Communications at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Turning Up the Volume, Adjusting the Frequency December 2009 The recently published 13th volume of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation anthology series, To Improve Health and Health Care, contains a chapter writt.......

"Intro to Philanthropy Day" Video October 2009 The Peery Foundation, a family foundation, recently produceda video(using iPhones and desktop editing software) that profiles their efforts to include.......

New Report Calls for Intergenerational Approach August 2009 In light of the rapidly changing demographics of American society, grantmakers should fund programs that cut across age divisions and look at the soci.......

Evaluation Kit for Trustees July 2009 FSG Social Impact Advisors and the James Irvine Foundationhave released an "Evaluation Kit for Trustees." It includes Let's Consider Evaluation: A Sel.......

Family Foundation Philanthropy 2009: UK, Germany, Italy, US July 2009 Susan Price, the National Center'sVice President, has contributed a section on Family Philanthropy in the United States to a new book released by Alli.......

Doing Good Today and Better Tomorrow: A Roadmap to High Impact Philanthropy Through Outcome-Focused Grantmaking July 2009 A new report describes Hewlett's experience with the outcome-focused grantmaking (OFG) process and presents itas a guide for identifying a portfolio o.......

The Strong Field Framework: A Guide and Toolkit for Funders and Nonprofits Committed to Large-Scale Impact July 2009 Many foundations have come to believe that their bold aspirations and far-reaching goals can only be realized through a critical mass of organizations.......

Recently Released: Planning Guide for the Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations June 2009 National Center President Ginny Esposito calls the Planning Guide for the Law of tax-Exempt Organizations "a staple in the field." The Planning Guide.......

How Public is Private Philanthropy? Separating Reality from Myth June 2009 "Charitable funds are private, not public, and the relationship between philanthropy and government should remain limited, a new report says. Based on.......

Women’s Philanthropy Grows 223 Percent June 2009 The Foundation Center and the Women’s Funding Network released a report yesterday called Accelerating Change for Women and Girls: The Role of Women’s .......

Smarter Grantmaking in Challenging Times: Insights for Foundation Leaders June 2009 This eight-page toolkit "offers guidance on and considerations for grantmakers in deciding how best to support grantees as resources decline and deman.......

Women Shape Household Philanthropic Decisions, Survey Finds May 2009 "Women play a prominent role in their households and communities when it comes to philanthropy, a new report from the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund fi.......

Downturn Adds Risk to Charitable Annuities May 2009 "Charitable gift annuities, an increasingly popular financial tool for investors seeking a reliable stream of retirement income, are getting riskier a.......

Donors Turn To Giving Circles As Economy Drops May 2009 NPR covers newly published research on Giving Circles by the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana Uni.......

Beldon fund closes doors, offers guide to spend-out foundation and website to share strategies May 2009 As it ceases operations, the Beldon Fund, a national foundation dedicated to building public and policy support for environmental protection, has crea.......

Keep Donations Flexible Now to Avoid Conflict Tomorrow May 2009 According to the New York Times,"battles between dead donors and nonprofits are increasing as the economy worsens. 'The colleges are getting the publi.......

More Than a Third of Family Foundations Uncertain About Lifespan or Expect to Spend Down, Report Finds May 2009 "While existing in perpetuity continues to be the norm for the majority of family foundations, 25 percent say they are currently undecided about their.......

Foundations not compensating board members April 2009 Findings from a study titled “What Drives Foundation Expenses & Compensation?” were released recently.The Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and P.......

More Family Foundations Transferring Assets to Donor-Advised Funds April 2009 "Frustrated by the upkeep, time commitment, and costs involved, more and more philanthropists are closing their family foundations and transferring th.......

Resources on Nonprofit Mergers April 2009 Grantmakers in the Arts have assembled a number oflinks to articlesthat relate to funding nonprofit mergers. They write, "While it is clearly not the.......

Improving Grant Applications and Reporting April 2009 Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose, a new report commissioned by Project Streamline, a coalition of organizations representing both grantm.......

How is Family Philanthropy Changing the World? April 2009 "BNP Paribas and Campden Research, in association with Changing Our World, have embarked on the first truly global study of family philanthropy. The p.......

New: Advocacy Progress Planner April 2009 As a follow-up to ourApril Teleconference on logic models, we are pleased to announce that Continuous Progress Strategic Services has released a new, .......

The role of "American Friends of ..." organizations April 2009 The latest issue of Donor Associates in Israel's The Donors' Newsletter "focuses on the importance of exercising proper oversight when funding oversea.......

Investing for Social and Environmental Impact April 2009 New research from the Monitor Institute and funded by Annie E. Casey Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, andW.K. Kellogg Fo.......

