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A philanthropic foundation is a term generally used to describe a perpetual trust designed to make grants to charities or carry out charitable purposes. Some foundations are established during the donor's lifetime, others are established by wills or codicils. Foundations are governed by trustees who may be an authorised trustee company, family and friends of the benefactor, qualified professionals, or a mixture of the above.
Categories of foundation (please note: these are not legal terms) include:
- Private foundations, established by an individual.
- Family foundations, established by a family, perhaps by parents who wish to instil their own philanthropic values in their children and ‘hand over’ control of the foundation to them on their deaths
- Government initiated foundations, which may have been established with a government grant or gain their income from legislated levies
- Hybrid foundations, which may have characteristics of several of the above
There are also community foundations and corporate foundations, which are dealt with in different sections. Prescribed Private Funds (PPFs), one type of private foundation, are also further explained on their own page.
Philanthropy Australia has a long history of working with private and family foundations to assist them to become more informed, engaged and effective in their work. We can assist foundations to achieve their goals through:
- The opportunity to attend meetings, seminars and workshops that address members' needs, and to meet with other givers in a collegiate atmosphere
- Access to resources, information and research via our Resource Centre, including information on effective grantaking strategies
- Information on current news and events via our membership newsletters, including Pressing Matters, a weekly media round up; Philanthropy Review, a monthly e-communication; and Australian Philanthropy, our journal which is published three times a year.
- The opportunity to participate in Affinity Groups - coalitions of grantmakers who come together on a regular basis for the purpose of sharing information on a particular areas of funding (for example, disability services, arts, children).