US/UK/Canada

Share

About Us

Established in 1956, Foundation Center is the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide.

Quotes

Philanthropy can no longer rely on a system that was based on a world of the past. The question now is, how will the activities, policies, and values need to change among those who are using private resources for the public good?
Lucy Bernholz, Visiting Scholar, Stanford University’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society
The forward-thinking ideas in Blueprint resonate with me. For example, as Foundation Center automates more and more of our data collection, it both compels us to think differently about how we deploy our staff resources and also presents new possibilities for what we're able to do with data.
Jake Garcia, Vice President for Data and Technology Strategy, Foundation Center
Preparing and responding to disasters is an enormously challenging task that no single organization or sector can accomplish on its own. These resources help foundations understand where their contributions fit within the mosaic of funding in order to maximize impact and avoid duplication and imbalances.
Robert G. Ottenhoff, President and CEO, Center for Disaster Philanthropy
The importance of this data in learning about the practices of funders cannot be underestimated. Ultimately, if we can provide knowledge that leads to strategic decision making, it will increase the effectiveness of disaster-related giving.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
More and more funders are starting to realize that indigenous communities are not only cost-effective partners, but also bring long-lasting impact to programs.
Evelyn Arce, Executive Director, International Funders for Indigenous Peoples
Funders driven to make a dent in persistent issues need to learn from what others have done, and how they have done it. For those seeking to understand how partnering with indigenous populations can advance mutual goals, this guide will get you on the right track.
Jen Bokoff, Director of GrantCraft, Foundation Center
Governments alone cannot address the critical challenges of sustainable development, nor can we expect philanthropy to achieve its maximum potential operating in isolation. The SDG Platform for Philanthropy will create the linkages necessary to achieve the SDGs, and, ultimately, a more just and equitable society.
Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
With SDGfunders.org, we have a real opportunity to start the SDG process with strong baseline data, track the investment of philanthropy and the global community, and take on the difficult challenge of measuring true progress.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
From Brazil to the Netherlands, grantmakers are using this new knowledge to inform their work. Whether they are trying to better understand funding flows for ending gender-based violence, identify peer donors supporting human rights in the Caribbean, or leverage additional resources to support people with disabilities, this research helps them find partners, understand the landscape, and be more strategic.
Mona Chun, Executive Director, International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG)
Each year more human rights funders conclude that their effectiveness depends upon understanding the interests and priorities of their peers. Foundations that understand the full landscape of human rights grantmaking will have the advantage in helping to bring about a more just world.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
Discussions like these are essential to increase awareness of the ways in which we can leverage the skills and talent of the philanthropic sector in support of the SDGs. Philanthropists will play an increasingly important and complementary role in supporting SDG implementation and we aim to maximize this through building a Platform for collective action.
Marcos Neto, Manager, Private Sector and Foundations Team, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Philanthropy has long been an engine for positive social change worldwide. The activities of the Partnership Platform serve to advance the common goals of foundations, NGOs, and governments through sharing and collaboration.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has been investing in water projects in Ghana for over 25 years. With the vision provided by SDG 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) our foundation sees an opportunity to leverage its future investments with other partners to finally achieve this goal, and hopefully earlier than 2030.
Edmund Cain, Vice President for Grant Programs, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Effective partnership and resources mobilization are needed for the financing of the Sustainable Development Goals. Philanthropy can be the new and emerging partner to leverage its position and contributions to bring along other nongovernmental actors to engage in financing equitable and sustainable development.
Christine Evans-Klock, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Ghana
As philanthropy grows worldwide, so can its role in this effort to solve the globe's most challenging problems. The Partnership Platform will be enormously important to deepening understanding across sectors, fostering cross-sector collaborations, and accelerating progress on important goals in individual countries.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
Mr. Lewis, Dr. Christopher, and Ms. Argilagos bring enormous experience in the nonprofit, foundation, academic, and public sectors and extensive expertise in the most pressing issue areas of our time, including diversity, health, and digital technology.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
Society flourishes when information is easily accessible and openly shared. I look forward to supporting Foundation Center's efforts to advance knowledge about philanthropy in new and dynamic ways.
Earl Lewis, President, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
WKKF strives to uplift and empower communities so that even the most vulnerable populations can thrive. The idea that philanthropy can transform lives and increase opportunity is also at the heart of Foundation Center's work.
Gail Christopher, Vice President for Policy and Senior Advisor, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Social change is spurred by diverse voices and the exchange of knowledge. Foundation Center stands out as a leader in creating spaces for this exchange and leveraging shared wisdom to benefit the social sector.
Ana Marie Argilagos, Senior Advisor, Ford Foundation
Momentum has been building on many fronts to address social and racial disparities in our nation, and the time is right to keep pushing forward to improve opportunities for Black men and boys.
Shawn Dove, CEO, Campaign for Black Male Achievement
It is critical for philanthropists working to improve the lives of Black males in this country to have as much data and information as possible about the funding landscape.
Seema Shah, Director of Research for Special Projects, Foundation Center
The Indonesian people believe in working together to achieve a common goal, as we call it 'Gotong Royong.' Being a philanthropist is more than just about giving back to society; it is about working together to support people to stand on their own feet, particularly the most disadvantaged.
Puan Maharani, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Government of Indonesia
For Indonesia to excel and successfully come out of its middle-income status, it must ensure that growth is inclusive in a way that benefits all of its citizens, including the country's poorest and most marginalized. We strongly believe that leading philanthropists and foundations have the expertise and knowledge to ensure Indonesia improves the lives of its over 250 million citizens.
