This year’s Foundations on the Hill (FOTH) was hosted by the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers in partnership with the Council on Foundations and Alliance for Charitable Reform. FOTH is a multiday event that brings foundation leaders from across the country to Washington, DC for meetings with Congress about key issues of importance to foundations... Read More
Your board is responsible for ensuring adherence to legal standards and ethical norms. Trustees must ensure that the foundation follows its articles of incorporation, bylaws, and policies, complies with federal and state requirements, and holds to its purpose to serve the public good. The board also serves as the foundation’s moral compass, protecting it from... Read More
The law requires very little when making grants to most domestic public charities. Other than knowing a grantee’s tax status—your foundation has a great deal of flexibility. However, I regularly encounter funders, foundation staff and professional advisors who do not know this. What the Law Requires When Making Grants A few years ago, Project Streamline... Read More
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Angus King (I-ME) introduced bipartisan legislation that aims to reform private foundations, and ensure that charitable dollars held in donor advised funds (DAFs) are distributed to working charities in a reasonable period of time. A joint press release states: “Donor-advised funds currently have more than $140 billion set aside for... Read More
A private foundation must make annual charitable expenditures, called qualifying distributions, equal to at least 5% of the fair market value of its previous year’s endowment. Thus, a foundation with average assets of $5 million in fiscal year 2022 must make roughly $250,000 of qualifying distributions by the end of its next fiscal year, or December... Read More
Every year, many foundations file their IRS Form 990-PFs with inaccuracies and mistakes that can cost their wallet and reputation. Private foundations that don’t have the in-house technology to meet this requirement may seek assistance from tax advisors to avoid these errors. One such example is that starting with the 2020 tax year, Form 990-PFs... Read More