Challenge:

The foundation has its roots in a humble frontier feed store. Founded in the 1890s, the store eventually grew into a sizable company with a household name. Relatives of the three brothers who grew that company founded their foundation in the 1940s, and it has been in operation ever since.

Today, the board of the foundation, which is comprised of descendants of the brothers, pays homage to its history by keeping track of other descendants through familial records. There are now dozens of descendants and, upon reaching the age of 18, they are all eligible to join the foundation as a non-voting member and attend board meetings. The foundation will match up to three member gifts to charity for as much as $1,500 total in a given year. Members are also able to provide feedback via grant committees for organizations that have applied for funding.

The foundation’s tradition of making giving a (very large) family enterprise is one of its most cherished hallmarks. Even so, all that gift-matching and grant committee activity makes for an enormous amount of paperwork and a sizable administrative burden.

Collaboration:

Foundation Source set up their gift-matching program on Applications, our online grants management system for accepting, organizing, tracking, and replying to charitable requests. (Applications is available as an add-on to the robust platform our clients use to manage their foundations.)

Family members use Applications to apply for their gift match. Foundation Source verifies that the family member made a donation and that the recipient organization is eligible to receive grants from the foundation. We also customized Applications so that when a family member is a part of a grant committee, they can log in, review their committee’s applications, and then leave comments for board members.

Outcome:

Thanks to their experience with Applications, the foundation now benefits from a seamless, paperless process for its gift-matching program. The foundation is free to celebrate its heritage without worry that the growth of its family tree will outstrip its administrative capabilities.

The post How a Private Foundation Is Keeping An (Extended) Family Tradition Going Strong appeared first on Foundation Source.

Challenge:

The board of the Charles R. Wood Foundation carries on the work of its late founder by supporting children, the arts, and healthcare in upstate New York.

While traveling in rural North Carolina, the president of the foundation read an article in the local newspaper about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program and its outreach to the region. This national program, which is available to any community, mails a book to children under five years of age each month. The purpose of the program is to boost early childhood literacy and foster a love of reading.

As the Charles R. Wood Foundation wanted to promote childhood literacy in upstate New York’s rural counties, they asked their Private Client Advisor at Foundation Source to get them information on how they could get involved.

Collaboration:

The Private Client Advisor contacted the Dollywood Foundation, which was able to provide the demographic research the foundation required to assess regional need. Dollywood also identified possible literary agencies that might be willing to partner with the Charles R. Wood Foundation. Foundation Source coordinated the effort by discussing the program with the Literacy Volunteers of Clinton County, who agreed to handle the child registration process.

Foundation Source has streamlined the entire application process, saving the foundation significant time and administrative effort. The foundation is very pleased with their new process, but we revisit it each year and continue to refine it based on their evolving needs.

Outcome:

The Foundation now supports the Imagination Library program, enabling 3,500 children in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, and Hamilton counties to participate. The foundation is thrilled that Foundation Source could help connect them with the necessary partners to make this project happen, and they appreciate how easy we’ve made it for them to track its results, procuring semi-annual updates for their review.

The post Connecting a Private Foundation to An Opportunity for Literacy appeared first on Foundation Source.

The post How To Set Up Your GivingHub Account appeared first on Foundation Source.

The post Processing Your Foundation’s Disbursements appeared first on Foundation Source.

Creating programs can help a foundation focus its giving, reflect its values and clarify its interests to prospective grantees. As a foundation is launched, you may have natural focus areas or be starting with a completely blank slate. It’s important to understand that one path is not better than the other— the foundation leaders we serve have shown us time and time again that there are several ways to develop programmatic priorities and the path to impact is unique to each foundation.

Starting with a Focus Area or Areas of Interest

Some new foundations find that they already have a focus area or areas of interest. These are often based on:

• A founder’s personal philosophy.
• A company’s primary business or area of operation.
• A cause that inspired the creation of the foundation. For example:
  • If the foundation was funded from the estate of someone who battled cancer.
  • If the foundation was created with a geographic focus, such as supporting after-school programs in their local community.

