To help demystify and simplify the decision-making process, our experts have created an actionable checklist with 13 critical questions to ask them based on two important factors: their giving style and their considerations on fees and financials. Download your checklist.

Want to stay updated on philanthropy insights throughout giving season?
Our subject matter experts are waiting in the wings to help! There are a few simple ways you can stay at the forefront:

• Subscribe to our blog—we’ll send you important news and insights right to your mailbox.
• Check out our upcoming events, which include webinars (and replays), conferences and speaking engagements.
• Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads—it’s a great way to get a pulse on philanthropy and join the conversation.

Learn More About How We Support Advisors
Schedule a call or reach us at 800-839-0054 to learn how we can best support your clients who are passionate about philanthropy. Together, let’s #begiving.

The post DAFs vs Private Foundations: Do You Know These 13 Critical Questions to Ask Clients? appeared first on Foundation Source.

About Your Philanthropy

Can you tell us about a time when you were able to see the impact of your giving?
For our 10th anniversary, we awarded larger-than-normal grants to Colorado State to develop a pathway for youth entrepreneurship at the college level. Additionally, we funded the JA Rocky Mountain’s Northern Colorado region to expand its work into southern Wyoming. Both grantees were able to grow their programs significantly and have today established strong, sustainable programs to continue their impactful work. Today, both grantees are working in collaboration with several other nonprofits (Youth Biz, Young Entrepreneurs Tournament, and Generation Schools Network) to create an ecosystem in Northern Colorado, Eastern Colorado, and Southern Wyoming. Each organization is leveraging its strengths to create a larger collaboration and opportunities for educators and students.

Do you work with other grantors, foundations or nonprofits to drive specific projects forward?
The OtterCares Foundation partners with the Northern Colorado Foundation to manage employee-donated funds that support our Innovation Station grants. As the corporate foundation of OtterBox/OtterProducts, we host an annual employee giving campaign, inviting Otter employees to contribute to the Innovation Station Fund. This fund helps create and sustain hands-on makerspaces in K–12 schools across Larimer and Weld counties. The Northern Colorado Foundation securely holds and administers these funds on our behalf.

In celebration of our 15th anniversary, we made two significant pledges to nonprofit organizations we’ve proudly supported over the years. The first is Global Leaders, a service-learning organization that empowers teens in Larimer County. Each year, Global Leaders students travel to Guatemala to build clean cookstoves for local communities. The second is Engineering Brightness, an initiative started by a schoolteacher that engages middle school students in designing, 3D printing, and soldering solar lanterns. These lanterns are then sent to communities in the Dominican Republic and Uganda, bringing light and opportunity to areas in need.

About Your Foundation

How do you engage employees in your foundation?

We engage with our Otter employees in a variety of ways including:

• We send out a weekly email with volunteering opportunities.
• We have a group of employees who apply to be ambassadors for a year in their department within the company, and we train them to cascade Voluntary Time Off (VTO) opportunities or to set up group opportunities with favorite local nonprofits.
• We work hard to get to know employees and help them identify their passions, then connect them with organizations that align with those passions.
• We share information on the company’s TV channel, featuring data, stories, and videos.
• We discuss giving moments in department meetings that share the data on the hours volunteered, or even those who have used all 24 volunteer hours given by the company. They also spotlight an employee or group opportunity to inspire and create awareness.
• Story Tell! This is where employees share a give-back moment or story.

What is one long-term goal for your foundation?
We want to create a movement of philanthropy in the next generation!

Do you have any advice for people looking to start or grow their own corporate foundation?
Establish strong communication channels and key personnel within each department to effectively cascade opportunities with nonprofits, as well as current data on monthly engagement toward quarterly and yearly goals. It’s also important to have leadership buy-in and support, as well as provide the opportunity for employees to take time off work to engage in volunteering or record hours volunteered, if not in the payroll system. Competition between departments is also effective, as well as beginning meetings regularly with a “Give Back Moment or Story”!

