Publications
Displaying 1 - 16 of 104 results
Philanthropy's New Voice: Building Trust With Deeper Stories and Clear Language
Publication, Research
United States foundations are an essential element of America’s social sector, supporting causes from public libraries to groundbreaking research, to new approaches to building a more equitable world. But despite their reach, foundations have an identity problem. From small towns to Washington, D.C…
Scholarships
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
Part of Mastering Foundation Law
Providing scholarships to individuals is a popular method of charitable giving in the U.S. But following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and the ongoing Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund case, charitable…
Advancing Locally Led Development: An Overview of U.S. Foundations’ Direct Global Giving
Publication, Toolkit
Since 1997, the Council on Foundations and Candid have analyzed trends in global grantmaking by U.S. foundations. In our State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations: 2022 Edition report, which analyzed grants made between 2016 and 2019, we found that 39% of global grants made by U.S. foundations…
2023 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report
Publication, Research
The 2023 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report is updated with the most recent sector data. Information is presented by grantmaker type, foundation type, asset size, and geographic location. Additionally, 2023 report contents include:
Salary data on 10,733 full-time staff from 957 grantmaking…
2022 Council on Foundations - Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations (CCSF)
Publication, Research
The CCSF Study is the field’s most comprehensive and authoritative study on investment and governance policies and practices. The 2022 CCSF studies 277 private and community foundations that represent $206.8 billion in assets. Topics covered include:
Returns and Investment Objectives
Asset…
Learning from the Future: A Resource for Planning Ahead
Publication
The Economic Scenario Planning (ESP) model is designed to help community foundations of any size and shape create five-year forecasts and plan for multiple scenarios. Community foundations using the model cite important benefits, often revising goals or making operating model changes as a result…
Survey Results: The Operation of Women’s Funds at Community Foundations
Publication
After a request by a CF Insights member seeking information about the operation of Women's Funds at community foundation, a survey was created and administered to a subset of potential respondents. This short, eight-question survey collected some high-level information about fees pricing, revenue…
Do More than Grow: Realizing the Potential of Community Foundation Donor-Advised Funds
Publication
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) have been a growth engine for community foundations since the 1990s but the aspiration today is for DAFs to do more. In Do More than Grow: Realizing the Potential of Community Foundation Donor-Advised Funds, new data and analysis of donor behavior reveals the significant…
Seeking Shared Success: Business Model Innovation Through Mergers, Affiliations, and Alliances
Publication
Learn how alliances, affiliations, and mergers represent a path to enhanced sustainability and greater impact for community foundations. Hear perspectives from community foundation leaders, access tools for considering a new structure, and read case studies from six community foundations.
Fueling Impact: A Fresh Look at Business Model Innovation and New Revenue Sources
Publication
Do you want to know how community foundations are finding innovative new sources of support, and diversifying their revenue base? How new revenue sources strengthen each community foundation's differentiation and sustainability? Difficult economic times in 2008-2010 have been an important wake-up…
Taking Informed Action in Challenging Times: Helping Community Foundations during Economic Downturn
Publication
Following up on CF Insights' November 2008 report "Making Informed Decisions in Uncertain Times", this report is aimed at helping community foundations take informed action in relation to their operating models and community activities in reaction to the economic slump. The findings are based on…
Align, Adapt, Aspire: Ten Years of Community Foundation Business Model Evolution
Publication
Community foundations understand how the traditional community foundation business model falls short of new aspirations. Sustainability is an ongoing challenge and many community foundations work towards continually adapting their business model to support a changing context and achieve enough…
Raising Money While Raising Hell: Catalytic Community Leadership and Successful Fundraising for Community Foundations
Publication
This paper debunks the myth that advocacy-oriented community leadership is naturally antithetical to fundraising, and highlights examples where foundations have built their fundraising efforts by playing advocacy-oriented community leadership roles.
A Scan of Community Foundations Accepting Cryptocurrency Gifts
Publication
With the proliferation of bitcoin and other forms of digital (or "crypto") currencies around the world, a growing number of charitable donations are being given via these transaction vehicles. To what extent have community foundations entered this space? Which cryptocurrencies are the most popular…
Assessing Community Foundation Needs and Envisioning the Future
Publication, Research
Community foundations have several attributes that, taken together, distinguish them from many of their philanthropic brethren, including a local orientation, relationships with many living donors, and a public charity tax status. This affects everything from their approach to solving problems to…
Making Informed Decisions in Uncertain Times: Helping Community Foundations during Economic Volatility
Publication, Research
To help community foundations address twin challenges of fewer resources and greater need, CF Insights conducted research by interviewing and collecting survey responses from a cross section of 73 community foundations during the month of October 2008.