Although your grants speak volumes about your identity, your foundation may play other roles that do just as much good—maybe even more. Maybe it’s speaking out about education issues or offering expertise in neighborhood development. How do you find your foundation’s voice? What is your identity? Some large foundations hire consultants at five- and six-figure... Read More
The Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF) of Minnesota was sued in November 2002 by a potential grantee located in the Yakima Valley of Washington State. NWAF, a grantmaking foundation established in 1934, was organized to help communities throughout an eight-state region reduce poverty. It makes grants totaling approximately $18 million per year. Under its Community Ventures... Read More
With self-dealing rules that are sometimes confusing, can a small foundation determine whether a potential transaction constitutes self-dealing? It can! Apply these three straightforward questions to any situation. Does the transaction involve a disqualified person? The Internal Revenue Service defines a disqualified person as one of the following: Officers, directors, trustees, and others with similar... Read More
Private foundations must follow more stringent rules than public charities, pay an excise tax on net investment income, and pay out an amount equal to 5% of their assets annually. Public charities that are tipped into private foundation status also may lose funding. Many foundations will not give grants to other private foundations, and individual... Read More
With more than 2,100 members, SVP is a global network of philanthropists with affiliates in 25 cities across North America and Japan. Since 1997, we’ve given $40 million and hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours to strengthen nonprofits that are improving the lives of children and protecting our environment. Social Venture Partners International (SVPI) helps... Read More
Our “foundation family” includes teachers, accountants, a doctor, lawyers, business people, executives, software engineers, a photographer, a film producer, and a musician. If you appeal to what people like to do, they are more likely to engage in the limited time they have. We have a host of talents at our disposal; we just have... Read More