Leadership Development

A brand new conference experience – Philanthropy Exchange – supercharges the Council on Foundations' Annual Conference with enhanced networking opportunities, an inclusive perspective on the shared values of the field, and a focus on the issues that matter to you. Join over a thousand of…

The following infographic was prepared by Mark Neithercut, of Neithercut Philanthropy Advisors. You can also see his earlier graphic, Six Misconceptions About Family Foundations.

The Council on Foundations, in collaboration with BoardSource, is proud to announce the publication of an easy-to-use guide for new foundation board members, 10 Things Every New Foundation Board Member Should Know. This publication is designed as a basic guide for new foundation board members…

  This article was originally published on the Philantopic Blog at Philanthropy News Digest. It is reposted here with permission. In September, Darren Walker became the tenth president of the Ford Foundation. Before coming to Ford, where he was vice president of the foundation's Education,…

The Council on Foundations is proud to release the 2013 Grantmakers Salary Tables. This annual publication is one of the most comprehensive sets of data on U.S. foundations’ staff compensation available. The release of the Salary Tables preludes the upcoming Grantmakers Salary and Benefits…

Gifts to community foundations have long been used as planning tools by individuals with philanthropic goals. Apart from qualifying for the maximum income tax deduction and the estate tax deduction, the community foundation is a vehicle that provides donors a variety of opportunities for fulfilling…

Every year, thousands of nonprofits experience the departure of an executive. Faced with this challenging and typically unfamiliar situation, boards can easily make missteps that jeopardize their most important governance decision.  One way a board of directors can minimize risk is to hire an…

It’s no accident that the Council on Foundations 2013 Family Philanthropy Conference takes place this week in Silicon Valley. This is Ground Zero for technological innovation. Ideas birthed here have changed—and continue to change—the world. Silicon Valley has been the workshop of some brilliant…

I first started working in the community foundation field more than 15 years ago. It goes without saying that I’m a big fan. I believe in this democratic model of philanthropy where the collective power of many creates powerful change. I’m also a fan because most community foundations understand…

One of my most memorable moments from college was when I sat in a sea of more than 500 college students in PoliSci 101. From the back of the auditorium, a very small man stood up on stage speaking to all of us about the strength of the U.S. president as “soft power.” According to Joseph Nye of…

At the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, we believe strongly in the critical importance of unrestricted general operating support because it provides nonprofit leaders with the flexibility to direct spending toward strategic priorities facing their organizations. In 2011, two-thirds of the Fund’s…