What do you want to achieve with your foundation? Many foundations focus on a particular field of interest, population, or geography. Others focus by strategy (e.g., building technology capacity, developing nonprofit leaders) and bolster a range of grantees by applying those strategies. Settling on a focus is not necessarily an easy step—especially if your foundation... Read More
What are we trying to achieve with our grants? You can answer this question in many ways, and one way to start is with how and what you fund. These components shape your philanthropic orientation, the unique way that your foundation approaches the funding process. The how of your giving hinges on how you choose... Read More
Even small foundation boards can benefit from developing an investment committee with just a few members so it is clear who is leading the charge. Board members who understand investing make natural choices for an investment committee; however, they should serve alongside less experienced board members. (Be sure more than one experienced person is on... Read More
The field of behavioral finance has been a hot one of late as researchers define precisely the biases we all tend to exhibit as investors. How did behavioral finance originate? About 50 years ago, finance earned widespread respect as an academic discipline firmly grounded in economic models based on the rational behavior of humans. Over... Read More
By relying simply on stated fees, such as management fee or advisory fee, foundation trustees may be underestimating the full impact of the aggregate investment expenses because as there may be other components of investment costs that are not explicitly stated as fees. In the 1990s, when portfolio performance was beating the S&P 500, it... Read More
Exponent Philanthropy member Janis Reischmann of the Hau‘oli Mau Loa Foundation has spent the past several years working in a close partnership with 10 nonprofits to bring hope to some of Hawaii’s most disenfranchised youths. “The approaches used by our partners are reaching children who were previously very difficult to engage and challenged by typical... Read More