Embracing Better Ways of Operating
Accounting for Assets Held at Community Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
Download this guide as a PDF
Nonprofit entities place their investments with community foundations ("the Foundation") for a variety of reasons, including investment expertise, efficiencies, and access to planned giving advice and services. As nonprofit entities seek to place their assets and…
Led by the Council on Foundations Legal team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and corporate foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and…
2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Administrative and Program Expense Tables
Publication, Research
The 2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits (GSB) Administrative and Program Expense Tables provide foundations the benchmarking data needed to measure administrative, program, service, and qualifying distribution expenses against peers in the field. Containing data collected through the Council’s GSB…
SDG Learning Circle for Foundations - November 2025
Join us for this peer-led event dedicated specifically to foundations working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work.
Connect with foundation peers to learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development…
2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report
Publication, Research
The 2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report contains the most comprehensive and up-to-date data on U.S. philanthropic sector salaries, benefits, and demographic details, with information presented by grantmaker type, foundation type, asset size, and geographic location. The 2025 Grantmaker…
2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Key Findings
Research
The 2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits (GSB) Key Findings is a visual highlight of the trends and changes that are shaping the philanthropic sector.
Also available as a free PDF, the 2025 GSB Key Findings is just a small fraction of the expansive dataset available in the 2025 GSB Report, which…
Better Stories, Better Language: A Communications Workshop Series
This series is a collaboration between the University of Florida’s Center for Public Interest Communications and the Council on Foundations. These three workshops will offer you the skills and tools to tell more complex, robust stories about the charitable sector and your work. You'll learn how to…
Better Stories, Better Language: Showing Our Work
How do we show we’re making a difference? How can you evaluate your narrative strategy?
Metrics provide tangible evidence of the effectiveness of your communications efforts, which is crucial, especially if your efforts are underfunded. They hold you accountable to your strategy by tracking…
Better Stories, Better Language: Making the Case
You understand the value of better stories and better language, but you may not have the support and resources you need to engage in this work long-term. This workshop will help you identify your specific needs in terms of resources, skills and support, as well as the people who control those…
Better Stories, Better Language: Stories of Value and Values
Learn to tell fascinating, compelling stories about how change happens and how the charitable sector works with communities to make a difference on today’s most pressing issues. We’ll discuss how narratives are formed, the essential elements of stories that build trust and understanding, and how to…
SDG Learning Circle for Foundations - August 2025
Join us for this peer-led event dedicated specifically to foundations working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work.
Connect with foundation peers to learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development…
Leading Locally All Year Long
Even though the conference is over, the learning continues! Our Leading Locally All Year Long webinar series explores topics designed specifically for community foundations and place-based funders, including some of our most popular sessions from Leading Locally 2025…
The Role of Community Philanthropy in Advancing Immigrant Inclusion
This is a session in our Leading Locally All Year Long series, featuring content designed for place-based funders.
Members, view the event recap and the session recording.
Designing a Foundation for Both Place-Based and Systems Change
In 2024, the Best Buy Foundation took an audacious leap. Building on its history of place-based work in its hometown of Minneapolis-St. Paul, it launched a national systems change effort around economic mobility for young people. This created a tension between its local and national strategies that…
How Foundations Can Affect Family Economic Stability Through Advocacy
How can funders drive lasting, systemic change in their communities? In this session, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and The Pew Charitable Trusts will highlight recent collaborative efforts in Tennessee to reform court-enforced debt collection practices. Through real-world…
Leading Locally 2027
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