Site Search

This series of guides examines all aspects of hiring, supporting and evaluating a family foundation chief executive and the issues unique to them, their foundations, and their trustees.

This survey of 155 foundation communicators shows that U.S. foundations are making use of all forms of digital communications, especially social media, a top priority. The survey results suggest the growth of social media and other emerging digital technologies is changing the way foundations communicate with target audiences and that the role of communications is becoming more central to forging and implementing foundation strategies.

In a recent survey, GrantGraft shared reflections from eight foundation leaders on this question (including Karen Davis of The Commonwealth Fund; M. Christine DeVita of the Wallace Foundation; Vartan Gregorian of the Carnegie Corporation of New York; Gara LaMarche of The Atlantic Philanthropies; Gail Nayowith of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund; and Luis Ubiñas of the Ford Foundation) and then asked their users to weigh in. This survey report shares the results.

GEO's new national field survey of grantmaking practice (conducted by research partner TCC Group) examines the connection between listening to and learning with grantees and improving practices to achieve better results. In light of the global economic downturn, this survey also highlights some of the key shifts in grantmaking since 2008 and what they mean for supporting nonprofit resilience.

The number of charitable foundations employing their investment portfolios to achieve a social benefit is on the rise, according to this report. Key Facts on Mission Investing finds that one in seven surveyed foundations are directing their assets to market-rate mission-related investments and/or below-market-rate program-related investments. By investing endowment dollars to further their charitable missions, these grantmakers —which hold 20 percent of all U.S. foundation assets— are extending the public benefit of their resources. The report also offers perspective from Stephen Viederman,...

This research collaboration is the first major effort, through a national online survey and in-depth interviews, to understand what can be expected from the next generation of donors and philanthropists.

The nation's foundation community has provided critical financial and technical support to states applying for the first round of the U.S. Department of Education's "Race to the Top" education reform competition. Yet according to this issue brief from the Foundation Center, created from interviews conducted in March and April 2010 with foundation staff, education consultants, and government leaders who had guided the first-round application process in nine states, the success of future collaborations will depend on government including grantmakers in the development of new policies and...

This guide is designed to help foundations think about how more diverse and inclusive practices might advance their mission by making their work more effective and more reflective of the communities they serve. By highlighting 10 ways family foundations can approach diversity, Council on Foundations seeks to spark ideas and launch further dialogue.

Looking at data from 2004 to 2010, The State of Multi-Year Funding finds that multi-year grantmaking in 2009 fell 21 percent to $5.5 billion during a time when total grantmaking declined only by 13 percent. In September 2012, NCRP recalled a previous version of the study after learning of a programming error from the data source. This revised edition more accurately reflects recent trends.