Current Conversation
Not every Nonprofit should exist indefinitely; Tips for funders to help improve Nonprofit Financing

Though foundations should help nonprofit organizations become more financially sustainable, not every nonprofit should exist forever. Some nonprofits should garner robust financing in the near-term so that they can quickly achieve their goals and close up shop. That's according to a publication focused on funding practices supporting nonprofit organizational capacity and long-term financial health. Capital Ideas: Moving from Short-Term Engagement to Long-Term Sustainability includes principles to guide foundation funding of nonprofits that were discussed at a March symposium at Harvard...
Better financial tools needed by both spend down and perpetual foundations

"With more imagination and courage, today's donors can more effectively help solve today's problems," says John Hunting of the Beldon Fund, who bemoans the timidity of foundation trustees with regard to payout and lifespan. The Beldon Fund is one of 13 foundations profiled in a report that have strayed from "traditional" foundation practice by paying out more than 5 percent of their assets annually and by not seeking to exist in perpetuity. Beyond Five Percent: The New Foundation Payout Menu was produced through a joint project of the French American Charitable Trust, Northern California...
Gap between Rhetoric, really in foundations’ use of strategy

There's a disconnect between what many foundation staff believe will create the most impact and what they actually do on a daily basis - and the Center for Effective Philanthropy says this gap between rhetoric and reality merits immediate internal attention on the part of foundation staff and trustees. The Center surveyed CEOs and program officers from 21 large foundations to gauge how much foundation strategy affects foundation decision making. The answer, according to Beyond the Rhetoric: Foundation Strategy , is "not much." Although most foundation officials acknowledge and often extol...
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