Starting with a Blank Slate

If you don’t yet have a focus area, one way to get started is by selecting a handful of issues to support while learning the ropes, gathering information and formalizing an approach.

Remember that it’s okay to experiment and take risks. Starting with a blank slate can inspire creativity, help you clarify what’s important to your foundation and provide an understanding of your giving philosophy at a deeper level than you may have explored. Also keep in mind, you don’t need to be an expert in your area(s) of funding to get started—you just need to care about making a difference.

To identify potential funding areas, consider:

• Finding topics that have proximate relevance, whether derived from life experience, the local community, career paths or corporate goals.
  • Define the impact you want to see and then identify organizations, programs or projects that will move towards that goal. For example, a founder for a tech company may be interested in finding ways to grow opportunities in STEM education or a founder who grew up in poverty may want to focus on food insecurity.
  • Get firsthand experience with the issues—this can be helpful in informing which organizations/ projects to support. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including informal conversations and interviews with nonprofits, people impacted by the issue(s) and other funders; site visits; primary research; and meta-analysis.
  • Recognize opportunities to align foundation work with that of the parent company.
• Experimenting with different approaches.
  • Try different ways to accomplish a goal and see what resonates. For instance, if your goal is improving access to quality education, you could try funding a charitable organization with a similar mission, awarding scholarships and running Direct Charitable Activities (when a private foundation runs a program or activity by itself rather than relying on a nonprofit to carry it out).
  • Try funding different topic areas within a similar geography and see what has the most meaning to the foundation and the community. For instance, if your goal is to support a particular county, you could simultaneously fund initiatives focused on beautifying public spaces, economic growth and low-income housing to see if one issue gets more traction than another.

No matter how a foundation approaches the process of establishing their initial priorities and focus areas, it’s important to:
• Stay open to learning while you experiment.
• Engage with stakeholders including community members, experts and program beneficiaries to get feedback on program approaches and impact.
• Be willing to pivot and try something new.

As you ponder the possibilities of what your foundation can be, remember that you don’t have to embark on this alone. Foundation Source is here to help guide you and serve as your philanthropic partner.

To learn more about these key takeaways and other valuable insights, listen to the full webinar discussion.

The post Finding Your Path to Impact: Developing Foundation Programs appeared first on Foundation Source.

To ensure continuity of your board, you know that you need a plan in place for members’ retirement— whether they leave as planned (e.g., after decades of service) or unexpectedly (e.g., relocating to a new city). Under any circumstances, a change in board membership can be disruptive. At the very least, others will need to take up the slack. At worst, the departure of an experienced, skilled board member could prove destabilizing, reverberating throughout the foundation and compromising your work.

Rather than scrambling to deal with the fallout of a board member’s departure, it’s clearly preferable to plan for succession, passing on your organization’s institutional knowledge to the next generation of leadership while the experienced members are still actively involved. Other reasons to plan now include:

• The need for training: Successors need competence building so they’re ready to take the reins and keep the foundation efficient at the time of the transition.
• The benefit of the process itself: Planning for succession necessitates an assessment of your current operations and perhaps a more focused discussion of your shared expectations for board membership. What qualifies someone to join your board? Do you have formal criteria for board service?
• The peace of mind: Having an agreed-upon, detailed succession plan assures everyone on the foundation that the next generation of board members will be qualified and well prepared. It also helps new leaders feel legitimated and empowered to carry on the work of the foundation.

Rather than scrambling to deal with the fallout of a board member’s departure, it’s clearly preferable to plan for succession, passing on your organization’s strengths to the next generation of leadership while the experienced members are still actively involved.

