Foundation Management: Innovation and responsibility at home and abroad by Frank L Ellsworth and Joe Lumarda
Frank Ellsworth and Joe Lumarda’s new book has a basic premise behind it – foundations cannot do business as usual. In introductory comments the co-editors outline the host of changes in the foundation world over recent years. These include questions of executive accountability, terrorism, the bear market, and economic recession in the US and other parts of the world.
Yet the pace of change is quickening. Foundation Management was written before the development of the voluntary guidelines for international grantmaking stemming from the Patriot Act and before the new calls in the US Congress to increase private foundation payout.
Foundation Management aims to provide practical strategies for foundation leaders and managers, its intended audience being key decision makers – trustees, chief executives, chief financial officers, senior management and programme staff. It is divided into three parts: international philanthropy, investment stewardship and the role of outside legal counsel and accountants, and offers up a number of different elements – well thought out and documented chapters, interviews, even a reprint from the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Some of the most engaging chapters are not actually authored but are long interviews with field experts, such as Kuba Wygnanski of the Stefan Batory Foundation in Poland and Joseph Kearns, formerly with the Getty Trust in Los Angeles.
The international section is by far the longest and includes perspectives on international grantmaking by US foundations, the work of European foundations, foundations in Germany, philanthropic traditions across East Asia, and joint foundation work along the US/Mexico border. It includes the excellent interview with Kuba Wygnanski, with his thoughtful observations on community foundation development across Poland. As the Mott Foundation works with almost all the international authors, reading this section felt like an informative conversation with long-term friends. For foundation trustees or staff who are new to international philanthropy, it should prove rich with insights.
The last two sections focus exclusively on concerns of US foundations, but they should resonate well with foreign audiences. Russell Hill and Craig Cross provide an extensive chapter on trustee oversight of foundation investments, and the interview with Joseph Kearns shares his experience and wisdom from years as CFO at the Getty Trust. In the midst of the current payout debate caused by US Congress proposals, Kearns offers several astute observations on payout and perpetuity.
The final section focuses on the role of outside advisers, specifically lawyers and accountants. Reynolds Cafferata provides a remarkably clear and accessible legal review of foundation operations. The book concludes with a concise chapter on artists and death taxes, explaining why France has the Picasso and Miro museums, while the estates of American artists usually end up in costly litigation.
This is a book that should be well known to foundation CEOs and the heads of associations of grantmakers, who frequently need to guide a colleague or researcher to a specific text for expert advice.
Elan Garonzik is Program Officer, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. He can be contacted at EGaronzik@mott.org
Foundation Management: Innovation and responsibility at home and abroad
Frank L Ellsworth and Joe Lumarda (eds) Wiley $70
ISBN 0471269794
To order
www.wiley.com
