Exponent Philanthropy



Top Resources for Philanthropists with Few or No Staff

FavoriteBy: Exponent Philanthropy  Across the country, tens of thousands of foundations, giving circle members, donor advised fund holders, and individual donors are intentionally keeping their operations lean and their ears to the ground. These lean funders seek to nimbly maneuver their dollars, skills, and influence to achieve the most good. At Exponent Philanthropy, we’re dedicated to serving funders who choose to give big with few or no staff. We’re pleased to share the following top resources from our shop and trusted colleague organizations. Get up to speed If you are new to philanthropy or in need of a refresher, turn Read more





Ramping Up for High-Impact Philanthropy Toolkit

FavoriteThis toolkit is for seasoned donors, donor advised fund holders, foundation trustees, and staff who are taking steps to significantly ramp up the impact of their giving. No longer content with just “making good grants” or “doing good things for the community,” you have taken a fresh look at your goals, strategies, and outcomes and decided that you could do things differently to achieve even more. We all know that setting bolder, bigger goals for impact is only step one. Implementing strategies and achieving these goals typically involves a winding path full of experiments, iterations, and obstacles. This toolkit is Read more





Great Funder–Nonprofit Relationships Toolkit

FavoriteThis toolkit is designed to help funders recognize the aspects of great relationships with your nonprofit partners, assess competencies, and consider ways to improve how to work with one another. Many ideas in this toolkit were generated by funders and nonprofits during a series of half-day programs around the country, hosted in partnership with the National Council of Nonprofits and with funding from the Fund for Shared Insight. This simple tool walks through: The hallmarks of great relationships. A self-diagnostic that can help you identify opportunities for improvement. Two key skills that can improve relationships in any given area. In this resource, you’ll also Read more





The Foundation Guidebook: For New Foundations and Those New to Philanthropy

FavoriteThe Foundation Guidebook provides the baseline knowledge you need for running a foundation and get to the really important work of making a difference. You’ll learn how to build a foundation through thoughtful design and careful construction. Recognizing, though, that you have a lot to do in too little time, this guidebook focuses on practical ways to get the job done simply.





Foundations 101 Virtual Seminar

FavoriteGet up to speed on foundation essentials with this series of virtual seminars on the key components of running a foundation: getting started, governance basics, legal issues, grantmaking, and investments. Learn the basics about the importance and the impact of each facet of foundation operations and come away with usable tips. Participants are encouraged to purchase the Foundation Guidebook to complement their learning experience. Series Schedule May 2: Getting Started May 16: Governance Basics May 30: Legal Basics June 13: Investment Management Over June 27: Grantmaking Basics





2018 Foundation Operations and Management Report

FavoriteThe 2018 Foundation Operations and Management Report is based on the 17th operations and management survey of members of Exponent Philanthropy that was fielded in summer 2017. The 2018 edition of our flagship report includes mission-critical statistics about member foundations’ boards and governance, investments, administration, and grantmaking. It also includes the latest benchmarking data on salary and benefits.