Obstacles to Planning

However necessary, succession planning isn’t always easy. The process can expose vulnerabilities and bring long-simmering controversies to the surface, even as it brings a fresh perspective and perhaps even badly needed improvements. Besides these inherent challenges, many foundations have other common obstacles to tackling succession planning:

• If it ain’t broke… Foundation boards that are happy with their current operations may be reluctant to even think about changing their composition. If they’re having a great time working on the foundation, the current members may want to hang on as long as they possibly can.
• The foundation is the “landing pad”: At some foundations, board membership is considered the “second career” for retirees or an alternative career for younger people who don’t join the family business. If board membership is reserved for these members of the family, why devote much thought to training and bringing on the next generation?
• Disengagement: You can’t train the next generation of family if they aren’t interested in and invested in the work of the foundation. Families may need to begin by cultivating their children’s interest in philanthropy and then, as they mature, translating that interest into involvement in the foundation.

Making a Plan

Your foundation might need not just one succession plan, but two: a short-term plan that covers the unexpected loss of key officers (chair, treasurer, etc.) and a long-range plan that covers expected board attrition.

The Short-Term Plan

Let’s pretend that a key member of the foundation is sucked off the face of the earth. Who would take over his or her work? How would the foundation move forward? To help the foundation withstand such a shock to the system, the board may want to designate one or two individuals to temporarily cover in the event that anyone on the board is unable serve. Such a plan might also detail how long these interim replacements will serve until permanent replacements are selected.

Succession planning presents an ideal opportunity for a foundation to assess its current bench of talent, reinforce its strengths, and cultivate its future.

The Long-Term Plan

Succession planning presents an ideal opportunity for a foundation to
assess its current bench of talent, reinforce its strengths, and cultivate its future. Some foundations go so far as to create a year-by-year plan designating who will come off the foundation board and who will come on, taking into account considerations around retirements, term limits, qualifications for service, etc. Getting this specific enables the foundation to coordinate training, mentorships, and planned wind-downs. You might not want or need to be this detailed, but the elements of a successful plan should probably include:

• Self-Assessment: This is an ideal time for the board to undertake a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). What expertise do you already have, and where are the gaps? Your succession plan can name key people to serve as mentors to rising board members, ensuring that current strengths aren’t lost over time. And you can build out your recruitment and training program to address organizational weaknesses. If necessary, you might decide to look outside of the family for new talent that meets important needs, such as professional expertise or special knowledge of a current or proposed funding area.
• Eligibility Requirements: Becoming a board member of a family foundation is a lot like acquiring a position in a family business. It’s an honor, a privilege, and a big responsibility. So, what qualifies someone for board membership? Some boards consider board membership a rite of passage for children and invite the next generation to join when they reach a certain age. Others wait until specific skills or milestones have been achieved, like completing a site visit, attending a specified number of board meetings, or volunteering a certain number of hours.
• Formal Training: In addition to creating training opportunities within the foundation, make sure you prepare rising board members by providing formal training whenever possible. If young people will one day take the reins, consider giving them a chance to learn about philanthropy with their peers, independent of the foundation. Listed below are a number of good training resources devoted to youth philanthropy:
  • 21/64 (www.2164.net) is a nonprofit organization that specializes in intergenerational transitions. They bring young philanthropists together to discuss their family legacies and next-generation issues.
  • Resource Generation (www.resourcegeneration.org) is a network comprised of young people of wealth that provides education and resources to philanthropists and activists with progressive values.
  • The Council on Foundations (www.cof.org) runs next generation retreats for foundation members ages 18 – 35 at its annual family foundation conference.
  • Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (www.epip.org) provides peer support, mentoring and social events for young foundation professionals, foundation trustees, staff at philanthropy support organizations and graduate students studying philanthropy.

A Single-Source Solution

As board membership evolves over time, you might want to consider other options for administering your foundation. By having a provider external to your organization, you’ll ensure continuity and stability during periods of transitions. When seasoned board members or staff depart, you won’t lose key data or momentum; and as new members take their place at the table, important tasks won’t fall between the cracks.

