FAQ

Q:        What is the mission of Community Foundation Insights?

A:         CF Insights enables community foundations to make more informed decisions about their operating models in order to achieve greater sustainability and community impact.

Q:        How does CF Insights help community foundations become more sustainable?

A:         For the first time ever, community foundations have one consolidated source of information to do benchmarking on:

·       Sustainability
·       Staffing and compensation
·       Investment management
·       Philanthropy and community leadership
·       Product mix (e.g. donor-advised funds, scholarships, etc.)
·       Asset development
·       Operating efficiency

Foundations can view reports that analyze their data and compare their foundation and products to other foundations using filters such as age, size, geography, fund characteristics, and mission. Over time, CF Insights plans to provide technical assistance and phase in additional services, such as reporting on best practices and research on financial trends.

Q:        Aren’t there other organizations collecting this data?

A:         Several foundations and other organizations are doing a great job of collecting pieces of this information, although the different pieces are not always aggregated in consistent and timely ways. CF Insights will not duplicate the efforts of other foundations or organizations that are already collecting such data, but will work with them to synthesize the information and to make it available in one place. During the initial feasibility study, foundations expressed great interest in CF Insights’ potential to consolidate and streamline the different surveys that collect financial information. CF Insights hopes to reduce the number and length of surveys by centralizing survey administration, subject to the consent of the organizations that currently administer the surveys.

Q:       How will this new resource engage the field?

A:         Over time, CF Insights will phase in work to identify best practices in the field and will report on community foundations that are utilizing best practices and innovations related to the operating model. Future offerings will also include regular reports that analyze trends among groups of community foundations, particularly focusing on issues related to sustainability. FSG has performed groundbreaking analysis of community foundation operating activities and products (such as donor-advised funds) and the key drivers of foundation sustainability: fund characteristics, fund size, pricing, service offerings, and volume of transactions. Publications can be downloaded free of charge here.

Q:        How do community foundations have input on CF Insights and its services?

A:         CF Insights has been developed in conjunction with the Council on Foundations’ Community Foundations Leadership Team (CFLT).  Under the terms of that agreement, CF Insights’ work is being overseen by an Advisory Board appointed by the CFLT.  The Advisory Board (listed below) oversees FSG’s management of CF Insights, advises and approves the scope and phasing of CF Insights’ offerings, and acts as a liaison between CF Insights and the community foundation field.  Through this Advisory Board, CF Insights obtains guidance on the priorities of community foundations and remains accountable to the field.  CF Insights has also established a Product Development Team (listed below) of staff members from community foundations to guide and test CF Insights service offerings.  CF Insights encourages all member foundations to rate the importance of issues studied and suggest additional issues of relevance, which will be incorporated into regular revisions of content.

Q:        What is the relationship between the Council on Foundations and CF Insights?

A:         The Council on Foundations, through the CFLT, has endorsed the establishment of CF Insights as a division within FSG.  The Council has committed $100,000 toward the establishment of CF Insights, and a group of officers from Council member organizations (listed below) are providing leadership to raise the initial funding to establish CF Insights.  The Council will encourage its member foundations to participate by paying annual dues and providing data to CF Insights.

Q:        Who owns the data that is collected?

A:         Any data contributed by a community foundation remains the property of that foundation. In addition, COF has agreed to share its own community foundation data with CF Insights. The combined data CF Insights compiles in its database is owned by FSG subject to its data-sharing agreement with COF and restrictions on use outlined in the Advisory Board bylaws. FSG may employ this data for analysis and confidential use as part of consulting services offered to community foundations. CF Insights uses the data in a similar manner and will publish research reports on trends and best practices with Advisory Board approval of general content and subject matter.

Q:        Who has access to CF Insights’ services?

A:         CF Insights provides both free and fee-based content.  Important field-wide research is disseminated to the field for free.  In addition, foundations have the opportunity to access additional information and services through membership, fees, or service contracts.  Membership is offered exclusively to community foundations, and members are asked to sign a confidentiality agreement restricting the sharing of CF Insights data.

Q:        What is the relationship between CF Insights and FSG Social Impact Advisors?

A:         CF Insights operates as a division of FSG, which converted to nonprofit status in 2006. FSG is responsible for hiring and supervising staff, developing the database, and managing CF Insights. Under the terms of the agreement with the Council on Foundations, the Council retains the right to close or move CF Insights to a different organization if FSG fails to perform adequately. In that case, FSG would assist in the orderly transfer of all tangible and intangible CF Insights assets, including the database and all software developed, to the designated organization.

Q:        What funding is needed to establish CF Insights, and how much has been raised so far?

A:         FSG is raising a total of $2 million over four years to subsidize the start-up of CF Insights. So far, over $1.7 million has been committed by supporting foundations.


FOUNDING CONTRIBUTIONS


Q:        How will CF Insights become sustainable after its initial funding?

A:         Based on survey responses from approximately 250 community foundations of all sizes, we determined that the majority of foundations are willing to pay a reasonable annual fee for the various services that CF Insights would provide. CF Insights is committed to keeping fees low and will budget according to the demand expressed by the field. In addition, FSG will absorb a significant portion of CF Insights’ overhead out of its own budget.

CF Insights Advisory Board

·    CHAIR: Tom Hay, Vice President for Finance and Administration, The Pittsburgh Foundation

·    David Bennett, Executive Director, Community Foundation for Greater Ft. Wayne

·    Mark Kramer, Managing Director, FSG Social Impact Advisors

·    Ruben Orduna, Vice President for Development, The Boston

·    Jeff Rudd, CFO, The Seattle Foundation

·    Hank Schmeltzer, President & CEO, The Maine Community Foundation

·    Susan Springgate, VP for Finance & Admin, Kalamazoo Community Foundation

·    Deborah Whitehurst, Chief Operating Officer, Arizona Community Foundation

·    Greg Zerlaut, CFO and COO, Fremont Area Community Foundation

CF Insights Product Development Team


·    Jim Bickel, CFO and COO, Director of Technology, The Cleveland Foundation

·    Jill Gellert, VP, Finance & Administration, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

·    Karen Leppanen, VP for Finance & Administration, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan

·    Monica Pressley, CFO, The San Francisco Foundation

·    Susan Springgate, VP, Finance and Administration, Kalamazoo Community Foundation

·    Mary Wilson, Controller, The Pittsburgh Foundation

CF Insights Fundraising Committee

·    CHAIR: Jack Hopkins, President & CEO, Kalamazoo Community Foundation

·    Phyllis Campbell, President & CEO, The Seattle Foundation

·    Paul Grogan, President & CEO, The Boston Foundation

·    Bill Trueheart, President & CEO, The Pittsburgh Foundation