Community Foundations

Mission

To provide professional enhancements for the financial and administrative staffs of community foundations and to take a leadership position in establishing and communicating standards for the financial and administrative functions of community foundations.

Find out more about FAOG by reading the Operations Manual and Bylaws.

FAQs

Who is eligible to join?

• staff members of community foundations whose primary area(s) of responsibility are in the fiscal or administrative areas of their respective foundations
• individuals serving a key fiscal or administrative role for a community foundation
• individuals from nonprofit organizations acting on behalf of the interests of community foundations

How do I join?

Contact the chair, vice chair of membership, or the treasurer to inquire about membership.

How much are dues?

Annual dues for the first staff person from a community foundation are $100. Annual dues for each additional staff person from the same community foundation are $25. Contact the chair, vice chair of membership, or the treasurer with questions about dues or to pay dues.

What services do I receive as a member of FAOG?

FAOG members receive a quarterly newsletter, Accounting Alerts and representation on the Community Foundations Leadership Team. Additionally, FAOG sponsors a business dinner every year at the Council's Fall Conference for Community Foundations. To attend, complete the Optional Events section of the fall conference registration form.

Whom may I contact with questions about FAOG and its activities?

Contact any member of the Executive Committee with questions about FAOG’s structure, services, and activities.

Executive Committee

Coming soon!

Bulletins

• Spring 2009
• Winter 2009 
• Fall 2008 
• Summer 2008 
• Spring 2008
• Winter 2008 
• Fall 2007

Articles

Investment

• Agency Endowments Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 
• Accounting for Endowment Funds Held at Community Foundations 
• Summary of Emerging Issues for Not-for-Profit Organizations in 2007, by Price Waterhouse Coopers
• Auditing Alternative Investments: A Practical Guide for Investor Entities, Investee Fund Managers, and Auditors (April 2007) by Price Waterhouse Coopers
• Institutional Oversight: Managing the Challenges of Alternative Investments in the Higher Education Environment (April 2007) by Price Waterhouse Coopers
• The Dimensions of Investment Risk: Measuring the Future (Michael L. Miller, 2003) 
• Exchange-Traded Funds: A Replacement for Index Funds Within the Institutional Portfolio? (Jessica F. Patten, 2003) 
• How to Handle Investment Fraud: What to Do When an Investment or Manager Appears “Above the Fold” (Michael J. Cooney & David Gluck, 2003) 
• Community Foundation as Trustee of a Charitable Trust—Issues to Consider (Michael J. Cooney, 2002) 
• Spending Policies Today: Challenges and Alternative Approaches (Michael A. Miller, 2002) 

Accounting Practices - Relevant Information for Finance Departments

Here is a link to the Accounting Practices Committee's Library of Documents. This "library" is a collection of relevant positions, white papers, and guidance provided to FOAG members in recent years. Somoe of the key topics addressed by this library include:

• FASB 116, 117, 1132 (revised), 133, 136, 158
• Interpretation on Guarantees
• Tax Guidance on form 990 and 990, schedule A
• Tax Guidance on form 8282 and 8283
• Gift Accounting Basics
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• Charity Navigator
• AICPA toolkit for non profit audit committees

Also, below are the most recent "Accounting Alerts", published quarterly by the FOAG Accounting Practices Committee.

Accounting Practices

• Winter 2009
• APC Guidance on FSP 117-1
• Fall 2008
• 2008 Accounting Update for Community Foundations
• Summer 2008 
• Spring 2008 
• Fall 2007
• Winter 2007
• Fall 2006

Research / Resources

• FAOG 2008 Washington Update by Janne Gallagher
• FAOG 2008 Accounting Update for Community Foundations by McGladrey Pullen 
• FAOG 2008 CF Insights Learn to Conduct a Cost-Revenue Study
• FAOG 2008 Annual Business Meeting Presentation
• Reporting Fundraising Expenses on Form 990 (Drafted 2005) 

Electronic Discussion List

The Finance-Admin electronic discussion list  is for community foundation staff with primary responsiblity for financial oversight and administrative issues and for board members with interest in these areas. The list is available only to community foundation members of the Council, and is not a benefit of, nor does it require membership in, FAOG.

