Resources You Can Use
Sign on: Public Statement to Protect Our Freedom to Give
Our charitable sector contributes to communities in every corner of America. As we face the threat of governmental attacks on our ability to carry out this vital mission when the communities, organizations, and individuals we support need it most, we must stand together to protect philanthropy.
We encourage you to sign on to our public statement from the sector and join nearly 700 philanthropy organizations that are coming together to protect our freedom to give, including community foundations in every region of the country.
Legal Question of the Month with Staff Counsel Remy Barnwell
Question: Our fund agreements all include variance language but recently, a nonprofit museum (with multiple funds and significant assets invested in our community foundation) shared reservations about our ability to redirect the use of their funds. It made me wonder if variance language is necessary on agency pass-thru funds which appear as a liability on our books and an asset to the nonprofit.
Answer: Your community foundation should have variance power language on all funds that it holds, even agency funds. Although the agency (like the nonprofit museum in this case) creates the fund and the assets will ultimately be redistributed to the agency, the assets are the legal property of your community foundation. Variance power is only appropriately used where the circumstances surrounding the original gift have changed. Members may find it helpful to review this chapter of our Mastering Foundation Law resource. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any follow up questions.
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.
.png?upscale=true&width=118&height=118&upscale=true&name=Highlighter--Streamline-Core%20(2).png)
CF Insights Highlight
Missed our webinar discussing the latest CF Insights Survey findings? Watch the recording!
Last month, the Council’s Senior Advisor for Community Philanthropy Dave Rosado hosted a webinar to discuss the latest findings from the CF Insights Annual Survey for FY2023, including how the field’s total grantmaking outpaced fundraising for the first time since CF Insights began collecting the data. He was also joined by Courtney Bengston, the Wichita Foundation’s Chief Strategy Officer, to share concrete examples of how her organization utilized CF Insights benchmarking data to make informed decisions about their operations. The recording of that webinar is available on the Council’s website.
If your community foundation has an active Plus Membership, log in to the CF Insights benchmarking platform today or email cfinsights@cof.org for support. If you’re interested in learning more about Plus Membership or CF Insights, visit cof.org/cfinsights, or email cfinsights@cof.org to set up a call to receive a guided tour.
Take the 2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey
The 2025 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits (GSB) Survey closes next week on May 29! We need your participation to ensure the GSB Report remains the most comprehensive guide to compensation and benefits information for philanthropic organizations in the U.S. Plus, participants receive early access to GSB data and a free copy of the report in the fall.
Join hundreds of fellow community foundations in supporting our sector by taking the survey.
Philanthropy Exchange Conversations for You
News Articles
Upcoming Events
New Member Spotlight
