Leadership Development

Hello, and welcome to New York City. I want to thank you for coming to our second annual Summit focused on finance and endowments. For many years, the Council on Foundations has helped our foundation members understand important issues related to the management and practice of the great work you do…

Today, the Council on Foundations welcomes more than 200 foundation chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief investment officers, board members, and board investment committee leaders from across the country to its annual Endowments and Finance Summit. The Council’s Endowments and…

Philanthropy’s Role in Strengthening America’s Democracy This event is a preconference session at the 2017 Annual Conference. Join a timely, topical, and interactive afternoon that will provide both a forum for a conversation about the state of democratic practice in America, and a review of the…

Stephanie Bell-Rose is the Senior Managing Director and Head of the TIAA Institute. The Council on Foundations’ 2016 Endowments and Finance Summit is just around the corner – Sept. 28-30 – and as co-chair of the convening's working group, I strongly encourage you to register for it! I personally…

When I noticed late last year that the Council on Foundations’ annual conference would focus on climate change, I was delighted. For The Fund for New Jersey and other place-based funders, climate change has been a daunting challenge. We are a small foundation in a state with no coal-fired…

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in The Guardian on July 16, 2016. There is no doubt that the U.S. is suffering from what feels like the unravelling of social order. Recent shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas have heightened deep-seated tensions relating to race and criminal…

Last week’s shootings in Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Dallas have made more urgent our need for a national civil discussion about longstanding systemic challenges that deeply divide our communities. The Council on Foundations steadfastly denounces the killing of innocent people, no matter their skin…

When leaders from approximately 48 Pennsylvania-based foundations gathered in State College in April for the Council on Foundations’ Pennsylvania Philanthropy Conference, the negative effects of the state’s infamous nine-month budget impasse on human service delivery were painfully fresh.…

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in The Chronicle of Philanthropy on June 24, 2016 with the title "Brexit Vote Will Force Philanthropy to Tackle Many Tough Issues." The vote for Britain to exit the European Union took philanthropy and the rest of the world by surprise. But it raises tough…

Giving USA 2016 was released this week and found that overall U.S. charitable giving from all sources—including individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations—reached an estimated $373.25 billion in 2015. This was an all-time high for the second consecutive year. This increase held for both…

The Council on Foundations is pleased to announce the four new members of its board of directors, each of whom will serve for three years. Elected at the Council’s 2016 annual conference on April 11, Tonya Allen, the president and CEO of The Skillman Foundation, Jamie Merisotis, the…

The Community Foundations National Standards Board has elected Hazle Hamilton, Executive Vice President of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, as its new President. Hamilton will succeed R. Randall (Randy) Royster in the leadership position. Royster has transitioned onto the Council on…

I have attended a lot of conferences over the years and have always felt driven to go to as many sessions as possible, to gather information and knowledge to bring back to my colleagues at the Maine Community Foundation. This time around was no different: I set out to get the latest on National…

A year and a half before the historic US Supreme Court ruling ended discrimination in civil marriage rights for same-sex couples, foundations and nonprofit leaders of the LGBTQ movement came together to address a concern: While many activists anticipated the legal victory, many also worried that…

James E. “Jim” Casey coined the phrase “constructive dissatisfaction” while steering United Parcel Service (now UPS) to becoming one of the world’s most successful companies. His dissatisfaction drove him to outpace the competition as he developed innovative transportation strategies, implemented…

National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations has been an important resource for the Community Foundation of Central Georgia (CFCG). During CFCG’s most recent strategic planning process, the board set three goals. One of these goals is to be a “trusted, ethical, and excellent organization”.…