All foundations rely on trustees for leadership, oversight, and planning. Many small foundations also rely on trustees for a considerable amount of the labor needed to run a foundation. To acknowledge the crucial role that trustees play in governance and operations, some foundations compensate for routine board service, such as attending meetings, reviewing proposals, and... Read More
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
Simple Actions Family Foundation is a young foundation inspired by decades of family values. My husband, Eric, and I, together with our two daughters in their early twenties, created our family foundation in 2008. We knew from the start that we would be creative about its setup and implementation to reflect the goals at the... Read More