Legal Matters for Corporate Foundations & Giving Programs

Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania (GWP) is partnering on this opportunity led by the Council on Foundations Legal team. This workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and corporate foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and regulations. Throughout the workshop, sessions will be curated with the help of insight gleaned from the Council's top-notch legal team that interacts with nearly 2,000 foundation leaders each year, as well as trends spotted by our broader team. It will be timely, relevant, and a deeper dive than the basics, surfacing critical insights and expertise to advance your knowledge of the corporate foundation inner workings--from administration to governance, self-dealing to grantmaking.

With each session, there will be time for questions and a deep exploration of the answers. This workshop is open to any board or staff member supporting a corporate foundation or giving program that is eager to dive into the legalities of business models and unlock the truth to effective management and leadership of corporate philanthropy.

GWP members are eligible to register for this 2-day virtual workshop at a discounted rate of $275. Instructions of how to register and pay on the COF website will be emailed to you upon registration.

Working Agenda 

(2 Day Virtual Series)

Note: Specific topics will be defined in advance of the workshop as attendees begin to submit ideas, pressing issues, and assist with the defining of sessions. This event is designed to be time sensitive and relevant to current issues. The format will be discussion-oriented, question and answer-based learning alongside peer sharing.

DAY 1: August 17 — 1:00-3:30 p.m. ET

• General Overview of rules, regulations, and developments for corporate philanthropy – Discuss latest new rules and regulations impacting companies, their foundations and corporate giving programs. 
• Deep Dive: Foundation Governance and Giving Strategies - Learn about foundation operations, the nuances of corporate  giving vs. corporate foundations, advocacy rules and the use of DAFs. 
• Deep Dive: Self Dealing – Assessing the most common inquiries from the field nationally, Council attorneys will delve into pressing subjects and issues such as disqualified persons, conflicts of interests and scholarships.
• Discussion: Most common legal complexities facing corporate foundations– Participants will delve into pressing subjects and issues such as employee assistance funds, advertising, events and sponsorships. 

DAY 2: August 18 — 1:00-3:30 p.m. ET

• Deep Dive: Grantmaking and Hot Topics– Assessing the most common inquiries from the field nationally, Council attorneys will delve into pressing subjects and issues such as expenditure responsibility, scholarships, global funding, and disasters. 
• Discussion: Most common legal complexities facing corporate foundations – Participants will delve into pressing subjects and issues such as reputational risks, merging foundations, and global grantmaking.