Is there a unique foundation feature that has helped you pursue your mission?
By prioritizing relationship-based grantmaking, we can build strong, lasting partnerships with our grantees. This approach allows us to serve not only as a funder but also as a connector within our community. When a teacher has a big idea or needs support to implement a program, we can often connect them with another educator who has faced similar challenges, helping spark collaboration and innovation. Additionally, by engaging employees from OtterBox and OtterProducts, we can provide volunteer support to many organizations we fund, further strengthening our impact and community ties.

What was the worst mistake you made? How did you solve it?
Working with new organizations or organizations with new ideas and not creating a Memorandum of Agreement to give money out in phases or when milestones were reached, especially if the grant is a larger grant. We learned that committing to a larger amount was acceptable, but phasing the grant helped yield better results and more impactful work.

Working with Foundation Source

How does Foundation Source help to simplify your company’s charitable giving?
Foundation Source and their Impactfully platform has been an invaluable tool in streamlining our grantmaking process. The application wizard makes it simple to create user-friendly, easy-to-navigate forms for applicants. Matching grants with their corresponding outcome reports has significantly improved our ability to track long-term impact. Additionally, the built-in charity database and support from the charity research team save us considerable time and effort, ensuring our funding goes to the right organizations.

Can you tell us a little about your experience working with the Foundation Source team?
Working with the team at Foundation Source has been a truly positive experience. Not only do they provide exceptional customer service, but they also take our user feedback seriously, often implementing suggestions that enhance the platform. Our Private Client Advisor is consistently responsive and thorough when communicating. One of the highlights has been the opportunity to meet quarterly with the software development team. These sessions allow me to learn about new features in Foundation Source and explore how to apply them to further our mission of igniting tomorrow, today.

How was the process of getting your corporate foundation set up or transitioned to Foundation Source?
The process was very smooth, and I believe OtterCares has used Foundation Source since its establishment as a private foundation.

Thank you to the OtterCares Foundation for sharing their story with us! To learn more, visit ottercares.org.

Have a Foundation Source story you’d like to share?
Write to us at marketing@foundationsource.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue!

Want to learn more about the ways we support private foundations?
Whether you are looking for support for your existing foundation or want to create a private foundation, our philanthropic specialists are here to help. To learn more, schedule a call with us or reach us at 800-839-0054. Together, let’s #begiving.

The post OtterCares Foundation Interview Part Two: Inspiring Students To Give Back appeared first on Foundation Source.

A discussion about philanthropy provides an opportunity for you to develop a better understanding of your clients’ core aspirations and values, and forge deeper connections with them. Moreover, if you are able to speak confidently and knowledgeably about their philanthropic options, your high-net-worth clients are more likely to view you as providing a more holistic approach to wealth management.

ATTRACT AND RETAIN HIGH-VALUE CLIENTS

Initiate Relationships with Family Members

You’re probably all too familiar with the statistics reported by Barron’s*: Only 45% of wives keep their assets with the same financial advisor after their husbands die, and a mere 2% of children keep the money they’ve inherited with their parents’ financial advisor.

Discussing a private foundation as part of your client’s wealth planning strategy provides an opportunity to meet the family on positive terms, demonstrate expertise, and establish a relationship in advance of this critical transition.

Retain Assets

Foundation donors are likely to be some of your most valued clients. Because foundations are often set up to exist in perpetuity, donors typically seek to preserve principle and make their charitable distributions from investment income and asset appreciation. In other words, they need your services. With a private foundation, investments are portable and can be housed in any financial institution. And since foundation endowments can only be used for charitable purposes, these are very stable, long-term accounts that will survive your client.

Gather Assets Custodied Elsewhere

No doubt, some of the funds your client uses to start a private foundation will already be under your management. However, high-net-worth clients often fund their foundations with assets from multiple institutions, potentially bringing these assets under your management.

Convert Unproductive Assets

Assets with a very low cost basis are often held to mitigate the capital gains tax that would be due upon sale. Clients are typically charged a nominal custodial fee and no management fee for these assets. However, when these assets are used to fund a private foundation, your client mitigates the capital gains tax, and you can then convert the assets to a diversified, managed portfolio.

98% OF CHILDREN WILL LEAVE THEIR PARENTS’ FINANCIAL ADVISOR. A FOUNDATION GIVES THEM A REASON TO STAY.