If At First You Don’t Succeed, Admit You Failed April 2009 "In its debut issue, the new peer-reviewed journal about philanthropy, Foundation Review, contains an insightful analysis of why publicly 'sharing and.......

As Detroit Struggles, Foundations Shift Mission March 2009 The New York Times discusses new strategies and collaborations being developed by foundations in Detroit to cope with the recession. "The long economi.......

Asset Declines and Investment Strategy Changes Report March 2009 A new study of changes in investment strategies by family, independent, and public foundations shows how these foundations have reacted to the downtur.......

Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness March 2009 An article published in the March 21 issue of Science suggests that using your family funds for grantmaking and other philanthropic activity can make .......

Researchers Examine Foundation Expectations for Giving in 2009 March 2009 "The New York City-based Foundation Center has released a new research advisory that examines how foundations expect their 2009 giving to be affected .......

Half of Wealthy Americans Say Taxes Don't Affect Their Giving, Study Finds March 2009 "A majority of affluent Americans say their charitable giving would be unaffected by the elimination of federal tax provisions designed, in part, to e.......

Foundation Giving Forecast February 2009 "The global financial crisis continues to wreak havoc on foundation endowments and the broader economy, and nonprofits are understandably nervous. Usi.......

Downturn spurs some foundations to give more February 2009 "At a time when most foundations are cutting back or maintaining last year's spending, a few are doing what hedge fund manager Ken Nickerson of the Eo.......

Funder-provided aid seen as vital February 2009 "Though most large foundations believe it is important to provide grantees assistance beyond grantmaking, they know little about which types of assist.......

For Investing With Madoff, Private Foundations Could Face Tax Fines February 2009 "Foundations that lost billions of dollars investing with Bernard L. Madoff have another reason to fret: they could be socked with sizable fines for f.......

Gift Annuities Benefit Donors, Nonprofits February 2009 "Charitable annuities are the gifts that keep giving. These vehicles allow individuals to support a charity, reduce their tax bill and secure a steady.......

Asset Declines and Investment Strategy Changes by Family, Independent, and Public Foundations February 2009 "Survey results just released by the Council on Foundations at the Family Philanthropy Conference in Indianapolis showed that family, independent, and.......

International Giving at Record Level January 2009 Giving by U.S. foundations to international causes reached a record-high $5.4 billion in 2007, and is likely to increase in 2008, says a study by the .......

When Donors Can't Keep Their Pledges January 2009 As wealthy donors watch their portfolios shrink, a number of philanthropists are finding they may not be able to fulfill a multi-year pledge or contin.......

Dead Donors Helmsley, Sorenson Top 2008 Charitable Givers List January 2009 Seven of the 10 largest U.S. charitable gifts in 2008 came from the estates of deceased donors, a sign that the flailing economy may have deterred liv.......

Banking on Vaccines: Innovative Financing for Global Health Expands January 2009 Grim financial news has made raising capital almost anywhere a challenge. But a relatively new kind of investment with a social payoff is expanding th.......

Half a Million Nonprofits Could Lose Their Tax Exemptions January 2009 Guidestar warns that in in May 2010,500,000 nonprofits couldlose their non-profit status.According to their January newsletter, "The Pension Protectio.......

Family Foundations and Madoff January 2009 A reader of Charity Governance asked whether foundations with under $10 million in assets could have economically undertaken due diligence on Madoff b.......

Many Foundations Have Lost Almost One-Third of Their Assets, Chronicle Study Finds January 2009 "The steep decline in the stock market last year triggered an erosion of foundation wealth, with many grant makers losing nearly one-third of their as.......

Foundations Commit Over $100 Million to Address Economic Crisis January 2009 The Foundation Center has issued a new research advisory. Written by Steven Lawrence, the center's senior director of research, the advisory, "A First.......

Community Organizing Resource for Grantmakers Makes Important Contributions to Funder Knowledge Base January 2009 What is community organizing? Why do foundations support it? How can a new grantmaker begin funding community organizing? Can organizing be evaluated?.......

New Report Shows Donor Advised Funds Provide the Majority of Grant Funding January 2009 Just how vital are donor advised funds to the health and welfare of our communities—now and in the future? A new Council on Foundations' report, "Dono.......

Reflections on Diversity Published December 2008 Rockefeller Philanthropy Associates and Council on Foundations published Diversity & Inclusion: Lessons from the Field, reflections on diversity from .......

Giant Wall Street Fraud Leaves Charities Reeling December 2008 When Jeanne Levy-Church created the JEHT Foundation in 2002 to promote justice, equality, human dignity and tolerance, she tapped into investments run.......

Three Foundations Close After Losing Money in Alleged Ponzi Scheme; Other Charities Harmed December 2008 The giant Ponzi scheme allegedly perpetrated by Bernard Madoff is rippling through Jewish philanthropy and charities, forcing the closure of at least .......

