On Friday, May 15, Exponent Philanthropy hosted another live discussion for lean funders to share how they’re responding to COVID-19. We’ll continue hosting these discussions every Friday at 2 p.m. EST to give all lean funders the opportunity to connect around their responses. We are also compiling COVID-19 information and resources relevant to lean funders. Lean funders are responding to... Read More
How do you move from a board table vision to a broad-based collaboration? After more than 20 years funding individual programs in its mission areas, The David and Lura Lovell Foundation began to focus on broad-based community, regional and national initiatives to change systems, address root causes, and build capacity in organizations focused on these... Read More
Program related investments (PRI) are loans, loan guarantees, or other types of investments made by a foundation to support a charitable purpose. They’re also a powerful and flexible tool to add to your foundation’s toolkit. A PRI can count toward a foundation’s distribution requirement if it meets the following federal criteria: They serve a charitable... Read More
For more than 20 years, I served as the executive director for a leanly staffed foundation with deep roots in a small city in upstate New York. The Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, the philanthropic legacy of a community bank founded in 1823, grew substantially after the bank’s acquisition by another financial institution in 2004.... Read More
Long interested in issues of international development and aid, in 2003 I conducted a qualitative study on Barriers to International Giving by U.S.-based Foundations. Nearly a decade later, the findings from this research are still relevant to funders engaged in or interested in international philanthropy. One of the interesting findings from my research was that... Read More
Three years ago in Texas, foundations confronted a profound crisis. For decades, funders working on public education have invested tens of millions and countless hours to support the public schools and the millions of students from low-income backgrounds served by those schools. These foundations have long been committed to numerous partnerships with state government. Their... Read More