Choosing a provider that offers comprehensive services such as Foundation Source offers an additional slate of benefits. By bringing together the services of attorneys, philanthropic advisors, tax experts, and foundation operations specialists, you can get a convenient, scalable solution for every foundation need in one place. Our online management platform ensures operational transparency and facilitates collaboration, even for members in different area and zip codes. Moreover, since Foundation Source takes care of grant processing, tax preparation, record-keeping, and other time-consuming tasks, you’ll have the bandwidth to focus on your mission.

Although planning for the next generation of foundation leadership can be challenging, it is also an opportunity for organizational growth. In our experience, foundations can emerge from this process with continuity, newfound purpose, and renewed dedication to their philanthropic goals.

The post Succession Planning for Board Members appeared first on Foundation Source.

Challenge:

When we met her, this successful actress already had a private foundation, and she had a good handle on its finances. She didn’t need us to monitor the finances or prepare the foundation’s tax returns, but she did need help organizing her giving. Every time she wanted to review her grantmaking history with the various organizations she supports, she had to comb through files stuffed with acknowledgment letters and receipts. Researching new potential grantees was a hassle and, since she expected her grandkids to take over the foundation in a few years, she wanted to get an organizational system in place that would make it easy for them to take the reins.

Collaboration:

To fund her grantmaking, Foundation Source set up an operating account for the client at Sterling National Bank. Going forward, since all of the grants and qualified expenses would be paid out of this operating account, the actress, her accountant, and anyone else she permits will be able to quickly and easily review the foundation’s transactions. Foundation Source also introduced her to Impactfully, our exclusive “command center” that enables clients to research nonprofit organizations, make grants, and review their grantmaking history from any location, at any time.

Outcome:

The client loves how easy it is to make grants using Impactfully. In fact, it has completely changed the way she gives, helping her track how many times (and how much) she’s given to a specific charity and enabling her to access important information on organizations through sources like Guidestar® and Charity Navigator.TM Moreover, now that the foundation’s house is in order, the actress doesn’t worry about burdening her grandchildren with its day-to-day operations. “Foundation Source has made my life so much easier,” the client says, “It’s a gift from heaven!”

The post Organizing and Informing Giving appeared first on Foundation Source.

DOWNLOAD PDF TO SEE MORE

The post Options for Managing a Private Foundation appeared first on Foundation Source.

As children and grandchildren grow up and move away to different corners of the country or even around the globe, maintaining a viable, effective foundation depends on maintaining family engagement. The foundation will need to ask the following questions to define (or reaffirm) a workable mission that reflects the collective interests and passions of the dispersed family board:

• Should we strictly maintain our original scope and intent? Under this scenario, the dispersed members could take less of an active role while those family members still based in the home community would take the lead. An advantage to this approach is that those family members who choose to serve on the board are fully committed; the obvious disadvantage is that it necessitates letting go of the vision of the foundation as a unifying family enterprise.
• Should we chart a new direction? Geographic dispersal of family members may occasion the need to develop a secondary focus that is not regionally specific. Alternatively, the foundation might expand its existing programs to where the board members now live. Expanding the foundation’s programs to new locations could help inform strategies in the original target community.
• Should we permit discretionary grants? Discretionary grants can keep family members interested in the foundation’s work by providing an opportunity to grant in their home communities or to programs outside the foundation’s primary focus. A key advantage of allowing discretionary grantmaking is that it enables the foundation to extend its reach, contacts, and resources. However, discretionary grants tend to take up increasingly more of the foundation’s funds over time, and could eventually necessitate the foundation to scale back support of its core mission.
  How can we enhance our internal communication?
• Technology can help a board facilitate communication and collaboration, and can be an inducement for younger, tech-savvy members to participate in the foundation. Foundation Source clients have instant access to their foundations from anywhere in the world where there is Internet connectivity by logging in to the private, password-protected website that we provide for them. Our online capability facilitates the flow of information across multiple locales and time zones, providing foundation members with instant access and total transparency into foundation activities.

