Private Foundation

Foundations think they're doing the right thing by requiring grantees to form partnerships with each other. There are, however, two sides to every story, and grantees share their stories of frustration here.

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The president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors discusses what's on the minds of the people who control philanthropy's purse strings.

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   15 Minutes with Melissa Berman (238Kb)

This article looks at the delicate relationship between non-profits and donors. It stresses the responsibility for honest and efficient communication and examines a new breed of donors who consider themselves investors and seek much more information in the non profits they fund.

Available free from the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

This article takes a look at strategic or effective philanthropy—funding which actively seeks to efficiently achieve a donor's goals—and assesses some ways in which strategic philanthropy is structured.

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   Smart Money (3.35Mb)

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   Gifts of the Muse (1Mb)

Council on Foundations Annual Conference, May 1, 2001

Craig McGarvey, The James Irvine Foundation

From a position of received privilege, how should one behave so that it might be put to productive use as people are learning to get better at their work? This is a central question facing philanthropy, and it figured centrally in preparations for today. How to say something appropriate and helpful under such extraordinary circumstances?

There was the problem that no single foundation's body of work could possibly measure up to being singled out.

Like well-meaning rich aunts, foundations are full of advice for nonprofit organizations and their leaders. From positions of relative financial security and isolated from the risks and challenges confronting most nonprofit executive directors, foundation leaders and program officers issue a constant stream of admonitions: Focus on finding dependable sources of income. Produce measurable results. Evaluate whether you are making a difference. Be strategic, not opportunistic. Build diverse boards. Spend more time on advocacy. Collaborate with other organizations.

Native America at the new Millennium is a Ford Foundation-funded collaboration by the Harvard Project, Native Nations Institute, and First Nations Development Institute that serves as a primer on contemporary American Indian affairs. NANM addresses topics as wide-ranging as tribal government, non-profit organizations, political activism, economic development, housing, welfare, health, arts, and media.

First Nations Development Institute and Native Americans in Philanthropy convened a group of Native philanthropic leaders in Minneapolis/St. Paul on September 14 2005, to discuss how we can better support the development of Native foundations and Native philanthropy. The objective of this meeting was to provide insight and input into the design and implementation of a structure to support the further development of Native foundations and Native philanthropy through technical assistance, advocacy and research.

This report presents key findings from a study of large foundations' giving to Native American causes and concerns. It addresses the real dollar value of grantmaking from 1989-2002, top donors and top recipients, and the general purposes to which grants are targeted. The pamphlet concludes with a discussion of what the data imply (and in particular, what action they ought to motivate) for foundations, Native-serving nonprofits, and tribal governments.