“People in philanthropy don’t give themselves permission to take a break,” says Exponent Philanthropy member Nancy Wiltsek, executive director of The Pottruck Family Foundation in San Francisco and trustee of The Gagarin Trust. “Everyone assumes we’re the ones with the cushy jobs. We give money away, so what do we need time off for?” Wiltsek... Read More
Foundations use software for some of the following tasks: preparing mailing labels, creating lists of grantees, recalling grant history, tracking outstanding commitments, sharing grant requests with other trustees online, and tracking letters and reports from grantees. Assessing your needs Any computer consultant will tell you that the first step in choosing software is to take... Read More
Should you choose to hire paid staff, compensation must be reasonable, and the services provided must be reasonable and necessary to carry out the private foundation’s tax-exempt purpose. Compensation even may be provided to a disqualified person (i.e., staff or board member) as long as these standards are met. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says... Read More
For starters, which foundations should consider having a pension plan? One consideration is eligibility: Any foundation that compensates any individuals for their services, whether those individuals are full-time employees, part-timers, or board members, can set up a pension plan for those individuals. Of course, tax-exempt organizations don’t gain the same tax benefits from pension contributions... Read More
Here are the things a private foundation must do every year to remain a private foundation and stay out of trouble: Pay your annual excise tax on the foundation’s net investment income through quarterly estimated payments. File your federal tax returns and comply with state filing rules. Meet your annual minimum distribution requirement through grants... Read More
Recent surveys of Exponent Philanthropy foundation members have revealed that more than 60% provide health insurance options to their full-time staff. Nearly 20% provide health insurance to their part-time staff. See our most recent member survey data. Exponent Philanthropy does not offer a group health insurance policy at this time because state-specific regulations make it... Read More