--- title: Community Philanthropy Update - May 2025 --- Our Center for Community Foundations continues to add expertise with our incoming Chair and Vice Chair of our Advisory Group. | | | --- | | | | --- | | Greetings Friend, When the Council reconvened its Community Foundation Advisory Group in 2023, it welcomed two exceptional leaders — Heather Peeler (ACT for Alexandria) and Kristi Knous (Community Foundation for Greater Des Moines) — to shape the group’s priorities and advance the Council’s support for community foundations across the field. With deep appreciation for their contributions, we are honored and excited to step in as the incoming Chair and Vice Chair of the Advisory Group for the Council’s Center for Community Foundations. We look forward to building on their momentum and continuing to strengthen this vital work in service of community foundations nationwide. We recognize that we are stepping into these roles while the sector continues to navigate a uniquely challenging, uncertain moment. It’s more critical than ever that community foundations lean into our collaborative nature by continuing to learn from and listen to each other. For the Advisory Group, that means ensuring that the work we do meets the varied, evolving needs of the broader field while reflecting its diverse perspectives. We will work to apply that lens to discussions on issues, including the role community foundations play in creating connections across differences, navigating the evolving policy environment, and the community foundation business model, to name a few. After welcoming five new members, the Advisory Group now includes community foundation leaders from 20 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We look forward to engaging with each other, and the Council team, to elevate the critical work of community foundations across the country. In partnership, Mike Parks President, The Dayton Foundation Chair, Advisory Group for the Center for Community Foundations Simeon Banister President and CEO, Rochester Area Community Foundation Vice Chair, Advisory Group for the Center for Community Foundations | | --- | | Upcoming Events Leading Across Differences - May Peer Learning Circle May 28 \| Virtual \| Peer Event CF Insights Office Hours - May 2025 May 28 \| Virtual \| Peer Event Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - May Peer Learning Circle May 29 \| Virtual \| Peer Event HR Philanthropy Collaborative June 4 \| Virtual \| Peer Event Legal Matters for Community Foundations - In-Person - June 2025 June 9 \| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN \| Sector Event Leading Locally 2025 June 10-12, 2025 \| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN \| Sector Event Community Foundation Donor Services - June Meet-Up June 18 \| Virtual \| Peer Event Member Policy Briefing: Midsize Community Foundations - June Meeting June 26 \| Virtual \| Peer Event Community Foundation Excellence (CFE) Fundamentals Course - Virtual August 12, 14, 19, 21\| Virtual \| Training | | --- | | New Member Spotlight Welcome to the community foundations that have joined as new Council members since our last newsletter! We're excited to have Bainbridge Community Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Foundation for the Mid South, Lake County Community Fund, Three Lakes Community Foundation, and Western Colorado Community Foundation, as new members. | | --- | | 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. 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 Key Performance Indicators Inactive DAFs Policy - number of attempts to contact inactive fundholders? When is project Fiscal Sponsorship vs Designated Fund? News Articles The NonProfit Times: Guessing Game: 79% Of DAF Gifts Are Partially Anonymous The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Community Lenders Fear Tightening of Credit With Trump Cuts The NonProfit Times: Voters, Red And Blue, Want Nonprofits Left Alone Grist: After disasters, AmeriCorps was everywhere. What happens when it’s gone? | | --- | | | | --- | | 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. | | --- | | | | --- |