The Benefits of Working with Foundation Source

Foundation Source can help you meet your clients’ philanthropic needs with a complete, turnkey solution that keeps the assets under your management. Plus, our private foundation experts back you at every turn, so you can confidently engage your clients and prospects around their giving.

Our comprehensive knowledge, technology, and economies of scale now make it practical to start a foundation with less than $1 million, and we can have it up and running in less than a week. Your clients get the full control, power, and flexibility of a private foundation with ease and simplicity.

• As the financial advisor, you maintain the primary relationship with your clients, supported by the largest, most experienced and knowledgeable foundation service provider in the country.
• You manage the foundation assets, while Foundation Source provides other services needed to operate an efficient and successful philanthropic enterprise. We also share with you our expertise on the unique considerations pertaining to assets within a private foundation.
• We take care of all the foundation details—from creating a new foundation to handling the most complex needs of large, established foundations.
• We take care of foundation administration and all state and federal filings; monitor foundation activities for potential compliance issues; and provide our proprietary, cloud-based SaaS platform that donors, their families, and staff can use to direct foundation activities.
• You can be confident that your clients will receive excellent, responsive customer service, as evidenced by the 98% retention rate.

The post Benefits of Offering Private Foundation Services appeared first on Foundation Source.

The post Donor Checklist: Donor-Advised Funds vs. Private Foundations appeared first on Foundation Source.

The post Advisor Checklist: Donor-Advised Funds vs. Private Foundations appeared first on Foundation Source.

Looking For Even More Insights?
Check out more blogs on giving and investing trends!

Want to learn more about the ways we support philanthropic families and their advisors?
Schedule a call with us or reach us at 800-839-0054. Together, let’s #begiving.

The post New Infographic Sheds Light On How Donors Are Navigating Uncertainty appeared first on Foundation Source.

The post WealthBriefing Wealth for Good Acclaim – 2025 appeared first on Foundation Source.

• Proactively identify potential grantees and solicit grant proposals, when appropriate
• Assure requests for proposals and/or applications align with foundation priorities and nonprofit needs, revisiting and making changes as needed
• Perform due diligence of potential grantees
• Engage grantees on programmatic aspects of the grantmaking process, including communicating details of funding decisions and terms (if approved), monitoring the activities of grantees and other foundation projects and tracking progress against grant requirements
• Manage grantee communication including responding to requests for information and technical support from applicants and grantees
• Present grant recommendations
• Document and maintain foundation grantmaking guidelines and procedures
• Review, verify, and document grantee eligibility
• Send reminders to submit required materials, including missing application materials, grant agreements, and reports
• Prepare application materials for staff and board review
• Manage the grant post-award process by preparing grant agreements, collecting grantee acknowledgement letters, receipts, and reports from grantees
• Manage grant payment schedule and payment process including communication with grantees and accounting to initiate and record payments
• Create and maintain a process for capturing grantee demographic data, providing analysis to the team as relevant
• Create annual year-end grants analysis to provide a data snapshot for donors
• Coordinate and host annual site visits for board members as appropriate

Specialized Accounting Services

• Develop and maintain budgets for operational expenses and grantmaking targets
• Prepare monthly financial reporting, including Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Activities
• Establish, document, and maintain procedures for cash management, fund transfers, disbursements, and other internal control protocols
• Build or improve multi-year and program-based budgeting tools
• Implement improved workflows, chart of accounts, automation
• Evaluate and enhance policies and procedures to reduce risk and increase transparency
• Streamline and document financial close processes for efficiency and accuracy
• Design scalable, compliant processes for private foundations
• Coordinate pre-audit planning, compile PBC lists, and liaise with auditors
• Complete corporate filings required by state and federal agencies
• Help board members understand financial statements, nonprofit finance concepts, and fiduciary duties
• Design board reports with spending trends, and scenario models
• Design and prepare tailored financial reports for boards and program staff

The post New Premier Services appeared first on Foundation Source.

What inspired the creation of the Foundation?
OtterCares was founded in 2009 by Nancy Richardson, co-founder of OtterBox. Nancy founded OtterCares to create lasting change in education through philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and innovative education. We believe that one young and inspired mind can change the world.

