--- title: Community Philanthropy Update - October 2024 --- Our new report on connecting and collaborating across differences can help you fight toxic polarization in your community pre- and post-election. | | | --- | | | | --- | | 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% of these surveyed foundations 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:  Share a session idea for next year’s Leading Locally conference by October 21.  Celebrate Community Foundation Week (November 12-18) with our collection of resources that can help you tell your story.  Best, Natalie Ross Vice President of Membership, Development, and Finance natalie.ross@cof.org | | --- | | 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 able to send their questions to our legal team for expert advice and analysis. You can take advantage of this member benefit by becoming a member today. 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! 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. View this email as a web page. | | --- | | Shared purpose. Collective voice. Greater impact. Council on Foundations \| 1255 23rd Street NW, Suite 200  \| Washington,  DC  20037 You received this email because you are subscribed to receive emails from the Council on Foundations. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. View our Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe from all future emails. | | --- | | | | --- |