Economic Downturn has Nonprofits Preparing for Scary 2009 December 2008 For 30 years, more or less, Food for Santa Fe has been a dependable source of basic food for families in need. Now the program is more in demand than .......

Starting Over, With a Second Career Goal of Changing Society December 2008 Harvard kicked off a small but ambitious experiment this week that it hopes will become a new ''third stage'' of university education. For the student.......

Gates Foundation Gives Millions for Coverage of World Health December 2008 A major limitation on journalists covering global health is the cost: getting to a story can mean airfare to Africa or Asia, hotels, Jeep rentals, sat.......

Grandparent Legacy Project Released November 2008 Produced and published by two leading organizations in family philanthropy, THE GRANDPARENT LEGACY PROJECT features fifteen indepth interviews with gr.......

Do Humans Prefer Altruistic Mates? November 2008 Humans, unlike many other creatures, act generously towards other members of the species to whom they have next to no connection. Scientists have long.......

Hewlett Foundation to Honor Previous Commitments but Cut Grantmaking in 2009 October 2008 The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation hasannounced that, despite the recent turmoil in the markets, it will honor grant commitments made in 2008 an.......

Kellogg Foundation Commits $22.4 Million to Banks, Credit Unions October 2008 The W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan, has announced that it is depositing $22.4 million in several banks and financial institutions a.......

Ailing Economy Makes Nonprofits Slash Budgets, Brace for Worse October 2008 U.S. nonprofit organizations are slashing budgets, freezing salaries and postponing programs as a turbulent economy forces donors to rethink their giv.......

Invest in Children for Nation's Economic Health October 2008 A delegate from the Telluride Economic Summit on Early Childhood Investment explains the importance of investing in early childhood education, calling.......

Community Foundations - lend us your data! October 2008 Several studies have claimed that giving has not dropped significantly during the most recent economic slowdowns and recessions. However, some fear th.......

Fund-Raising Angst Backed Up by 2008 Declines in Gifts, Survey Finds October 2008 More than one-third of American charities say they have collected fewer dollars so far this year than in 2007, nearly double the share that saw such d.......

Concerns Raised About How University Used a Big Gift October 2008 T. Boone Pickens gave $63-million to Oklahoma State University athletics on Monday to allow the university to complete renovations to its football sta.......

IS President Submits Statement on Economic Recovery to House Committee on Ways and Means October 2008 The president and CEO of Independent Sector, Diana Aviv, offered five proposals to a House of Representatives hearing on “Economic Recovery, Job Creat.......

Nike Co-Founder Pledges $100-Million to Oregon Cancer Institute October 2008 Philip H. Knight, a co-founder of Nike, and his wife, Penny, announced today that they are pledging $100-million to the Oregon Health & Science Univer.......

Opinion: Foundations Should Join to Grow Economy October 2008 Thanks to the market meltdown, the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne has seen its assets erode from $101 million to about $85 million -- a de.......

Why Wealthy Children are Giving Their Inheritance to Charity October 2008 The Times profiles next-generation donors from the US and Britain who have chosen to give away their inheritances. The article discusses the problem o.......

Signs that, Amid Tough Times, Americans Will Keep Giving October 2008 Will this holiday season be a cheerful one for charities? The last two months of the year rate as prime time for giving, but in 2008 Americans are ree.......

It's The Principle October 2008 When donors are thinking about making a charitable gift, Carla Dearing argues donors should avoid only looking at their income as a measure of how muc.......

A Tough Time to Draw New Donors; Non-profits Employ Business Practices to Prove Worth October 2008 The Greater Southwest Development Corp. in Chicago is flush with funding from a recent MacArthur Foundation grant, but the not-for-profit isn't really.......

Bracing for Bad Days, Operas and Orchestras Batten Down Hatches October 2008 As it has everywhere else these days, the economic crisis has hit classical music, a particularly fragile corner of the nonprofit world that depends a.......

70% of Americans Plan to Give During the Holidays, Survey Finds October 2008 Despite the bad economy, almost seven out of 10 adults plan to donate the same amount online as they did in the 2007 holiday season, according to a st.......

Pickens Says He’ll Give Another Gift to OSU October 2008 Oklahoma State mega-booster Boone Pickens announced Saturday that he will make another donation to OSU athletics on Monday. According to a source fami.......

Princeton Endowment Trial Will be Split October 2008 Lawyers for both sides of a landmark donor intent case filed against Princeton University said they were pleased by a judge's ruling yesterday to spli.......

Past Economic Downturns and the Outlook for Foundation Giving October 2008 Since the current economic crisis began in the latter half of 2007, we at the Foundation Center have been fielding questions about the possible impact.......