Resource Lists

• General
• Recruitment & Selection 
• Development & Training 
• Compensation & Benefits 
• Workplace Safety/Other Legal 
• HR E-mail Discussion Group -- sign up for HRNet 
• Employers Associations 

HR Subcommittee

The Human Resources subcommittee of FAOG allows interested members to share information on HR issues. The group is composed of foundation staff who have responsibility for human resources functions. They meet once a month via conference call, regularly submit articles for the FAOG bulletin, organize HR-related conference sessions for the annual Council conference for community foundations, and maintain an active electronic discussion list where participants can both ask and respond to questions. The monthly conference calls provide an opportunity for participants to share information on topics of mutual interest such as organization structure, job descriptions, legal compliance, best practices, and compensation and benefits issues.

If you would like to join the HR subcommittee, contact Lisa Bachman at lbachman@mplsfoundation.org. 

Subcommittee Members

Coming soon!

Technology Resources and Groups

• FAOG Technology Survey - The 2008 results of the fieldwide FAOG Technology Survey are now available. This year's survey was expanded in scope to provide a more complete view of how technology is being used in the community foundation field, particularly in some of the new and cutting edge areas of technology. Over 170 community foundations participated representing the entire spectrum of asset size.
• CFTech is the technology website for community foundations. It provides information about the field's ongoing efforts to improve its technology infrastructure and offers technical resources useful to community foundations.
• The TechNet electronic discussion list is for information technology professionals, technical staff, and application users.
• Community Foundations Information Technology Group (CFIT) -- A group of information technology professionals, CFIT participants share ideas and issues related to how technology affects community foundations. To get more information or to join CFIT, please contact Richard Drolet at rdrolet@cfgnh.org.
• The Technology Affinity Group (TAG) of the Council on Foundations seeks to advance the capacities of philanthropic organizations through the use of technology. TAG conducts educational programs for persons working with technology issues for philanthropic organizations and provides a forum for them to share their ideas.

Who is Looking Out for Technology in the Field?

The Technology Steering Committee (TSC) has provided leadership to the field since it was formed in 2002. Volunteers from the field came together and provided their time and resources for driving technology change.  Their goal was to provide one voice to achieve three objectives: 

• Drive selected improvements of current systems and, at the same time, provide the catalyst needed to stimulate development of “next generation” core system software.
• Develop API and Internet interfaces:  to link separate databases; improve donor, professional advisor, and nonprofit access to community foundation information; and enhance staff workflow efficiency.
• Catalyze innovations in the functionality of customer relationship management (CRM), seamless processing, web presence, and accountability tools.

The TSC is winding down and will be transitioning its knowledge and technology oversight role before the end of 2007, when it ceases all activity.  The Community Foundation Leadership Team (CFLT) sponsored a meeting of fieldwide leaders in Chicago on August 21 to develop a plan for transitioning the TSC’s technology leadership.  This group was able to reach consensus on what they felt was a good plan, and will be drafting a proposal in September for the CFLT to consider. 

FAOG members’ future technology needs were well represented at the meeting by Sid Hartman, Bill Solomon, Susan Springgate, J.T. Mullen, Jim Bickel, Dick Myers, and Scott McReynolds. Once the new technology organizational structure and mission are approved and finalized, we will communicate it via this website and in the quarterly FAOG Bulletin.

FAOG Technology Subcommittee

The FAOG Technology Subcommittee is composed of  FAOG members with technological skill who serve as the liaison between FAOG and other foundation technology groups and can work on fieldwide initiatives. The subcommittee’s primary objective is to keep FAOG members from both large and small foundations up to date on technology developments and best practices.

The subcommittee is also the primary driver in maintaining and improving the CFTech website, with input from other knowledgeable technology groups working in or with our field.  This site was established in 2003 by the field’s Technology Steering Committee, which received input from Community Foundations of America, the Council on Foundations, and finance and technology professionals at various community foundations.

The subcommittee’s major goal during its initial two years was the development and maintenance of the site as an easily accessible guide for technology information, in a format easily understood by community foundations with all levels of technical expertise. Ongoing maintenance and improvement of that site at cftech.org will continue to be a focus of the subcommittee, as will other appropriate assignments as developed by the FAOG Executive Committee.

Subcommittee Members

Coming soon!