1: MEMBERSHIP VALUE
Allocate resources in ways that best support essential services to customers Other Information:
The Council on Foundations offers its members and the field of organized philanthropy the opportunity to learn, practice effectively
and take pride in philanthropy’s contribution to a better life for people and communities across our country and beyond. The
Council’s role is based on the strength of its members’ collective voices and actions. Through its membership, the Council
stands for principles of stewardship, accountability and effectiveness. Collectively, we must continually earn the public
trust and maintain the supportive policy environment in which we can do our best work. This framework defines the Council’s
primary customers as its members and potential members. The criteria for membership will change as additional forms of organized
philanthropy are developed. The Council will continue to ensure that its primary customers receive a range of highquality
and pertinent services, so there are clear advantages of membership to both current and future members. The Council will supply
more meaningful knowledge, skills and tools for determining and meeting higher levels of effective philanthropy and for demonstrating
accountability, both directly and through partnerships with other infrastructure organizations. As a philanthropic leader,
the Council also will promote and preserve the ability of its members and potential members to work in a policy environment
that allows them to provide and demonstrate societal value—a service that provides the roots from which effective philanthropy
flows. The Council will allocate resources in ways that best support essential services to customers. This may entail developing
new kinds of partnerships with other infrastructure organizations to have a more coherent and rational system of supports
for organized philanthropy, and to judiciously avoid duplication of costs or roles. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION WITH A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
As an association of members primarily from across the United States that is networked with colleague organizations, the Council
benefits from a broad perspective from which to take actions that benefit organized philanthropy as a whole.We do so with
a voice and efficiency that draws on our members’ combined resources. The Council’s efforts on the policy climate and on standards
and accountability are specifically applicable within the United States, as similar efforts in other countries are tailored
to their own policy and societal environments. The Council concentrates primarily on serving U.S.-based organized philanthropy,
including providing support for those United States organizations that give internationally. However, we recognize the importance
of being a participant in the global arena, and we will continue to welcome members from outside the United States, be a resource
for building philanthropic capacity in other countries and provide guidance for requests related to international grantmaking.
We also will continue to learn from philanthropic efforts internationally and will coordinate with philanthropic support organizations
in other countries and share their ideas with our members. Such work will keep us grounded in the global perspectives that
shape how decisions are made in the face of increasing globalization. LEADERSHIP FOCUS Since 1949, the Council on Foundations
has promoted responsible and effective philanthropy and served as a common voice for the shared needs of its members and the
organized philanthropic field. During the past decade, we have encouraged our own organization, our members and our field
to embrace inclusivity and diversity in their many forms as fundamental aspects of the responsibility and effectiveness of
organized philanthropy. These core roles remain central to the Council’s future. However, in order to address today’s challenges
and convert them to opportunities, the Council must alter the way it determines and carries out its leadership roles. As the
legislative and regulatory interest in accountability continues, and as new challenges to the vitality of the field appear,
the Council needs to alert its members to threats and opportunities, help members determine how they will take their own positions,
be prepared to take principled stands and vigorous action if needed, and embrace rather than avoid controversial issues. Supporting
a favorable regulatory environment (“protecting the franchise”) is the Council’s top priority. Accordingly, the Council needs
to become a stronger advocacy organization that is vigilant and proactive. It is well positioned to be extremely effective
with legislators and regulators and to be a stronger advocate for the field. In the future, the Council could initiate as
well as support legislation. This significant change in role means that the Council will not always have the luxury of vetting
issues to the point of complete consensus. As a leader, the Council will need to communicate with and consult its members,
and know the “pulse” of the field. However, in the end, the Council will need to make decisions and select compromises that
maximize the value of philanthropy and the “greater good.” It may be advantageous for the Council to partner on legislative
and regulatory matters with other entities in the nonprofit sector, beyond those that have been its partners in the past.
The Council on Foundations will focus its resources and leadership on matters essential to the vitality of organized philanthropy
within three primary functions.
Objective(s):
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