What causes are you most passionate about?
The Foundation is passionate about learning experiences and environments that inspire students to become entrepreneurs and philanthropists who create lasting and impactful changes in their communities.

What is one of your corporate foundation’s achievements that you are proud of and why?
We’re proud of our external grants. We see educators as innovative and entrepreneurial in their ideas. Often, they recognize the needs and problems faced by students and the schools in which they work, and they devise solutions. We appreciate the opportunity to listen to educators’ ideas related to these needs and provide seed funds, so to speak, for new ideas and programs.

One example of this is Geometry in Construction where two educators (one a math teacher and one a Career Technical Education Teacher) created a solution to a problem they both were seeing in education. The math teacher saw Geometry as the most failed class across the US at the high school level, and the CTE teacher saw declining enrollment in the construction pathway. The two educators created a new course, “Geometry in Construction.” The class became one of the most popular math and CTE classes in their school because students loved the hands-on, innovative learning environment and were fueled by purpose and passion as they built each home. The educators established a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and each year, the students in the class would build a house for the organization. The students met the family, and now they were constructing not just a building, but also creating someone’s next home. The connection to philanthropy (using your time, talent, or treasure) resonated deeply with them. The initial grant, seed-funded by OtterCares, was approximately $10,000, and the funds were used to purchase trusses for the house’s construction. The educators started a nonprofit and subsequently expanded the program to over 1,000 schools in the US.

Another example of this is the nonprofit Engineering Brightness, which was established by an educator who was inspired by students’ desire to solve light poverty. Students learn STEM principles as they connect with children in other countries and build solar-powered lanterns tailored to their specific needs.

Project Heart is another example. This philanthropy program was created in 2016 for educators and youth program providers. The website serves as a digital hub where educators and youth program providers can inspire one another with ideas to integrate the language and experience of philanthropy into their learning environments. Our dream is to create a movement of philanthropy in the next generation!

Internally at Otterbox, we serve as the connection point of nonprofits to employees. Consistently, our corporate engagement rate of employees volunteering is over 90%. Last year, 96% of OtterBox employees volunteered for at least one hour, with an average of 18 hours per employee. We also facilitate closed2open, a day where Otterbox closes all doors and all employees open their hearts to their community, volunteering for the day. You can watch a recap video of our 2025 closed2open and see the incredible stories and moments including:

• 540 Otter employees volunteered across 13 countries and 4 continents
• 4,320 total hours contributed
• $144,677 in estimated value delivered to nonprofits
• 31 in-person projects in Northern Colorado, 42 remote projects, and 4 virtual collaborations

What would you want other philanthropists to know about your work?
Educators and youth program providers inspire us, and to best understand what they hope to achieve, building a relationship and seeing their work and impact is extremely important! Most educators aren’t great at writing grants, so seeking to understand is vital to us. We fund in a small geographic footprint, so knowing who we are investing in and the ideas they have is significant. It also allows us to connect like-minded grantees and grow the impact of the dollars we invest in them.

We would like to thank the OtterCares Foundation for sharing their story with us! Plus, keep an eye out for part two of this interview! To learn more, visit ottercares.org.

Have a Foundation Source story you’d like to share?
Write to us at marketing@foundationsource.com for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue!

Want to learn more about the ways we support private foundations?
Whether you are looking for support for your existing foundation or want to create a private foundation, our philanthropic specialists are here to help. To learn more, schedule a call with us or reach us at 800-839-0054. Together, let’s #begiving.

The post Setting Students Up For Success: A Conversation with The OtterCares Foundation appeared first on Foundation Source.

The Foundation Source Advantage

We develop and deliver modern technology, tools and resources that help more people become philanthropists and help more philanthropists create greater impact.

What We Do

Consulting

Strategic support for starting and enriching the philanthropic journey

Vehicles

Creation and filing services for a range of tax-advantaged charitable vehicles

Administration

Comprehensive operations, grantmaking and compliance support for giving programs and vehicles

Technology

Platforms designed to increase efficiency and impact for donors, nonprofits, advisors, and institutions

Accounting

Specialized financial and tax services for foundations, charitable gifts and trusts

The post Outsourced Philanthropy: A Smarter Approach for Family Offices appeared first on Foundation Source.