Foundation Management

A list of links and resources related to foundation governance and management that includes:

Administration
Governance
Family Philanthropy
Investment Policy
Tax and Regulation
Information Technology
Spending Down
Links

Administration

• The Counselling Foundation of Canada: Outcomes of our Knowledge Gathering Initiative – August 2012
• Effective Foundation Management: 14 Challenges of Philanthropic Leadership and How to Outfox Them by Joel Orosz, Altamira Press, 2007. A practical and highly accessible guide to common challenges and trade-offs in foundation management.

Governance

• Good Governance: A Guide for Canadian Foundations, 2011 revision, by Hilary Pearson, PFC, and Peter Broder, The Muttart Foundation. Provides an outline of the core elements of good governance for Canadian charitable foundations and grantmakers. Learn more about key topics for Canadian foundations including legal frameworks, charitable statuses, directors, and governance frameworks. Available for free download. For information on availability of hard copies, contact PFC.

• The Governance & Financial Management of Endowed Charitable Foundations, 2012, Richard Jenkins, Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF). Examines the common principles for the management of charitable foundations and, through interviews and case studies, shows the ways different organisations have implemented them to get the best value for their charitable aims.

• Private philanthropy in the U.S. has been under pressure to be more open (and more accountable) to its beneficiaries and the greater public. The increasing use of the Internet for information sharing and story-telling has led to a creative response to the challenge of how to be more “transparent.” The Foundation Center has created Glasspockets to showcase foundation transparency and accountability practices.

• Linking Principle to Practice: Governance in Foundations, June 3, 2008, presentation by Eugene Wilson, Council on Foundations, Calgary. Tools available: Accountability Checklist, and Twelve Principles of Governance.

• Beyond Compliance: The Trustee Viewpoint on Effective Foundation Governance, 2005. A summary report of the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s research on perceptions of foundation board effectiveness from the perspective of the trustees themselves.

Family Philanthropy

• Giving Together: A Primer for Family Philanthropy; Giving Together: A Workbook for Family Philanthropy and; Across Generations: A Five Step Guide for Creating an Expression of Donor Intent are part of a series of publications to support family philanthropy available for purchase from The Philanthropic Initiative, Boston, 2008-2009.

• Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations by Kelin Gersick with Deanne Stone et al, National Centre for Family Philanthropy, 2004. Report on a three-year study on leadership and continuity in family foundations in the U.S. and Canada. Funded by the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP), this study features in-depth interviews with trustees and staff of 30 family foundations to determine how they govern and prepare the next generation for leadership. To order go to www.ncfp.org

• The Succession Workbook; Continuity Planning for Family Foundations, by Kelin E Gersick, Deanne Stone et al, Council on Foundations, Washington, 2002. A 100-page booklet walks families through key steps involved in transferring the foundation’s mission, structure and resources on to successive generations. Copies can be ordered from www.cof.org.

Investment Policy

• Investment Management Code of Conduct for Endowments, Foundations and Charitable Organizations, 2010, CFA Institute, a code designed to establish best practices for the organization’s members, volunteers and paid staff responsible for managing the entity’s financial assets.

Tax and Regulation

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registers qualifying organizations as charities, gives technical advice on operating a charity, and handles audit and compliance activities. Through their Charities & Giving website, you can access: Interpretation bulletins; Information circulars; Brochures and guides; Forms; Newsletters; Draft publications; List of registered charities; definition of political activities and more.

Legal Issue Publications:

• Canadian Not-For-Profit News:The Insider’s Edge On Current Developments in Canadian Non-Profit Organizations. Edited by Arthur Drache, C.M, Q.C., a specialist in the tax treatment of charities, non-profit organizations and arts groups. This monthly newsletter is a good source of current information on the tax implications and practical considerations relating to the most relevant and timely issues surrounding registered charities and other non-profit organizations.

• Charity Law is a site maintained by Carter & Associates, an Ontario law firm, for up-to-date information on legal issues of interest to charities and not-for-profit organizations both in Canada and internationally in the form of articles, seminar materials and newsletters.

Information Technology

• The Case Foundation in Washington provides helpful information and how-tos for social media. It explains social media strategy in a quick and easy way, and provides simple resources to help you get started with various tools.

• A Consumers Guide to Grants Management Software, October 2011, by Jay Leslie, Laura Quinn, and Chris Bernard. Explores the systems available to help foundations accept and review applications and track grants throughout their life cycles, with detailed comparisons of 22 systems.

• TechSoup offers nonprofits a one-stop resource for technology needs by providing free information, resources, and support.

Spending Down

• Sunsetting: A Framework for Foundation Life As Well As Death and Foundation Sunset: A Decision-Making Guide, 2011, by Francie Ostrower, Aspen Institute. These two reports offer a framework that can help donors and trustees craft a “good game plan” for spending down, in a way that is consistent with their particular values, circumstances, and motivations.

• Time is of the Essence: Foundations and the Policies of Limited Life and Endowment Spend-Down, 2009, by John R. Thelin and Richard W. Trollinger, Aspen Institute. Combines detailed analysis of two famous historic foundations with case studies of selected contemporary foundations that decided to spend down their assets within a set period of time instead of existing in perpetuity. Provides donors and foundations with models for consideration in their own policies and planning in the 21st century.

• Project on Spend-Down at the AVI CHAI Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies, ongoing, by Joel L. Fleishman and Tony Proscio. Documentation of the experiences of the AVI CHAI Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies as they spend down their endowments. Starting in 2010, Fleishman and Proscio will issue annual updates on the foundations’ progress.