|
|
 |
|
| Best Practices |
Fortifying Foundations
Darlene Siska
08/02/2004
|
A variety of entities—from individual consultants to financial
services behemoths—are looking for our business, and the foundation consulting
industry has become increasingly competitive. For example, in the past decade
many private banks have created programs to administer foundation assets and
advise on grant making. Consulting firms offer strategic advice and help with
administrative logistics, such as compliance. They may guide our attempts to
craft a mission statement, or help tailor new grant-making
programs.
Consultants can also take a larger role and run the day-to-day
management and administration of our foundations. Participants in this field may
come and go quickly, according to Andrew Schultz, deputy general counsel at the
Council on Foundations. “I would imagine they come into, and blink out of,
existence almost constantly.”
Deciding to Delegate
To determine whether we want to outsource some of
the functions of our foundation, we first need to consider whether we are
spending our own time on tasks that are not central to our mission—or on tasks
we would simply prefer to pass to someone else. “I would compare the time I
would want to spend as a trustee on responsibilities, such as due diligence and
oversight, with time I spend on finding exciting, interesting grants and the
best opportunities,” says Mary Phillips, vice president and treasurer of Grants
Management Associates (GMA) in Boston, one of the first companies to provide
comprehensive management and training services to foundations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
