Partnerships and Collaborations

In April, my tenure as chair of the Council on Foundations’ Board of Directors will end, and I will near completion of my board service, a term bounded by two historic presidential elections and begun when our country experienced an economic collapse rivaled only by the 1929 market crash and the…

Finding New Narratives for Rural America: A Concert of Ideas This event is a preconference session at the 2017 Annual Conference. Achieving shared prosperity for all Americans is the signal challenge of our time. The Council on Foundations is staging an immersive, pre-conference experience…

Report from the Strengthening Community Learning Forum October 13-14, 2016 | Louisville, KY One grant almost never solves the problem. Community foundations know this, and they’re not just stewards of funds anymore. They’ve become long-term facilitators, unleashing the creativity and energy of…

The Council on Foundations partnered with the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy on a special issue of The Foundation Review examining the Future of Community. The issue explores aspects of the relationship between foundations and communities, addressing topics such as the redefinition of…

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…

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…

Join the Council on Foundations with its partner, The Philanthropic Initiative, for a member-only workshop for community foundations where we will explore ways you can maximize your foundation’s impact by leveraging community resources in and outside of your foundation. Ellen Remmer and Amy Zell…

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…

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…

Editors Note. Since the publishing of this blog post, the Central Florida Foundation is no longer managing the distribution of donations to the OneOrlando Fund. The Foundation will now be administering the Better Together Fund. Read the full statement from the Foundation at www.cffound.org.…

Today, the Council on Foundations and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the 2016 HUD Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships. HUD and the Council are seeking nominations from charitable foundations working with the public sector to improve the…

Friends and Colleagues, Last December, I spoke of 2014 as a Year of Action, and it was! We began putting into place the programs, services, and staff we knew would provide value to our members. In 2015, we’ve begun to see these foundational investments pay off, and I hope you’ve begun to see how…

Today, the Council on Foundations releases the following statement from its Vice President of Communications Jesse Salazar: “The Council on Foundations provides leadership opportunities and tools philanthropic organizations need to make a meaningful difference in the life of communities.…