Moving from Founder-Led to Family-Centered

When the founder is no longer capable of leading the foundation, the board might be ill-prepared to move forward. In many cases, even though there are other family members who serve on the board, they may be accustomed to deferring to the founder’s vision and way of doing business. Without the founder to drive the agenda, the remaining board members are forced to work in a more collaborative manner. To keep the foundation on track, you will need to ask:

• Is the founder’s original philanthropic intent “written in stone” or can we modify it to meet changing circumstances? To answer this question, it’s best to hold a retreat that involves all parties to discuss the next iteration of the foundation. This could be the ideal time to review the foundation’s core mission and evaluate its current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges.
• How can we best work together? When the founder was alive, he or she may have called the shots. Now, everyone’s perspective must be taken into consideration. To avoid becoming derailed by unproductive family dynamics, the foundation will need to develop new rules of engagement, including formal policies and procedures that ensure family members do not step on each other’s toes or work at cross purposes.
• What additional assistance do we need? During a time of transition, some foundations look outside of the family for new talent that meets important needs, such as legal expertise or special knowledge of a proposed funding area. Some foundations will even decide to hire an executive director. To better distribute the workload, some foundations invite close family friends, advisors, or business associates to take on additional tasks. To keep everyone’s eyes on the mission, others outsource these needs to private foundation specialists, like Foundation Source. We handle the foundation’s administrative, tax, and legal burdens, so members can focus on mission.
• Do we need to invest in board training and skill development? To minimize transition deficits, successors may need training and competence-building. To develop a comprehensive board education plan, analyze the type of information board members need to be effective and make sound decisions.

Maintaining a viable, effective foundation depends on maintaining family engagement.

Family Growth

When the founder established the “family foundation,” eligibility requirements were probably abundantly clear. However, as the family grows and changes through marriage, births, adoptions, divorce, re-marriages, etc., questions arise.

• How do we define “family”? Do spouses qualify for board membership? In the event of divorce, are they expected to resign, or do they continue to serve? Do step-children have the same standing as direct descendants? What about children from a former marriage?
• What are the implications for governance? If foundation membership swells beyond original expectations, there are both positive and negative repercussions. Although the foundation’s bandwidth might improve (the saying, “many hands make light work,” comes to mind), it will also take more of an effort to coordinate everyone’s efforts. Moreover, inviting more perspectives and opinions might lead to squabbles that impair the foundation’s efficacy (“too many cooks spoil the broth”). For these reasons, even foundations that have plenty of manpower look for ways to utilize their members’ time more effectively.
• What are the implications for grantmaking? When more people are controlling the disbursement of the grant funds, it might be difficult to please everyone—let alone arrive at some degree of consensus. And, if the foundation allows discretionary grantmaking, dividing the pot among a larger number of family members means everyone will have less to give away. To address these conundrums, the foundation will need to come to agreement on its decision-making model. Will grantmaking decisions be made by a single leader, majority vote, or consensus? If the foundation historically did not allow discretionary grantmaking, will that change? If so, what percentage of its budget will be allocated to programmatic and discretionary grants?

If foundation membership swells beyond original expectations, there are both positive and negative repercussions.

Retirement of a Trusted Family Advisor or Key Staff Member

Many foundation boards worry that operations will be crippled by the departure of a long-time foundation advisor or staff member. Whether it’s an executive director, accountant, attorney, or administrative assistant, the expertise and familiarity gained by performing a key role year after year seems almost impossible to replace. Here are some considerations as you determine how to meet the foundation’s needs going forward:

What are our available options? Before you rush to find a replacement for the advisor or staff member, take the time to assess the foundation’s current needs and gaps in skills. After determining the type of support you need, research the various available staffing options, which could include redeploying internal talent, hiring a salaried employee, or outsourcing some of these functions to a foundation management firm.
Do we have untapped internal talent? Some foundations use this period to encourage members to take on new responsibilities, such as undertaking due diligence review of grantees. When members try out new roles during a period of transition, the results can reveal a wealth of information about family members’ level of interest and potential to lead the foundation in new capacities.

