Even for nonprofit foundations with few or no employees, the risk of litigation is real—and rising. Why D&O insurance? Once assumed to be costly and once excluded from many nonprofit budgets as a result, D&O liability insurance has evolved into a broad, affordable, and important form of coverage for any foundation. Even if you have... Read More
In 1964, Congress enacted mandatory distribution rules to prevent private foundations from receiving gifts and investing the assets—yet never spending funds for charitable purposes. Congress thought it unfair to allow a charitable deduction when, in some cases, funds were not being directed to charity. A private foundation must make annual charitable expenditures, called qualifying distributions, equal... Read More
It’s December and your foundation wants to fulfill its payout requirement within the calendar year. What can you do? Ask your local community foundation, association of grantmakers, or giving circles for information about community needs and nonprofits they support. Consult with members of the faith community. Ask your government social services agencies, United Way, or... Read More
For most foundations, the daily mail brings the usual requests for money and reports on how our money has been spent—and also a steady stream of publications, reports, books, and even videos that are relevant to their program areas. We fund many organizations with limited financial resources and small staffs. Over the years, we’ve learned... Read More
My husband and I created The O’Grady Foundation and, after some trial and error, agreed to focus our funding on the arts in our New York City area. Although we support several major arts and cultural institutions in our region, we concentrate our efforts on smaller institutions with annual budgets of $3 million or less.... Read More
Three Exponent Philanthropy members shared how their foundations were forging ahead during the Great Recession of 2008: Henry Berman, president and trustee, The Edith Glick Shoolman Children’s Foundation, New York and Massachusetts; Billie Hall, president and CEO, Sunflower Foundation, Kansas; and Mari Brennan Barrera, vice president, Eos Foundation, Massachusetts. Where do you find energy and... Read More