News and Resources for Institutionally Related
Foundation Boards and Executives

Aligning the expectations and agendas of the Foundation Chief Executive and Board Chair

“The most effective college and university foundations are those whose board chair and staff executive are on the same page, working toward the same goals, with the core mission of the institution front and center, and engaging the other board members continually in the process.”

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Schedule conflicts, lack of preparation, and resistance to change among other obstacles can prevent this important relationship from reaching its full potential. Marcia Sloan Latta, Vice President, Bowling Green State University Foundation, explains how foundation CEOs and Board Chairs can overcome barriers to work together and increase the foundation’s impact. Read more...

Putting the present in perspective

As the current financial crisis presents foundations with challenges both familiar and unseen, AGB turned to four foundation veterans to learn how they are responding. Reflecting on almost a full century of combined experience, these four foundation directors assess current challenges, compare them to challenges in previous economic and market meltdowns, and relate how their foundations have responded in the past. Their ruminations will benefit foundation executives new and old. Read more...

The impact of tough times
on higher education philanthropy

In an AGB Webinar on December 4, 2008, Gene Tempel, executive director of the Indiana University Foundation and former director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, surveyed the potential impact of the current recession on higher education philanthropy. In this article David Bass, Director of Foundation Programs and Research, AGB, recounts some of the highlights of Tempel’s presentation, including how historical data can help foundations to predict changes in giving rates. Read more...

Taking advantage of turbulent times

“Organizational leaders should take advantage of the current environment to position their organizations even more firmly in the hearts and minds of those whose support they seek and to expand the numbers of those who know their organization well and who can make a difference in the future.”

Almost every day, we hear about foundations cutting staff, imposing hiring or traveling freezes, and taking huge hits to the value of their endowments. These can seem like especially grim times for foundations, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In this article, nonprofit board development and fundraising consultant Royster C. Hedgepeth offers five action steps foundations can take to turn crisis into opportunity. Read more...

Management of underwater endowments by public college and university foundations

AGB recently conducted a short online survey to gain an understanding of how foundations are handling underwater endowments—funds that have plunged below the value of the original gift with which they were created. Survey results include what strategies foundations are using to address underwater accounts during the current financial crisis and if they differ from how they handled underwater accounts during past market downturns. Other data include how foundations are managing fees, whether donors are making additional gifts in order to continue payouts from underwater endowments, and whether foundations have changed their spending policies in response to the current market downturn. Read more...