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.
The German state of Bavaria and the Australian state of Queensland are teaming up to work on a host of cutting-edge projects, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, clean energy,...more
Cyprus is aiming to be an example of "ecological living and sustainable development" in the years to come, and the first Green Agenda Cyprus Summit will be held there on May 20. Speakers at the...more
The House is set to vote Monday on a bill that would make it harder for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. The SAVE Actshort for Safeguard American Voter Eligibilityis the brainchild of...more
The House is set to vote Monday on a bill that would make it harder for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. The SAVE Actshort for Safeguard American Voter Eligibilityis the brainchild of...more
When Heidi Allison and her husband, Larry Rhoades, opened Nate's Place a year ago in Oxnard, Calif., they had one goal: to help at-risk teens and young adults stay on the right track with sobriety...more
Lisette Nieves was the first Puerto Rican woman and the first Brooklyn College grad to be a Rhodes scholar when she graduated from the college in 1992. Now she's the president of the Fund for the...more
A group of 30 Nobel Peace Prize winners gathered at the Vatican this week to talk about promoting peace, and one of them had a message for today's "profit-centric" society: It's time to create a "...more
"To be a great investor, you have to be open-minded and look for misunderstood opportunities." That was Christopher Pan's advice to Ohio State University's graduating class on Sunday, and he's...more
Chris Pan's commencement speech at Ohio State has been called "cringe-worthy" and "the worst Ohio State commencement speech ever"but the social entrepreneur and 1999 Ohio State graduate wants to set...more
"It is a night that shines a light on some of the best and brightest women in business." So reads a press release on the winners of the 2024 IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards in Ireland,...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
3 Social Enterprises Earn Honors at Social Enterprise Award
Three social enterprises were recognized at the 2013 President’s Challenge Social Enterprise Award for their major contributions to society. SATA CommHealth and Bliss Restaurant landed Social Enterprise of the Year titles, while Bettr Barista Coffee Academy bagged the award for Social Enterprise Start-up of the Year.