International Giving
NGOsource Launches Online Equivalency Determination Service That Streamlines International Grantmaking
NGOsource, the game-changing equivalency determination service that revolutionizes global philanthropy for U.S. grantmaking, is now operational and open for business.
A project of TechSoup Global that was started with the support of the Council on Foundations, NGOsource employs a streamlined…
Principles of Accountability for International Philanthropy
Publication
While philanthropy that crosses national borders has much in common with domestic giving within a country, it also differs in significant and challenging ways. Language differences, communication across vast distances, unfamiliar cultural values and perspectives, multiple legal systems, and…
International Corporate Giving
Fundamentals, Legal Compliance Guidance
This brief provides practical advice and tips on setting strategy, ensuring an on-the-ground presence, and selecting partners for U.S.-based companies with foundations and/or giving programs that are either venturing into the international giving arena or seeking to enhance their current programs.…
Sample Foreign Grant Expenditure Responsibility Letter
Sample Document
Sample foreign grant expenditure responsibility letter.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the information…
Use your freedom! Reflections from the EDGE Funders Alliance 2013 Just Giving Conference
The EDGE Funders Alliance Just Giving conference in Washington DC, 21-23 May, brought together some 250 donors, activists and allies on the theme of ‘What is to be done? And how do we do it?’ Participants enjoyed a casual yet focused environment to gain a deeper understanding of the current…
India: My Five-Star Experience in Uttar Pradesh
Blistering sunlight broils our small group as we gingerly perch around the edges of the raised bed our hosts have set out for us in front of their hut in Godha Village. We’ve come to visit a few of the 100 ultra-poor women in rural Uttar Pradesh recently employed by our local partner, a social-…
Small Grants, Big Difference
I enjoyed presenting at a great session, “Small Grants, Big Difference,” during last week’s Council on Foundations Annual Conference with Daniel Tillias of Pax Christi Sakala in Haiti; Kate Ahern of the Case Foundation; and Monica LaBiche Brown of Water for People. It was great that 75 or more…
First Timer from Across the Pond
Having moved from London to New York just two weeks earlier, I walked into the Council on Foundatons’ day-long global preconference session with trepidation; would I remember what my organization did? Would the other attendees groan when they realised I was a fundraiser? Would they understand my…
How a Private Foundation Can Use "Friends of" Organizations
Legal Compliance Guidance
U.S. private foundations are increasingly involved in international grantmaking. One way for a private foundation to give overseas is to make grants directly to foreign charities. Many U.S. private foundations, however, may want to consider giving overseas indirectly through a "Friends of"…
Getting Gender Back in Giving
I recently received a call from a researcher on a new project. As I understood it, a prominent U.S. foundation had asked them to study how domestic donors deal with gender issues. They were to identify funders with a specific commitment to the gender lens in their funding priorities, and then…
To Check or Not to Check: Complying With OFAC Regulations
Legal Compliance Guidance
After September 11, 2001, many grantmakers and other charitable organizations that were not previously familiar with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), learned of its existence. As one of the key U.S. government agencies seeking to shut down terrorism funding…
The Debate Over Anti-Terrorism Certification
Legal Compliance Guidance
In an effort to ensure that charitable resources are used exclusively for charitable purposes and not used to support terrorist activity, organizations may choose to adopt practices in addition to those explicitly required by law. Among the practices that some charities choose to adopt is including…
Re-Grants by International Intermediaries That Are Not Public Charities
Legal Compliance Guidance
In international grantmaking, private foundations often make grants to organizations (“Initial Grantees”) that, in turn, re-grant those funds to other non-public charity organizations or individuals (“Secondary Grantees”).
Legal issues arise when a private foundation makes a grant to an Initial…
Funding Charitable Work in Sanctioned Countries
Legal Compliance Guidance
Since the terrorism attacks on September 11, 2001, grantmakers and other charitable organizations have become quite familiar with the work of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in the area of anti-terrorism concerns. OFAC has been one of the key U.S. government…
Grantmaking in an Age of Terrorism: Compliance Strategies
Legal Compliance Guidance
Since the November 7, 2002 publication by the United States Department of the Treasury of its “Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-based Charities,”1 grantmakers have grappled with the problem of how to comply with their legal obligations under Executive Order…
Handbook on Counter-Terrorism Measures: What US Nonprofits and Grantmakers Need to Know
Legal Compliance Guidance
A plain-language guide to Executive Order 13224, the Patriot Act, embargoes and sanctions, IRS rules, Treasury Department voluntary guidelines, and USAID requirements.