2021-2025 Strategic Direction

You may notice something different about our website and social media presence. That’s right: Your 73-year-old Council on Foundations has a new look! We’re particularly excited to share this during the Council’s Member Week – a time when we celebrate and connect with our nearly 850 member…

  Recent data and research from sources such as the Edelman Trust Barometer suggest declining trust in nonprofits and philanthropy in the United States. Fraying trust in institutions, perceptions that nonprofits and philanthropy are politicized, intensifying critiques of philanthropy as a “…

*/ Last July, the Council on Foundations convened a group of community foundation leaders to develop a set of principles and policy recommendations to strengthen how community foundations use donor-advised funds (DAFs). The Strengthening Community Philanthropy Ad Hoc Working Group was made up of…

Like many leaders of private foundations, I have strong beliefs about the importance of growing philanthropy in ways that build trust and advance equity in the field. That is why I am so appreciative of the work that the Strengthening Community Philanthropy Ad Hoc Working Group (the Working Group)…

Dear Friend: 2021 was an historic year in many ways, for philanthropy and for the people and communities we care about. It was a year of loss and heartache as families and communities continued to suffer the effects of the pandemic and many other hardships. It was a year of advocacy to advance…

Many of us know that the philanthropic community has a critical role to play in addressing the increase in hate and hate crimes, but it’s not easy to figure out how to tackle this work. The Council on Foundations’ white paper, Values-Aligned Philanthropy: Foundations Resisting Hate and Extremism,…

Nonprofits and their funders know this challenge all too well—an organization has a great idea, so they begin to seek capital from funders or foundations. They hear the same answer regularly – “It sounds like a great idea. Come back to us after you’re further along.” This presents a chicken and egg…

Workplaces across the globe are in flux—and many are changing for the better. With more remote offerings, flexibility, and accommodations, we face a generational opportunity to codify accessibility and inclusion in institutions that have been exclusive for far too long. Despite these changes, our…

As we continue to navigate a new normal amid a global pandemic, philanthropy has a moral obligation to create spaces for everyone’s voice to be heard, valued, and represented in building common ground to achieve more together. How do we advance the greater good in our community? How do we build…

The challenges of the past year have exacerbated inequities around the world and caused many of us in philanthropy to reflect on how we can change our own ways of working to be more effective partners in transforming societal systems for equity. At Walmart and the Walmart Foundation, where…

We are in a moment of dramatic change and re-imagining, what my friend and futurist Ari Wallach calls “The Intertidal”: a significant shift in global human culture and narrative, where what has been gives way to what will be. As we witness this profound shift, we also bear the responsibility, as…

A few years ago, in my role guiding strategy and programs at the Democracy Fund, I took some time to explore the idea of “trust.” It was a construct that came up over and over again in conversations about democracy – for instance, do we trust elections to be safe and secure? What news sources can…

Over the past two weeks, the United Nations General Assembly has held its 73rdannual convening in New York City to discuss its agenda to solve global challenges by 2030 using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Particularly for the corporate philanthropic community, this convening provides a…