Services
FPA has the expertise you need to start and manage your foundation.
Governance
Foundation Start-up
From initial conversations to your first grant, FPA will work with you as you create your foundation. We can help you determine a mission and giving focus, develop policies and procedures, provide the documentation needed by your attorneys, advise on governance and help you get up and running.
Board Support
FPA will help your board become an effective and efficient governance team. Let our staff prepare for your board meetings. Grant summaries, evaluations and additional materials will be generated for you well before each meeting, so you can simply review, discuss and take action.
Board Training
Your board’s structure and culture can enhance or impede your foundation’s effectiveness. FPA can provide governance training, share best practices, support strategic planning, address next–generation topics, and help build community among your board members.
Administration
Grants Management
Let FPA streamline your grantmaking. From inviting and accepting proposals, to sending out grant agreements and checks, to monitoring and reporting on your commitments, FPA thoroughly manages your community investments without imposing unnecessary burdens on grantees.
Compliance
Legal requirements are a fact of life for foundations. FPA stays current on compliance issues surrounding family foundations so you can stay focused on giving. We handle state registration filings, support your accountant’s tax work, and coordinate with your advisors on all compliance issues.
Administrative Support
Our home is your home. FPA is your office for all foundation operations and communication. We schedule and document your meetings and provide bookkeeping services. As your gatekeeper, we’ll shield you from direct requests for support (politely, of course).
Programs and Communication
Program Management
FPA is experienced in working with nonprofits of all kinds – social services, arts and culture, education, community-building, health and more. We provide due diligence through proposal review, financial review, site visits and periodic check-ins, all in keeping with your values.
Communications
You decide how much visibility you want, and we make it happen. Through press releases, annual reports, websites and more, FPA can help craft and manage a communications plan that lets your family share as much or as little of your philanthropic work with the community as you want.
Initiative Development
If you want to develop a focused initiative for broader impact, FPA can generate ideas, provide comprehensive research, and help you stretch far beyond writing checks. Want to find partners to share in the work? FPA can help facilitate collaborations with others who support the causes you care about.