Community Philanthropy Updates

November ushers in the giving season and time to reflect on achievements met or unmet, and new aspirations for the coming year. Yet, this particularly November, turbulence across America continues. We are living with new American realities—a recent shooting in a small town outside San Antonio on…

The Council on Foundations is thrilled to co-host the first-ever North American Community Foundations Summit in Mexico City. I am excited to think creatively and collaboratively with philanthropy peers from across North America to ensure that our changing communities leave no one behind. There are…

From Charlottesville to Las Vegas, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and now the California fires, it has been a devastating couple of months. The Council will continue to activate our support networks and national reach to provide greater scope in backing the community foundations in affected areas.…

It has been an eventful month with back to back hurricanes causing extensive damage in Florida,Texas, and the Caribbean. The Council has been in contact with community foundations in the affected areas to offer our thoughts and has set up some valuable resources which I am sharing in this issue.…

First, a bit of exciting personal news: my family is anticipating the arrival of our second child any day now—thus, I will eventually be on paternity leave until early September. During this time, I will have an away message with an array of ways for you to connect with the right person. We are…

As we hit the midpoint of 2017, community and economic development are shrinking in many places. A number of our community foundation members are deploying more resources to stop this decline in their communities. For example, this recent article was food for thought on the topic of employment and…

Member Access to Recording With our partners, National College Access Network (NCAN), and the Council on Foundation's Legal Team and Director of Community Philanthropy, this webinar explores key findings from a recent white paper published by NCAN on the topic of scholarships, discusses in-…

This month I’m highlighting the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® program, which I’m delighted to report continues to add distinction to the work of the field. I'm also sharing several other resources below to help kick off the summer season, including “21st-Century Tools for 21st-…

April came and went, and it packed a punch.  I am grateful for the 200 community foundation (CF) leaders who joined over 1,000 philanthropic leaders in Dallas, Texas, for the 2017 Annual Conference. Please take a look at the highlight videos, which feature many examples of the type of…

Workshop for the Carolinas, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia Region Led by Suzanne Friday, Counsel for the Council on Foundations, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. Suzanne…

In January, I shared some trends that will shape philanthropy in 2017, many of which also apply directly to community foundations. Now is a time of significant opportunity for community foundations, which I've seen through our customers and conversations with community foundation professionals like…

Members, Access the Recording The Council’s Senior Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs, Suzanne Friday, and Director of Community Philanthropy, Brad Ward, explored funds that come from corporate donors.   Tackle issues with employer-related scholarships, disaster funds, employee…

In my humble opinion, this month ushers in some of the greatest occasions: March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, and the first day of spring. What more could you ask for? How about renewing your membership with the Council before the April 30 deadline? To take advantage of all the Council has to offer…

Sandi Roehrig, Executive Director, Fond du Lac Area Foundation Many years ago the community foundation executives in Wisconsin met to collectively talk about a growing concern. At the time, any organization could call itself a community foundation, and if their actions gave the term a bad name, we…

The nature of disruption has been on my mind recently. Our friends at the Greater New Orleans Foundation are coordinating a Helping our Neighbors: Tornado Relief Fund to alleviate the devastation of numerous tornadoes last week. They mobilized quickly to help pave the way for philanthropy to make a…

Indiana University provided a live stream and recording of this session. View the Recording Hosted by Mark Sidel, J.D. Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Visiting Chair in Community Foundations at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the Council on Foundations, this session…