It may seem impossible to replace a key advisor or staff member, but assessing the foundation’s current needs along with available resources may reveal viable solutions.

Bringing the Next Generation Onto the Foundation

To ensure the future of the foundation, there are two necessary conditions: The older generation must be willing to give up some control, and the next generation must be both enthusiastic about the foundation’s mission and prepared to advance it. Accommodating the needs and interests of both constituencies can challenge the equilibrium and efficacy of the foundation. Younger members can reinvigorate the foundation, but their creativity and new ideas must be grounded in an understanding of the foundation’s legacy. You can assess your foundation’s next-generation engagement efforts with these questions:

• Should board membership be assumed or earned? The process by which new board members are invited is very important in cultivating enthusiasm. Like most of us, young people tend to prize that which is difficult to win. That’s why many families wait until specific milestones have been achieved, like attending a specified number of board meetings or volunteering a certain number of hours, before inviting a young person to join the board. Whether board membership is earned based on ability, interest, or commitment, or simply conferred when the young person reaches a specific age, celebrate it as an important event that the next generation eagerly anticipates.
• Are we open to trying new philanthropic strategies? With “philanthropreneurs” such as Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates as their models, many next-generation foundation members are inspired by an entrepreneurial approach to giving. If the foundation has always made straightforward grants to public charities, new approaches, such as program-related investments, grants to individuals, and direct charitable activities might fire their imagination and enthusiasm. Because Foundation Source supports these and other advanced giving strategies, our clients are able to experiment with new grantmaking techniques for accomplishing their missions without exposing themselves
  to compliance violations.
• Do we provide opportunities to practice informed grantmaking? You can teach the basics of grantmaking, including how to find and vet grantees, by encouraging children to shadow board members. Older children might even be allowed to do some supervised grantmaking of their own. Foundation Source clients use our online Grant Certificates to enable young people not officially on the foundation to make grants up to a specified limit to organizations of their choice. And, to introduce teens to board service, many foundations establish a junior board with its own projects, site visits, and meetings. Some junior boards are given their own funds and permitted to develop and define their own mission; others are asked to present their grant recommendations to the foundation board for final approval. Either way, this is a wonderful way to introduce the next generation to the foundation’s processes for making its funding decisions.
• Should experienced board members serve as mentors? To prepare the next generation for board duties, many families institute an extended apprenticeship program, pairing young people with more experienced board members to act as mentors. The mentors can teach their successors- in-training about the foundation and its work while helping them to explore how their unique contributions can enliven and invigorate the foundation.
• Are we engaging them on the right subject? Don’t assume that grantmaking is the only topic of interest to new members. Very often, young adults are also interested in the foundation’s finances. (Impact investing is especially popular right now.) Letting young adults see how assets are managed and talking to them about the board’s fiscal goals can be powerful tools for engagement as well as an entry point for teaching financial basics.
• How are we engaging the passions of our younger members? Engagement needn’t be a one-way street. Although you certainly want younger members to understand and commit to the core mission of the foundation, providing a small amount of money in the form of discretionary funds offers the opportunity for young adults to connect grantmaking to their own interests. Having their own funds to contribute not only teaches them how to make grants, but also generates new program ideas for the foundation. Foundation Source makes discretionary granting easy. Young people can make grants online from any locale up to their allotted amount. As soon as they’ve reached their discretionary limit, they’re automatically prevented from granting any more.

Younger members can reinvigorate the foundation but their ideas must be grounded in an understanding of the foundation’s legacy.

