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New Legislation Impacting Private Foundations
As we enter the new year and decade, I want to call your attention to an important piece of legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in the closing days of 2019 that has significant implications for those of us in the world of private foundations. The “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,... Read More
How a Small Foundation Leverages State and County Expertise
Before becoming executive director of a small foundation in Binghamton, NY, Catherine Schwoeffermann worked in a museum as a cultural anthropologist and curator of folk arts. While at the museum, she also served on grants panels at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in Washington, DC, and at the New York State Council on... Read More
The Hardest Thing About Making a Big Bet? Letting Go
On a Friday in February 2015, I invited 24 organizations to apply for funding in response to letters of inquiry our foundation had solicited. The next day, our board held a retreat to evaluate the foundation’s grantmaking outcomes over its first 5 years. We knew the board wanted to talk about how to increase our... Read More
Think “Perspective” for Effective Feedback Loops
By gaining the perspective of others, we broaden our own. Although this isn’t always an easy thing to do, it is almost always necessary to move forward, commit to continual improvement, and make an impact. Relying on our perspective Two years ago, Foundant introduced this tool for funding and evaluation strategies. Based on our experience... Read More
Using the Courts to Create Systemic Change
After Victoria Hewlett was raped at a fraternity party while attending Utah State University, she knew that healing would, at least in part, come through working for changes at the University that would help protect other students from abuse and assault on campus. Like many survivors of campus sexual assault, Hewlett sought to hold Utah... Read More
Synchronize Your Foundation
There was a time not so long ago that nearly all philanthropists, as well as many others, carried a mechanical watch. Prior to cell phones, digital watches, and electrical quartz watches, the mechanical watch was a true marvel—a complex assembly of springs, gears, jewels, pins, and other components. Winding a watch transmits energy into a... Read More