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 government emphasizes innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability as part of its dual strategy the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy and the Invest 2035 Industrial...more
Fox School of Business' Innovative Idea Competition welcomes students, faculty, staff and alumni from any of Temple's 17 of the schools and colleges to compete.The competition allows for rising...more
The German Design Graduates (GDG) Talk will explore how design and innovation can help address the challenges posed by extreme temperatures.This project is funded by 'Innovationsforderung Hessen' as...more
We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic.By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies.These cookies will only be...more
The government of Colombia, Conservation International and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) announced support for the development of a project to transform water security in the Bogota region.The project...more
Wayne State University to lead USDA grant to support program training students in'smart agriculture' Program will use data to study future of agriculture and train students.Project, "Nonformal...more
A global carbon counting system, where every molecule of CO2 created during the production process is counted and made publicly available, could incentivize companies to invest in cleaner production...more
Maura Healey to launch a new initiative aimed at advancing clean energy and bolstering the workforce in the geothermal energy sector.The Clean Energy and Environment Legacy Transition Initiative...more
Data centers, the backbone of cloud services, are significant energy consumers.In 2023, the market was valued at approximately $25.20 billion and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate...more
COP29's Food, Water and Agriculture Day shined light on the transformative power of agrifood systems to drive emissions reductions.The Agri-Food Systems Summit brought together global leaders,...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Social Enterprise Piles Textbooks for Change
Textbooks for Change, a London-based social enterprise that has obtained the B Corporation seal for positive social and environmental impact, is seeking investors that would be helping the company expand.