Sudden Growth of Foundation Assets

When a foundation experiences rapid growth, such as when it becomes the beneficiary of a bequest or upon the sale of a family business, the amount that the foundation is required to distribute each year will also grow. Although the increased payout requirement does not take effect until the completion of the next fiscal year, the foundation will need to bring its grantmaking and operations in line with its larger endowment. To do so in an organized fashion, the board will need to answer these questions:

• What do we want to accomplish as a foundation? This is an ideal moment to reflect on the foundation’s history and perhaps dream a little bigger. To ground your aspirations and test their feasibility, you may want to convene funders who are already working in your new areas of interest.
• How do we expand our scope? Some foundations choose to deepen their areas of interest. For example, a foundation that focuses on housing the homeless might decide to direct more funding to the root causes of the problem. To see where the foundation would get the biggest return for its grant dollars, you might want to hire an outside expert to undertake a “field scan” to reveal who else is working on the issue, their successes and failures, gaps in funding, and what is known/unknown about the problem.
• Do we want to start accepting external requests for support? To meet an increased distribution requirement, a foundation that formerly did not consider outside requests for funding may decide to open up its process to a wider audience. Developing funding guidelines and a formal application process enable foundation members to receive ideas from a wider range of organizations.
• How will we increase capacity without adding too much overhead? More assets and increased grantmaking may necessitate more work than volunteer board members can undertake. If the workload becomes onerous, consider entrusting the administration to a foundation management company. Outsourcing can reduce busywork, allowing everyone on the foundation to spend more time where it counts—on effective, innovative philanthropy.

You might want to hire an outside expert to undertake a “field scan” in your proposed area of interest.

We Can Help

No matter what your foundation’s turning point, Foundation Source has the resources and experience to support it. We’ve brought together the services of attorneys, philanthropic advisors, tax experts, foundation operations specialists, and client advisors all under one roof, and coordinated them so you can get everything you need to manage your foundation in just one phone call.

And because we adapt our services to fit your evolving needs, you can count on your partnership with Foundation Source to last for years to come. As you evolve and change, you’ll never misplace key data, lose momentum, or endure growing pains during transitions. Whatever comes, we’re a constant, steadying presence that can help your foundation maintain its efficacy throughout its life cycle.

1. Contact Foundation Source

Once you have identified a prospect, contact your regional Foundation Source Managing Director, or call 800.839.0054. We’ll help you evaluate the client’s needs, determine what services are appropriate, create a custom proposal, and outline next steps.

2. Schedule a Follow-up Meeting

You may want to schedule a follow-up meeting to introduce Foundation Source to the client or prospect. We’ll work closely with you on any required follow-up activities.

3. Complete Our Services Agreement

Once there is interest in moving forward, we’ll prepare an agreement for the client’s execution. We’ll work with you and the client to get the foundation up and running on our platform.

DOWNLOAD PDF TO SEE MORE

The post Foundation Transitions appeared first on Foundation Source.

We’ve seen lots of do-it-yourself systems for managing foundation grants and tracking activities, from Excel spreadsheets to manila folders crammed with paper. None can compare to Impactfully, our exclusive, online platform created from the ground up for the unique needs of private foundations.

You can use this award-winning, customizable web platform from any Internet-enabled device to easily view investment balances, research charities and make grants, keep tabs on philanthropic activity, and collaborate with foundation members—even those who live in different area codes and time zones. Powerful security features let you custom-tailor access and granting rights for each foundation member while controlling what he or she can see and do online. And the flexible reports library lets you drill down into foundation details to clearly understand foundation activities.

WITH FOUNDATION SOURCE, YOU GET SOPHISTICATION, RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY RESERVED FOR ONLY A HANDFUL OF THE LARGEST, PROFESSIONALLY STAFFED FOUNDATIONS

3. Get top-flight foundation support on call, not on staff.

Because Foundation Source becomes your virtual staff, you can achieve powerful philanthropy without bureaucracy or overhead. Working with private foundations is our only business, and we’ve assembled a team of private foundation specialists you’d be hard-pressed to replicate: foundation administrators, compliance experts, philanthropic advisors, foundation tax preparers, and technology support. And because everything is taken care of in one place, you can tap into all of this expertise just by calling your dedicated Private Client Advisor.