Douglas Broderick, Resident Coordinator of the UN system in Indonesia
Good information and open communication will be a key ingredient if the partners are to make meaningful progress on the wide variety of goals outlined by the SDGs.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
'Foundation Landscapes: Education' helps funders and others scan the field, track what their colleagues are doing, and assess their own work in the context of broader trends.
Lisa Philp, Vice President for Strategic Philanthropy, Foundation Center
Funders are skilled at using their networks, practical experience, and issue-based knowledge to be effective in their work. Foundation Maps Professional 2.0 greatly supplements this personal expertise by revealing potential new partners with similar interests, assisting in a strategic analysis of trends, and providing data that can tell stories through compelling visuals.
Lisa Philp, Vice President for Strategic Philanthropy, Foundation Center
I’m greatly encouraged by the Partnership, which will elevate key issues and lift up the voices of those most impacted by Post-2015 decisions. These workshops serve a valuable role to illuminate a workable path to disrupt inequality and enhance opportunities at national and global levels.
Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation
The Post-2015 Partnership Platform for Philanthropy is the ideal scenario for bringing together different players to work towards a better understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals and to enhance a collaborative work to achieve them.
Maria Carolina Suarez, Executive Director, Association of Corporate and Family Foundations (AFE Colombia)
The Post-2015 Development Agenda provides a unique opportunity to build effective alliances with philanthropy to power development.
Fabrizio Hochschild, Resident Representative, UN Resident Coordinator, UNDP Colombia
Philanthropy can play a meaningful role as a partner to governments and NGOs working toward measurable outcomes in global development. An important aspect of this work will be to gather information on where these collaborations are taking place and share outcomes that will help others doing similar work.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
'Capacity building' can carry many different meanings, but at its heart, it represents an investment aimed at strengthening effectiveness.
Jen Bokoff, Director of GrantCraft, Foundation Center
Foundation Center’s depth of expertise in benchmarking, knowledge services, and data that drive decision making make it the ideal organization to take CF Insights to the next level.
Rebecca Graves, Managing Director, FSG, former Executive Director, CF Insights
Community foundations grow stronger when their decisions are based on timely, accurate, and complete information, and Foundation Center will provide the knowledge tools they need to do just that.
Bradford K Smith, President, Foundation Center
By taking steps to be more strategic and effective in their work through services like CF Insights, these foundations are setting an example within the broader field of philanthropy and contributing to the effectiveness of the sector as a whole.
Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
The research released today establishes critical baseline data about foundation funding for disasters and helps fill a gap in knowledge that historically has been incomplete and difficult to access.
Robert G. Ottenhoff, President and CEO, Center for Disaster Philanthropy
It's encouraging to see foundations demonstrate innovation and commitment in going beyond emergency response to address the full life cycle of disasters.
Lawrence T. McGill, Vice President for Research, Foundation Center
Our goal is to empower donors to make more effective giving decisions related to disasters and ultimately improve the practice of philanthropy through better coordination and transparency.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
We are seeing an increase in the diversity of the types of organizations that participate in the global social economy, partly due to the fact that new and ubiquitous digital tools level the playing field.
Lucy Bernholz, Visiting Scholar, Stanford University's Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society
Worldwide, philanthropy is being transformed by the emergence of new forms of social enterprise and new digital tools. The Blueprint's thoughtful examination of what lies ahead makes it a unique resource in the field.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
In an increasingly globalized social sector, the lines between traditional and emerging forms of philanthropy are continually blurring. I look forward to supporting Foundation Center's work in this landscape where social enterprise can be a force for positive change.
Marieke van Schaik, Managing Director, Dutch Charity Lotteries
Donors need information and tools that will enable them to give strategically and assess their impact. Foundation Center is uniquely equipped to empower funders with these resources.
Melissa Berman, President and CEO, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA)
Ms. van Schaik and Ms. Berman are both at the forefront of new ways to mobilize the resources needed for social, economic, and environmental progress.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
The Partnership Platform will take us and our government partners a step further in working with others in achieving sustainable development. And it will demonstrate how philanthropic contributions can also address other challenges such as building the capacity of our partners at the country level.
Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator
Philanthropy is uniquely positioned to help convene multiple stakeholders and to amplify the voice and action of its civil society grantee partners in shaping and achieving the development targets within each country.
Steven M. Hilton, Chairman, President, and CEO, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
The post-2015 development landscape looks much brighter when funders and other partners have the knowledge tools they need to be strategic and collaborative.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
While some endowments are still recovering from the Great Recession, strong stock market performance has boosted the assets of many and will undoubtedly encourage more individuals to create foundations.
Steven Lawrence, Director of Research, Foundation Center
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, philanthropic dollars have been essential in helping community advocacy programs, filling holes in the social service delivery system, and helping community members provide input into the redevelopment planning process.
Ronna Brown, President, Philanthropy New York
Throughout the past two years, our exceptional nonprofit and funder community has taken on challenges they never imagined. These organizations continue to develop innovative solutions that other communities will learn from and build upon in future disasters.
Nina Stack, President, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
After a devastating event such as Hurricane Sandy, stress levels are high, communities' needs are great, and preparedness is key. Funders will be able to use the information in this report to put practical policies in place that position them to be nimble and strategic, especially in times of crisis.
Bradford K. Smith, President, Foundation Center
This is an important opportunity to learn lessons that can maximize the impact of philanthropic dollars through a thoughtful examination of which practices have been most successful.
Robert G. Ottenhoff, President and CEO, Center for Disaster Philanthropy
Pick a time period -
Tags ( Active)
There are no items matching the current filter
There are no more items matching the current filter
Back to top

Media