Human Resources & Operations
Staffing decisions are among the most important decisions that foundations will make. Foundation staff are responsible for executing organizational strategies and advancing the foundation’s mission; without strong and competent employees, the foundation may be left floundering. In human resource decisions, foundations must assess needs; recruit, screen, select, and hire personnel; orient new employees; and develop evaluation, training, and development strategies for long-term growth.
2021 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Key Findings
Publication, Research
Drawing from data provided by 952 institutional responses, the 2021 GSB Key Findings highlights important human resource trends that are shaping the philanthropic sector. This year’s key findings feature the voices of human resources and operations leaders from community foundations,…
2021 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report
Publication, Research
The Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report (GSB) provides salary, benefits, and diversity data for full-time staff at U.S. foundations to aid in budget planning and personnel practice benchmarking. Information is presented by grantmaker type, foundation type, asset size, and geographic location.…
2020 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Key Findings
Publication, Research
For 40 years the Council has provided the most comprehensive analysis of salary and benefits for full-time staff at U.S. foundations through the Grantmaker Salary and Benefits (GSB) Report. This year, in addition to providing an analysis of salary and benefits data from 8,794 full-time paid…
2020 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report
Publication, Research
The Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report (GSB) provides salary, benefits, and diversity data for full-time staff at U.S. foundations to aid in budget planning and personnel practice benchmarking. Information is presented by grantmaker type, foundation type, asset size, and geographic location.…
Sample Policy on Records Retention and Destruction
Sample Document
Sample formal policy on records retention and destruction for board approval.
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,…
Sample Social Media Policy
Sample Document
Editable internal polices for staff, board members, and committee members about the use of social media.
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…
Webinar Recording: Data: Not Another Four Letter Word
Recording
This is the first part of a webinar series on digitalization and its impact on community foundations — Digitalization and the Community Foundation Business Model: Data and Transperancy.
Data can be overwhelming. But is it possible to harness your foundation’s data and turn it from a challenge…
The State of Change: An Analysis of Women and People of Color in the Philanthropic Sector
Publication, Research
The Council’s report, The State of Change: An Analysis of Women and People of Color in the Philanthropic Sector, examines the demographics of the philanthropic sector, looking back over the last five and ten years, with a specific focus on the representation of women and people of color. The data…
2016 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Administrative and Program Expense Tables
Publication, Research
The 2016 Administrative and Program Expense Tables provide foundations with tools to benchmark their expenses – charitable administrative, program service, and qualifying distributions – against peers in the field. Containing data collected through the Council’s 2016 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits…
Hiring a New CEO Resource Guide
Toolkit
Non-profit executive searches generally take a minimum of four months, and can take as long as six to eight months. A clear sense of mission and a well understood position description for the new President and CEO will be absolutely essential for success in identifying and, more importantly,…
Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey FAQs
Fundamentals
What are the benefits of participation?
Can I participate?
How do I participate?
What information will I need to complete the survey?
What positions do you collect data for in the survey?
Where does my state fall within the geographic breakdowns in the report?
How much does the…
Record Retention for Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
Foundation recordkeeping is an inherently dull topic—unless it’s done wrong. The foundation manager who has not kept adequate documentation regarding expenditure responsibility grants risks an IRS audit. Similarly, a foundation manager confronted with a trustee succession battle will find the…
Legal Question: Sharing Employees
Legal Compliance Guidance
Question:
May a company and its private foundation share employees?
Answer:
Yes, so long as any arrangement between the private foundation and the sponsoring company is structured in a way that does not violate the prohibition against self-dealing.
Corporate foundations and their sponsoring…
Family Foundation Staffing Models
Fundamentals
The following are some of the models that are used for staffing family foundations. Many families use variations on these models or a combination of them. Any of them can be effective, depending on what is important to the family. The two major considerations, and they are linked, are: how much…
Managing Your Family Foundation: Consider These Options
Fundamentals
Looking for the single best way to manage a family foundation? You may be looking for a long time. Because family foundations are unique within the foundation world, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to management. Each family creates its own rules and structures for its foundation, allowing for…