Featured Blog Post:
Category
Creating the Funder Network I Needed
As representatives of grantmaking foundations, I imagine we all feel fortunate to work in a field that is both rewarding and challenging. We have colleagues who are respectful, smart, and devoted to making a difference, and most of us are lucky to have dedicated boards that support our activities. Working for a smaller-staffed foundation also... Read More
Lending Support: Keeping Your End Users in Mind
Support, aid, assist, champion, encourage… however you put it, to support = to help. This is a subject I’m pretty passionate about. In fact, exceptional client service and support is our top priority here at Foundant, and we hire employees with this in mind. We can always train someone to use our grantmaking software, but... Read More
Creative Grantmaking Done Legally
Your foundation can be extremely imaginative while still keeping its grantmaking straightforward. Or it can take full advantage of the tax code’s flexibility to make grants that are more complicated—and still perfectly legal. Our goal is neither to encourage you to stay simple or to get complicated with your giving, but to help you be aware... Read More
Lessons From Our Foundation’s Nonprofit Mentoring Program
Rick Nahmias started Food Forward without any intention of becoming a nonprofit executive director. A photographer, Nahmias was moved by the mirror issues of U.S. hunger and food waste that he documented in his work. He started bringing volunteers together to pick fruit from backyard trees in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley that would otherwise go... Read More
5 Tips for New Foundation Staff
When I started my job as a program officer at Ball Brothers Foundation a little over two years ago, I knew I had a lot to learn. There were technical aspects of working for a foundation that I knew I’d need to master (grant files, legal dos and don’ts), and it was also important for... Read More
Ready to ACT? 3 Steps to Effective Foundation Communications
An effective communications strategy can amplify a foundation’s impact by lifting up the successes of its grantees and other partners, elevating the causes that matter most to the organization, and connecting ideas, people, and resources around a common purpose. Every foundation, regardless of size, can reap the rewards of integrating a strategic communications approach into... Read More