Advocacy Essentials for Community Foundations

As organizations committed to strengthening community foundations, CFLeads and the Council on Foundations are partnering to offer a new public policy and advocacy training course for community foundations. This updated training will provide community foundation leaders and staff with the knowledge and resources needed to excel in advocating for the nonprofits and communities doing the hard work of social change.

Building a Culture of Dialogue Across Differences

This half-day workshop introduces participants to Resetting the Tables's approach to developing tools to build a culture of productive dialogue on charged issues. Exchange views and experiences, learn two core skills for difficult conversations across diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, and leave with increased capacity and confidence to discuss charged issues. This workshop is facilitated by Council staff members who have been trained in Resetting the Table's practice-based and experiential methodology.

Community Foundation Excellence (CFE) Fundamentals

Designed to help staff and volunteers quickly comprehend organizational essentials, this course is for community foundation staff in the early stages of their careers, as well as more experienced staff seeking a review. It is applicable to individuals from community foundations of all sizes and covers topics including governance, resource development and donor relations, legal and legislative issues, grantmaking, community leadership, and fiduciary responsibilities.

Essentials of Policy Advocacy for Grantmakers

The updated Essentials of Policy Advocacy for Grantmakers training will help foundation staff use their resources effectively to advance public policies that support the greater good. This training is designed for private foundation staff with a basic understanding of policy but also serves as a refresher for staff at all experience levels whose work touches policy advocacy.

Global Grantmaking Essentials

The Global Grantmaking Essentials course provides a thorough overview of the laws governing global grantmaking and offers practical solutions for foundation staff responsible for making grants abroad. The course is built on the Council’s more than 40 years of experience in supporting foundations who work and grant internationally.

Legal Basics for Community Foundations

This workshop covers some of the most fundamental aspects of the law of nonprofit organizations and how community foundations work within that larger sphere. It serves as a helpful introduction to the field for new staff as well as a refresher for more experienced professionals.

Legal Matters for Community Foundations

Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and regulations. This workshop is open to any board or staff member that is eager to dive into the legalities of business models and identify pathways for more effective management and operations of a community foundation.

Legal Matters for Corporate Foundations and Giving Programs

Led by the Council on Foundations Legal team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and corporate foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and regulations. This workshop is open to any board or staff member that is eager to dive into the legalities of business models and identify pathways for more effective management and operations of corporate foundations and giving programs.

Self-Dealing Basics for Corporate and Private Foundations

This workshop will provide an in-depth review of the rules against self-dealing, where they come from, and what they involve. Participants will hear an analysis of the relevant rules and regulations governing transactions between private foundations and disqualified persons, including situations involving payment of compensation and expense reimbursement to disqualified persons, sharing employees between foundations and related companies, grants with the potential to benefit disqualified persons, and more.

Upcoming Trainings