribution of funds on behalf of the community foundation.

Document Carefully

Be sure to document and justify your actions in written and filed documentation to substantiate your work. If you wouldn’t report it and wouldn’t stand behind it with the IRS or local media, it is definitely not worth it. See an example of granting to small business guidelines created by the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines.

Grantmaking Guidelines for Disaster Relief Assistance to Small Businesses

Charitable Alternatives to Providing Direct Cash for Small Businesses

Where possible, work with partners to assist small businesses in ways other than giving direct cash, such as through:

Assistance in securing SBA loans via the federal stimulus package
Pro bono legal services to aid in contract negotiations for debt collection, deferred rent, etc.
Technical assistance to adapt to doing online sales, social media marketing campaigns, etc.
Support for marketing campaigns that promote “local” businesses and available services still provided during the pandemic

Remember that Nonprofits are Also Businesses

Nonprofits—including community foundations—qualify for federal Small Business Administration assistance related to the COVID-19 crisis such as the Paycheck Protection Program. These links provide helpful information:

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Community Foundation Scholarship Programs: From A to Z

kelsey.gerber@cof.org — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 20:12:50 +0000

Community Foundation Scholarship Programs: From A to Z kelsey.gerber@… Wed, 03/20/2019 - 16:12

Community Foundation Scholarship Programs: From A to Z

Webinar Recording

In this month’s “Lunch with Legal Counsel” webinar, Ben McDearmon, Law Clerk and Legal Administrator with the Council, continues our March scholarship series after our discussion earlier in the month on Post-Graduation Scholarships. Ben guides attendees on an exploration of topics around more traditional community foundation scholarship programs. He starts by covering the fundamentals before diving into more complex issues, drawn from scenarios raised in recent questions we’ve received from members.

Whether you are new to your role or a seasoned scholarships manager, you will find something useful to help improve your knowledge of the work.

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Can Corporate Giving Benefit Company Employees? Let's Find Out

kelsey.gerber@cof.org — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 19:51:47 +0000

Can Corporate Giving Benefit Company Employees? Let's Find Out kelsey.gerber@… Wed, 10/24/2018 - 15:51

Can Corporate Giving Benefit Company Employees? Let's Find Out

Webinar Recording

View the Slides

At the Council, we are often asked how corporations can fund scholarship programs for company employees and dependents. Similarly, corporations often want to assist employees in times of crisis, whether due to a natural disaster or a more personal tragedy. In both cases, the corporation must walk a fine line between charitable giving and taxable compensation and benefits. In this hour, the Council on Foundations Legal team member Ben McDearmon discusses how corporate foundations and corporate giving programs can structure charitable giving in ways that provides assistance to employees while staying in compliance with tax law. Giving through corporate foundations and the use of intermediaries such as community foundations will also be discussed.

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Lunch with Legal Counsel: Motivations for Corporate Giving – Proceed with Caution!

kelsey.gerber@cof.org — Thu, 17 May 2018 15:05:48 +0000

Lunch with Legal Counsel: Motivations for Corporate Giving – Proceed with Caution! kelsey.gerber@… Thu, 05/17/2018 - 11:05

Lunch with Legal Counsel: Motivations for Corporate Giving – Proceed with Caution!

Webinar Recording

Suzanne Friday, Senior Legal Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Council, will discuss the goals and motivations driving corporate giving, with a particular focus on corporate foundations. Also, take this opportunity to meet Lindsay Mason, the new Director of Corporate Philanthropy.

After a brief review of the applicable legal rules, we will discuss how corporate foundations can focus giving in different ways and for different purposes. Whether it is limiting grantmaking activity to the communities or populations the corporation serves, assisting company employees in times of hardship or disaster, funding research in areas related to the company’s business, or simply generating goodwill for the company, we will discuss legal issues that might arise as well as recent criticism surrounding corporate giving for perceived political influence.

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Sample Matching Gift Policy

council-webteam — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 23:31:22 +0000

Sample Matching Gift Policy council-webteam Tue, 11/19/2013 - 18:31

Sample Matching Gift Policy

This sample matching gift policy can be easily customized for your foundation's use.

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Sample Matching Gift Policy

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Matching Gifts and Donor Benefits

council-webteam — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 23:28:59 +0000

Matching Gifts and Donor Benefits council-webteam Tue, 11/19/2013 - 18:28

Matching Gifts and Donor Benefits

Question: A public television station provides thank-you gifts of varying values based upon the amount of a donor’s contribution. An employee of a corporation makes a gift to a local public television station. Can the corporate foundation match the gift as part of its matching gift program, even though the station provided a thank-you gift?

Answer: Yes. However, to avoid concerns of self-dealing, any thank-you gift received by the donor should only be based upon the contribution from the donor. No part of the foundation’s grant may be the basis for goods or services provided to the donor.

Example: A public television station provides individuals contributing $100 or less with a CD. Donors who contribute more than $100 receive a DVD collection. A donor contributes $100 and your company foundation makes a grant of $100 to the station as a matching gift. The donor should only receive the CD because the thank-you gift should be based solely on the donor’s contribution.

The foundation’s transmittal letter to the grantee that accompanies the matching gift should clarify that any goods or services provided to the donor should be based solely on contributions from the donor and not on contributions made by the foundation.

To avoid this problem, some corporate foundations create guidelines that do not permit matching grants for employees’ contributions if the employee receives goods and/or services in return for a gift.