This post is an excerpt from the complimentary resource Essentials of Impact Investing: A Guide for Small-Staffed Foundations, created by Exponent Philanthropy and partners Mission Investors Exchange and Arabella Advisors. Want to align your investments with your mission? Download your copy >> By Lucy Cantwell, New Belgium Family Foundation Many people are beginning to intuitively grasp the promise of impact investing but... Read More
Nowadays, foundations rely on intermediaries to handle much of their grantmaking abroad (in dollar terms). Reputable intermediaries make it their business to meet federal regulations, such as determining the equivalency of a foreign charity and following antiterrorist financing guidelines. Taking care of these requirements eases the administrative burden of foreign grantmaking for U.S. foundations. Through... Read More
Last month, Amazon patented a gift card that allows the purchaser to place restrictions on how recipients spend “their” money. The new technology allows gift-givers to limit not just price, but the sorts of products a recipient can buy—and even the item’s brand. Although holiday shoppers might question the generosity of a giver who puts... Read More
To help more foundations get involved with policymaking, candidate education, and voter engagement, Nonprofit VOTE worked with the Council on Foundations and Independent Sector to create resources that would illustrate best practices and put to rest concerns. The result is The Voter Engagement Toolkit for Private Foundations and The Voter Engagement Toolkit for Community Foundations.... Read More
Until he retired, my friend Chet was a junior high school shop teacher. I remember visiting his classroom and seeing the walls lined with tools. “For every job there is a tool,” he said. Having done my share of home repair over the years, I know how true that is. As a funder, I’ve also... Read More
One session at the Exponent Philanthropy National Conference this past fall prompted a question that I’ve continued to ponder. I attended the session “A Framework for Foundation Investing in a Low-Return Environment.” Full disclosure: As a relative newcomer to philanthropy, I often feel anxious in discussions about organizational budgets and investing. But it’s an important... Read More