The headline of an April 27, 2020 article in the San Francisco Chronicle read: Coronavirus and the law: California suspends bar exam this summer Taking the bar exam is like childbirth. A grueling multi-day process with pain and trauma that you somehow forget on a day to day basis, but upon mention of the activity,... Read More
At Common Counsel Foundation, we support, advise and manage donor advised funds and family foundations. It’s clear that an individual funder (and a small-staffed one no less!) won’t solve the world’s intractable problems alone. In fact, it will take a whole network of funders at the same table if we want to make progress. As... Read More
Grant applications are an important touchpoint for nonprofits and grantmakers alike. Recently, Blackbaud has been taking a hard look at the modern grantee experience for those who use our portal for grant applications. We wanted to know if the grantee portal afforded our funder clients the flexibility to get the information they needed, while also... Read More
Can we lobby? What are the rules about foundations and lobbying? These are such scary questions for some foundations that the answers aren’t even pursued. And no wonder; it is part of the U.S. Tax Code, which ranks as one of the most complex compilations of rules ever fashioned. Thus, many foundations prefer not to deal... Read More
Ramping up—or significantly increasing charitable giving or activities—can be an empowering transition point in your philanthropy. It can also leave you bewildered by the complexities that come with your new normal. What does it mean to ramp up in response to an influx of assets—perhaps the most common reason funders increase their charitable giving and/or... Read More
This morning I found myself thinking about lessons learned about inspiration in grantmaking from the Girl Scout troop I co-led for many years. Our girls didn’t do grantmaking, of course, but they did do a lot of community service projects. Several of our 11- to 14-year-olds earned the Silver Award, where the girl selects, plans,... Read More