If your board becomes geographically dispersed, don’t let it daunt you. With the challenges come opportunities to fine-tune your foundation and address the dispersion in creative ways. Strategy 1: Revisit your foundation’s mission Geographic dispersion is a much bigger challenge than just keeping trustees in touch. It often calls into question the future of your... Read More
Private foundations are permitted to pay for or reimburse ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out their activities, including the costs of travel by board members. These expenses typically include travel expenses for board meetings or philanthropy conferences, long-distance telephone expenses for conference calls, and expenses incurred while going on site visits (e.g., mileage,... Read More
Exponent Philanthropy cannot offer sample bylaws—there are many state variations and characteristics and needs of individual foundations—but the following overview does describe common sections and what a foundation board might expect within its own bylaws: Name—In some states, the first section gives the name of the foundation or other similar details required by state corporate... Read More
Taxable expenditures are grants or expenditures made by a private foundation that are either prohibited, or in Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-specified areas without following the strict IRS rules. The following list provides brief descriptions of those expenditures that are completely prohibited; the list after that provides additional requirements to avoid being taxable expenditures. The following... Read More
As a first step toward determining if your foundation will benefit from a grants management system, discuss your priorities and parameters: What does your foundation want to track? Exponent Philanthropy members tend to track some or all of the following: Contact information for grant applicants and recipients (organizational and individual) Basic application information (e.g., amount... Read More
The Rockwell Fund, Inc., a private foundation in Houston, TX, recognized the significant infrastructure needs of local zip code assistance ministries, organizations named for the restrictions they placed on themselves to serve only those within their adjacent zip codes. Although these organizations were providing excellent direct services to the communities, many were lacking the support... Read More