4. You (and your attorney) will sleep better at night.

You didn’t start your foundation because you wanted to become an expert in the Internal Revenue Code. But as any judge will tell you, “ignorance of the law is no excuse” when facing penalties for violations. With Foundation Source providing active compliance monitoring, you can rest easy.

You get the best talent in the country watching over your foundation. Our outstanding tax and legal staff monitor your foundation’s transactions and flag potential problems before they rise to the level of compliance violations.

5. You get access to veteran philanthropic experts.

Need help from time to time but don’t have the time or desire for a drawn-out consulting engagement?
Not sure where to get reliable, informed advice? Foundation Source has the most effective, least expensive, and most flexible way to access the expertise you need. We’ve done the vetting for you, hiring veterans in the philanthropic field who have experience in large foundations, small foundations and nonprofits. They’re at your service to provide top-tier philanthropic advice when and as you need it, whether you want an answer to a quick question, help developing a strategy or guidance for navigating turning points in your foundation’s life cycle.

6. You can unleash the full power of your foundation.

The IRS allows private foundations wide latitude to do a host of things you simply can’t do with any other charitable vehicle. And while writing grant checks to nonprofits will always be the cornerstone of foundation giving, some funders want to go beyond the simple transfer of funds to 501(c)(3) organizations.

Foundation Source offers services that can support even the most ambitious and imaginative philanthropy, making it easy to employ every IRS-sanctioned option available to your foundation: grants to individuals, program-related investments, direct charitable activities, etc. Whether you want to support an orphanage in India, loan funds to help a museum construct a new wing or run your own coat and mitten drive, Foundation Source can help you leverage your foundation’s full capabilities without running afoul of IRS regulations.

7. You can keep off the IRS radar with properly prepared 990-PF tax returns.

When having heart bypass surgery, you want a specialist who has successfully performed the procedure a thousand times before. And while your private foundation’s annual 990-PF tax return is not a life or death matter, it’s in your foundation’s best interest to seek out experts who know the ins and outs of this specialized filing.

Unfortunately, not every foundation receives this level of care. When we take over the administration of an existing foundation, the first thing we do is review its past 990-PF returns. It’s unfortunate how often we find returns with issues, ranging from minor to significant.

At Foundation Source, we complete over a thousand 990-PFs each year, as well as quarterly excise tax filings, state filings, and every other state and federal filing required for private foundations.

8. You can significantly reduce your foundation’s tax bill.

Any CPA can help you implement strategies to reduce your personal tax bill, but you need special expertise to achieve the same for your foundation.

We undertake strategic year-end data mining to help clients avoid tax penalties, and we proactively identify opportunities for clients to obtain tax refunds on an ongoing basis—not just whenever a filing is due. Recently, we helped a client receive a $110,000 refund; another received $80,000. And because of our in-depth knowledge of foundation tax law and IRS regulations, we often help new clients abate IRS penalties assessed in connection with a prior accountant or due to their own missteps.

9. You become part of the Foundation Source family of over 2,000 private foundations.

Many foundations operate outside of organized philanthropy, making it difficult to connect with and learn from their peers. As a Foundation Source client, you join a ready-made community of more than 2,000 foundations of all sizes from coast to coast. We can facilitate introductions to clients working in your areas of interest. You’ll also have access to informative webinars and in-person client events where you can network and share ideas and best practices.

10. You get a sustainable solution for foundation operations.

When you partner with Foundation Source, your foundation gains a solid infrastructure that supports your foundation today and will be there for the next generation when you’re ready to transfer leadership. As you evolve and change, our wide array of services adapt to fit your needs, so you’ll never misplace key data, lose momentum or endure growing pains during staff and board transitions. Whatever comes, we’re a constant, steadying presence that can help your foundation maintain its efficacy throughout its life cycle.

The post Your Foundation, Only Better appeared first on Foundation Source.