Exponent Philanthropy’s Foundation Fundamentals aim to assist you in starting your philanthropic journey with Exponent Philanthropy. Before diving into your grantmaking, there are several questions to consider. How will you operate your foundation? How will you manage your foundation’s assets and investments? What tax and legal issues should you address? Once you have answered these... Read More
So, you’re building a foundation board. Now what? A strong board is essential for a well-run foundation, no matter its legal structure. As a board member, you play a crucial role in shaping policies, setting expectations, and ensuring good governance. This page will walk you through everything you need to know—from onboarding new members to... Read More
We’ve interviewed dozens of lean funders at various points during their equity journeys over the years. Through those conversations, emails, and a review of documents, policies, and practices, we were able to create a rough map of the lean funder’s equity journey. This journey has four phases: Thinking about equity Making policy changes Building trust... Read More
The most frequent equity question lean funders ask us is: How do I engage my board in racial equity work? Unfortunately, there is not an easy nor straightforward answer. As we interviewed foundation boards and staff across the country in various phases of equity work, we heard two main approaches to engaging the board in... Read More
One question we hear time and time again is: Who is driving racial equity work at leanly staffed foundations? This question often comes from a board or staff member who is interested in racial equity work but does not know how to get their foundation engaged. In our interviews with funders across the country revealed... Read More
Exponent Philanthropy has released the fourth edition of its Racial Equity in Lean Foundations report, the most comprehensive version to date. The publication is based on survey data from over 300 lean foundations and qualitative interviews with more than 25 foundations, consultants, and nonprofits, offering insights into how lean funders are advancing equity. For the... Read More