Blog

2017 Lineup for Community Foundations

Wednesday, December 21, 2016 - 12:58 pm
Brad Ward

Greetings Community Foundation Colleagues

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and are looking to the new year with abundant optimism for what you and your community foundation can achieve.

As the Council looks ahead to 2017, we remain attuned to our community foundation members. The Council, through its membership and through the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations® program, serves three-quarters of community foundations in the United States, more than 560 of the 780 domestic community foundations. With this support, we continue to amplify, advocate, and strengthen your work.

With comprehensive tax reform and potential new regulations on the horizon that will affect community foundations, know the Council is here to help you make the most of the challenges ahead and offer a strong voice in Washington, D.C. on your behalf. Just as we did during the Pension Protection Act of 2006, we plan to provide a measured response from the field. To stay engaged, continue to monitor Washington Snapshot or contact govt@cof.org.

Our top-notch legal affairs team of Suzanne Friday, Lara Kalwinski, and Bryan Del Rosario will offer you opportunities to collaborate in the coming year. While Suzanne and Bryan are always ready and available to answer your questions privately, they also share their expertise in dozens of learning events and conferences across the country and provide monthly legal calls to assist members with pressing issues. You can reach them directly at legal@cof.org for individualized support.

The field’s first act in achieving the best possible legislation is to demonstrate its commitment to high ethical standards and its ability to self-regulate through the Nationals Standards accreditation process. Christina Gonzalez is here to answer your questions and keep the accreditation process moving. Connect with Christina at submissions@cfstandards.org.

To ensure the next generation of community foundation staff is as prepared as possible for the future, we offer our Center for Community Foundation Excellence (CCFE) certification program. The Council will host four CCFE Fundamentals courses in 2017 and are raising funds to refresh two other modules for launch in late 2017 and 2018. Visit http://www.cof.org/ccfe to register.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the year, and I look forward to our next call. If you don’t hear from me first, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I can be reached at 703-879-0640 or brad.ward@cof.org.

Warm regards this holiday season and Cheers to ushering in 2017.

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