Foundation Grants
Community Vital Signs
About Us
Two Years On, Foundations Stand By Issuing Bonds In Pandemic
Foundation: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Bush Foundation, California Endowment, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Lilly Endowment
When the Ford Foundation took the unprecedented step in June 2020 of issuing $1 billion in debt to help stabilize other nonprofits, it delighted investors and inspired several other large foundations to follow suit.
Two years later, the foundations all stand by their decisions to take on long term debt, allowing several to essentially double the amount of their grantmaking, the AP reports.
But they also caution they are unlikely to repeat the move any time soon.
The foundations mostly issued social bonds ranging from $100 million to Ford's $1 billion.
The unusual move allowed them to increase their donations and take advantage of favorable market conditions, instead of dipping into their endowments.
As of June this year, the Ford Foundation has spent more than 90% of the funds it raised in its only bond offering, with 70% of the grants so far going to organizations led by people of color and 87% going to general support, meaning the funds could be spent any way the organizations wanted.
"It just let us put on steroids something that we wanted to do anyway," says Hilary Pennington, an executive vice president of the Ford Foundation.
Greg Ratliff, senior vice president at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, says issuing bonds was an innovative use of the foundation's assets.
Read the Entire Article
Selected Foundation News
A customized collection of news from foundations from around the Web.
Foundation: Rhode Island Foundation
Love is in the air, at least when it comes to the research projects funded by the Rhode Island Foundation. The nonprofit has awarded more than $360,000 in seed funding to 15 medical research...more
Foundation: Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Four Miami Dade College students were surprised with "life-changing news" this week: They'd been named recipients of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, which...more
"To be able to invest a further ? 1 million in the North East at a time of such economic challenge for many is a privilege for the Foundation trustees, and we're thrilled to see the difference it...more
Foundation: Gates Foundation, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, Packard Foundation
The Community Foundation of Jackson Hole in Wyoming has been named one of the nation's top 100 not-for-profit organizations by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Jackson Hole News & Guide...more
One in four school children in Burundi now receives a nutritious meal, thanks to a donation from China. The UN's World Food Program says China has donated $1.5 million to provide 42,000 children...more
Phoenix Children's Hospital is known for its world-class medical care and cutting-edge research, but it's also one of the country's most under-funded. That's about to change, thanks to a group...more
Oura, maker of the most accurate and trusted sleep tracker on the market, has just introduced two new heart-health features that it says will help its users live longer and healthier lives. The...more
A Canadian university is breaking ground on what it says will be the country's largest medical research center. The Advanced Medical Research Center, set to open in 2026 at the University of...more
A former partner at Ballard Spahr has taken a new job at Arabella Advisors, a consulting firm that helps fund and manage nonprofit organizations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Jack Rodgers,...more
"We are quickly running out of time at the PODSthey are not in good condition as they were never designed for long-term use, and we are not able to truly help people who stay there." That's...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Finding a Place in Mainstream Social Enterprise
Nell Derick Debevoise, Founder and CEO of Inspiring Capita, shares what she thinks are the three main ingredients in finding your place in social enterprise.