Community Philanthropy Update - October 2024

Greetings Friend,

With the election just a few weeks away, it is crucial for philanthropy to support connecting across differences.

We’ve been inspired by community foundations working locally to bridge divides. This includes community bridging efforts like Lancaster County Community Foundation’s Community Bridge Builders Program, fostering dignity and belonging with the Cleveland Foundation’s Common Ground project, and training nonprofit partners on building common ground techniques like The Denver Foundation’s Belonging Colorado program.

We explored these efforts further in our new report, Coming Together, Not Apart, which demonstrates how community foundations are stepping up to build a multiracial, multicultural society where everyone belongs, and every voice is heard.

We surveyed 133 foundations, in partnership with Philanthropy for an Active Civic Engagement (PACE) and the New Pluralists. We found that 85% have funded work to connect and collaborate across differences within the past 10 years, with 61.7% of organizations supporting six or more of these projects over the same span. Nearly a quarter allocated over half of their grantmaking budget to this work in 2022. Of those funding this work, over 90% increased or maintained their investments year to year (2021-2022).

We’re looking forward to sharing more about our work in this space, including looking back at Building Together 2024, at our annual member meeting on November 19. Ahead of the meeting, here are a few ways you can engage with our community: 

• Complete this two-minute form to cast your proxy vote for the Council’s 2025 board nomination slate.
• Share a session idea for next year’s Leading Locally conference by October 21. 
• Submit award nominations for our annual Council Awards by October 24. 
• Celebrate Community Foundation Week (November 12-18) with our collection of resources that can help you tell your story. 

Best,

Upcoming Events

Virtual Meet-Up: Community Foundation Donor Services

October 23 | Virtual | Peer Discussion

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Peer Learning Circle

October 31 | Virtual | Peer Discussion

DEI Roundtable: Re-Imagining Power in Philanthropy

November 7 | Virtual | Peer Discussion

National Standards Monthly Session - November 2024

November 13 | Virtual | Webinar

Looking to 2025: Making Sense of the Elections

November 14 | Virtual | Webinar

Navigating AI in Philanthropy: Executive Leader Roundtable

November 18 | Virtual | Peer Discussion

2024 Annual Member Meeting

November 19 | Virtual | Webinar

Looking to 2025: What Does a New Congress Mean for Philanthropy?

February 11 | Virtual | Webinar

Leading Locally 2025

June 10-12, 2025 | Minneapolis, MN | Sector Event

New Member Spotlight

Welcome to the community foundations that have joined as new Council members since our last newsletter! We're excited to have Community Foundation of the Upper Peninsula, Dripping Springs Community Foundation, and Seattle Foundation as new members.

Resources You Can Use

Legal Question of the Month with Ben McDearmon, Director of Legal Resources

Question: We have a board member who is running for local public office. Is this allowed and, if so, what do we need to be aware of?

Answer: Some foundations have adopted policies stating that any board or staff member running for partisan elected office is expected to resign their position prior to announcing their candidacy in order to avoid the potential appearance of partisanship by the foundation.

On the other hand, there’s no general legal prohibition on someone serving as an elected official and also serving on the board of a foundation or other nonprofit, so some foundations might choose to allow it with significant safeguards in place to ensure there’s no appearance that the foundation is supporting the candidate.

All election-related activities must take place outside of the candidate’s work on behalf of the foundation and without using any foundation resources. The candidate should also avoid referring to their position with the foundation as part of their campaign, and if anyone else does bring up their foundation affiliation, the candidate must clarify that they are running solely in their capacity as a private citizen. If elected, the person would likely be prohibited from receiving any compensation or possibly even reimbursement for expenses, and they may be prohibited from soliciting charitable contributions on behalf of the foundation.

Council members are encouraged to send any legal inquiries to legal@cof.org.

CF Insights Highlight

Finding the Right Peers with CF Insights

One community foundation suspected that they were “doing too much with too little” without enough staff to manage a rapidly growing donor base. Another was preparing to make a major software systems transition. With CF Insights and Plus Membership, they were both able to find relevant peers with similar experiences to help inform how they approached those challenges, with the support of our team.

If you want to learn more visit cof.org/cfinsights, or email cfinsights@cof.org to request a live 1-on-1 demo.

CF Insights Annual Survey Deadline Extended

Due to popular demand, we're extending the deadline for this year’s CF Insights Survey to Thursday, October 31. This survey is a great way to support your fellow community foundations by helping inform the most comprehensive source of data that foundations use to guide their funds, grant allocations, and operations. 

Not the person at your organization who is responsible for this kind of data reporting? Make sure to forward this email to the right people, so that your organization will be represented in this year's CF Insights Survey!

Extended: 2024 Council Awards Nominations

There's now more time to recognize your colleagues for the Distinguished Service Award, Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking, and Outstanding Corporate Philanthropy Leadership Award! Winners will be recognized at our annual Member Meeting on November 19. Make sure your nominations are in by Thursday, October 24!

Philanthropy Exchange Conversations for You

• Local for profit newspapers

• Receiving a house as a planned gift

• ACH payments

News Articles

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy: How Much Is Philanthropy Spending Toward a More Perfect Union?
• Inside Philanthropy: What’s Next for Philanthropy After the Fearless Fund Settlement?
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Diversity Up, Turnover Down, Wage Growth Normal at U.S. Foundations
• Stanford Social Innovation Review: When It Comes to Understanding Donors, Does Size Matter Most?

Keep in Touch!

Share your organization’s impact story with us at
cofcommunications@cof.org.

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