Foundations

The online world is full of anonymous opinions: Diners review restaurants, students rate professors, patients evaluate doctors. Now fundraisers are getting their turn. A new website, Inside Philanthropy, is asking them to “Speak Truth to Money” and say what they really think about foundations, program officers and philanthropists.

The anonymous-ratings feature is part of a broader effort by the online venture’s founder, David Callahan, to penetrate philanthropy’s inner sanctums.

While giving to most charities has remained largely flat in recent years, contributions to donor-advised funds are growing at eye-popping double-digit rates. What this explosion means for the nonprofit world is the subject of growing debate. As the debates about donor-advised funds grow more intense, it’s worth looking closely at five of the myths that their proponents like to advance when anyone suggests that it’s time to require the funds to distribute a minimum sum, and to examine what’s wrong with their arguments.

Many individuals typically believe foundation giving is a numbers game. Just send a proposal to many foundations and somehow you will be magically awarded funds. In this day and age, that is not how the process works. You need to build relationships, educate foundation staff and align your organizational priorities with foundation priorities. It is a long-term process that helps you better understand your organization.

In my decades of running charitable foundations, I read tens of thousands of proposals. Many share the same characteristics I'll touch on below.

Since nearly all foundations are required to disburse some of their funds each year, grants are always made — to someone. Over the years, grant-seekers have asked me how they can increase their chances of being among the ones chosen.

Here are answers to the questions I'm most often asked …

Foundation Source shares key findings from a recent survey of private foundation donors. Issued earlier this month to its 1,100 private foundation clients, the survey collected feedback from donors about their beliefs and perceptions about some of philanthropy’s current “hot-button” issues.

Results were derived from 198 respondents, the majority of whom have private foundations with less than $50 million in assets. Foundations of this size account for 98 percent of the approximately 86,000 private foundations in the U.S.

As any grant writer or development professional knows, it's not easy to get a funder to actually sit at the table. Here are a few tips designed to help you demonstrate to potential first-time funders that your project or program merits their support: Craft a strong needs statement. Don't forget letters of support. Don't hide your volunteers under a bushel. Show you have broad support in the community. Solicit matching grants. Be happy with small grants. Cast a wide net.

Ted Hart speaks with Patricia Pasqual, director of the Foundation Center's Washington, D.C., office, about foundation giving.

Nearly half of nonprofit leaders say their foundation supporters are blind to the biggest challenges charities face and could do more to help them meet rising demand for services, train leaders and deploy new technology, according to a poll released this week.

In a survey of 121 nonprofit leaders, the Center for Effective Philanthropy says it found that only 52 percent “believe their foundation funders are aware of the various challenges their organizations face.”

The needs and pressure for additional private dollars for public school foundations are great. The days of a single operational focus for a public school foundation are over. Make every constituency own philanthropy, and seek to broaden your impact. The teachers and children are waiting.

The Foundation Center has released new reports that examine the payout practices and spending patterns of more than 1,000 larger U.S. independent foundations. Understanding and Benchmarking Foundation Payout explains the concept of payout, which refers to the total amount that a foundation reports as its charitable distribution. Benchmarking Foundation Administrative Expenses: Update on How Operating Characteristics Affect Spending considers how differences in foundations’ infrastructure, operations, and programmatic activities influence their spending patterns.