Webinars

Partnering with the Council on Foundations, CF Insights periodically hosts free webinars for the benefit of the community foundation field.

“Making Informed Decisions in Uncertain Times” Webinar Recording Now Available

As the financial markets continue to be volatile, and economic indicators such as unemployment and foreclosure rates point to an economic downturn for the foreseeable future, community foundations are particularly impacted. In an effort to respond to the current financial uncertainty, CF Insights and FSG Social Impact Advisors launched a study to identify strategies and recommendations for coping with today’s environment and to provide you with information to share with your boards and communities.

Listen to the recording of the webinar.

Recent Webinar: Cost-Revenue Analysis for Community Foundations

On October 8th, CF Insights hosted a webinar on the Cost-Revenue Study. Participants learned how to use this method to understand the true cost structure of a community foundation’s products and services. The webinar featured speakers from three foundations that have benefited from the study: Blue Grass Community Foundation, The Boston Foundation, and The Minneapolis Foundation.

Download the webinar recording»

For questions, contact Wendy Horton.


June 2008 Webinar Series: Online Benchmarking for Community Foundations

In June 2008, CF Insights offered webinars on the topic of online benchmarking for community foundations. Current field leaders explained how they are using online peer benchmarking to analyze their operating models and provide context for decision making.

During the sessions, several common questions emerged from participants:

Where can I find a copy of the presentation now that the webinar is over?

The Council on Foundations served as our webinar coordinator and technology provider. A recording of the June 24th session can be downloaded from their website here. If you would like a copy of the PowerPoint presentation or other information about CF Insights, please email Melissa Scott.

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How can I export CF Insights’ database reports to distribute throughout my organization and share with my board?

CF Insights’ reports can be exported in three formats: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PDF. The charts can be pasted into your materials or presented as-is, or you can export the data behind the report for additional analysis.

These options allow members to create reporting documents, analyze data in new ways, and share insights throughout their organization.

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Is Cost-Revenue data a requirement of the CF Insights database? How can I learn more about Cost-Revenue studies?

Cost-Revenue Study data is not a requirement of the CF Insights database. However, the online database and Cost-Revenue Studies are mutually reinforcing; the Cost-Revenue data is loaded into the database for additional analyses and reporting and the database can be used to generate peer benchmarking reports for the studies.

You can learn more about CF Insights Cost-Revenue studies during our October webinar on this topic. If you’d like to sign up for or learn more about this session, please contact Melissa Scott.

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How has CF Insights analysis changed the direction of your members’ organizations or when have members used the database to confirm a direction they’ve already chosen?

Several of our members have shared stories with us of how analysis of their operating model has impacted their organization’s decision making. Highlights of these stories include:


  • A small, growing foundation populated the CF Insights database with six years of historical data (representing almost its entire life span!) to study its year-over-year performance and illustrate gains in operating efficiency to its board. A report from the database shows the foundation’s expense ratio dropping from just under 4% to just over 1% during this period.

  • Several members have turned to the CF Insights database to answer questions from their senior management and board about peers’ fee schedules. Members who are considering changing their fees can view the published fee schedules by product and endowed/non-endowed designation for any peer group of their choice.

  • A small, growing community foundation with $40 million in assets used Cost-Revenue results in strategic decision making to determine if a major community leadership initiative would be sustainable after its start-up grant funding ran out. The Cost-Revenue data served as a solid base to project the initiative’s future costs to determine how much future funding would be needed before determining from where to raise it.

  • A large, established foundation used Cost-Revenue analysis to evaluate their creation of a special category of Donor Advised Funds with exclusive levels of service. The study confirmed that the foundation’s decision to offer this DAF with high levels of service had paid off, as it was generating a surplus. The foundation used the Cost-Revenue data in our database to generate peer benchmarking reports to illustrate the success of the changes.

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How do I join CF Insights and what are the annual membership dues?

CF Insights is a membership organization with annual dues based on the foundation’s year-end asset size. Dues are calculated as follows:

First $250 million ($0-250M)               $20 per million*
Next $250 million ($250-500M)           $10 per million
Next $250 million ($500-750M)           $  5 per million
Assets above $750 million                  No additional fee

*Minimum annual dues are $200

Visit our interactive membership dues calculator to calculate your foundation’s annual dues.

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How can CF Insights facilitate my data entry into the online database?

CF Insights offers technical assistance to populate the online database. Many of the fields used in the database are pre-loaded from field-wide surveys and cost-revenue studies. CF Insights has tools to facilitate data entry and also offers a customized webinar to discuss the data entry process. After data entry is complete, a follow-up webinar is scheduled to explore peer group selection and report creation.

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