I once sat on the board of a nonprofit organization that had undertaken what eventually became an award-winning planning process for its property holdings. This effort engaged all staff and board and generated lots of creative energy from the surrounding community. Within a couple months after completing the plan, staff recommended a capital improvement inconsistent... Read More
We’ve had the great pleasure of serving as the grantmaking and foundation management partner for Kathleen deLaski and the deLaski Family Foundation for the past three years. The foundation brought us on to help it adapt its mission, vision, and goals in a way that makes the most of the current board’s knowledge, networks, and... Read More
Several months ago, Exponent Philanthropy and partners Mission Investors Exchange and Arabella Advisors released Essentials of Impact Investing: A Guide for Small-Staffed Foundations. Below is an excerpt from the complimentary and actionable guide, geared to foundations with few or no staff that want to align their investments and missions. By David Wood, Initiative for Responsible Investment The early stages... Read More
Foundation surveys often ask if the foundation is operating with a limited life span, or in perpetuity. The choice is typically presented as a binary one: Did you set a time limit, or are you going to be around for eternity? There is a third choice, however, if perpetuity is not mandated in the foundation’s... Read More
You expect a lot of the individuals and organizations that apply for your grants, because better granting means greater impact. You trust them to come with big ideas and clear vision. You want them armed with budgets, schedules, plans, and actionable objectives. You look to them for ways to invigorate a community, further a cause,... Read More
Legal insights provided by Arnold & Porter On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed a new tax bill into law, informally referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). Although several proposals were dropped from the legislation, the Tax Act contains a number of provisions relating to charitable giving and tax-exempt... Read More