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The Benefits of Trustee Diversity
The Valentine Foundation actively recruits diverse trustees to serve on the board, make grants and oversee all aspects of the foundation’s mission. Phoebe Valentine inherited her wealth from Smith Kline Pharmaceuticals. When she was in her late 40s, Phoebe received a dire cancer diagnosis and decided to mobilize her wealth to help others. The first... Read More
Pivoting Through COVID-19: Portfolio Alignment for Foundations
In 2020, the pandemic upended our daily lives and the philanthropic landscape. But the Claire Friedlander Family Foundation‘s board saw this crisis as an opportunity to transform their giving, investment focus and protocol — proactively aligning the assets of the foundation with its mission. The pandemic and ensuing hardships gave the board the impetus to... Read More
How We Help Black Business Enterprises Access Capital To Grow and Thrive
Having a thriving economy throughout New Jersey is essential to our mission of helping working families achieve financial stability, healthy relationships and hope. Access to jobs that pay a steady, living wage is part of the system we want to help bring about. Nurturing businesses and entrepreneurs in equitable ways is something we embrace—and it’s... Read More
Making a Little Go Far: How We Spark Economic Renewal in Our Rural Community
Our small foundation is among the few private funders in our rural area of Northeastern Colorado. We look for ways to make the most of our dollars, relationships and knowledge to serve our community. For example, we support local economic development directly by giving grants to and partnering with our local economic development agency. And... Read More
Lean Funders Reflect on 2020 and Race Equity
Last year was riddled with loss. The pandemic changed how many funders practice philanthropy; and the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black, Indigenous and people of color by police—and the ensuing protests—put race equity front and center for many funders. While some lean funders had already integrated race equity into their work,... Read More
Best Practices for Virtual Foundation Board Meetings
The idea of virtual board meetings has been around since conference calls first began. However, these often were only used as a last resort and gave way to board retreat weekends filled with activities, catered meals and a focus on community building. The goal of these activities is to help form strong relationships to help... Read More