Denver

To respond to the frustrations that many grant makers face in trying to give money overseas, the Council on Foundations is creating a new committee to develop suggestions for how to make global grant making easier, its president, Steve Gunderson, said on Sunday night.

Along with the European Foundation Centre and Wings (Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support), the Council will focus on three areas: improving the legal and regulatory climate for international giving; developing models for working with nonprofit groups in other countries; and finding ways to work with governments and institutions like the United Nations. 

Currently, it takes foundations about twice as long to process an international grant as a domestic grant, said William White, president of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and a co-chair of the new effort. He talked about how the Patriot Act, with its requirements about checking names against terror lists and confusion over whether a foreign organization is “equivalent” to a U.S. charity, places a heavy burden on grant makers. 

And many foreign charities don’t have the technology capabilities or the translation skills to apply, he said. 

The council is seeking foundation leaders who want to serve as part of the “Global Philanthropy Leadership Initiative,” as the group is calling it, as well as stories about overseas giving that could inform the research.

There is no timeline for the project, but Mr. White said the group was hoping to share its research findings next year. But then he quipped: “Don’t hold us to it.” 

Appetite for the results seemed great, however. Several foundation leaders stood up to say they have been waiting for something like this.

Also at the conference, the Council on Foundations released a set of reports, “Ten Ways,” designed to help foundations strengthen their diversity. The reports include advice on how to expand grant making to help people of minority groups and how to create an environment  for foundation workers that reflects a commitment to diversity.