Foundation Board Education and Consulting Services

Public college and university foundations are being called upon to raise increasing levels of private support for their affiliated institutions to provide complex financial and entrepreneurial services such as trust management, bond issuance, and real estate development. As their size and significance grows, foundations also are being challenged to strengthen their governance, stewardship, investment management, and accountability. AGB's consultants, nationally known for their expertise and professionalism, provide experienced, independent counsel to help foundations respond to these new challenges and opportunities and to improve foundation governance, management, and performance.

AGB foundation consulting services helps clients:

• Assess foundation management and governance and provide tailored counsel and best practices to improve performance;
• Identify specific strategies to build organizational capacity and improve fiduciary practices, stewardship, and accountability;
• Envision and implement long-term strategic plans;
• Enhance fundraising capacity and prepare for campaigns
• Improve the foundation-institution partnership and facilitate the development of new or revised operating agreements between the foundation and the institution.

Consultant-on-Call Service provides foundation executives and board members a complimentary opportunity to discuss a specific issue with one of our consultants via telephone for approximately one hour.

AGB's Speaker Service provides experts in a wide range of areas to keynote your next board retreat or meeting.

Fundamental workshops (half- day or full- day) focus on core issues of foundation boards including the roles and responsibilities of board members and committees, fiduciary responsibilities and financial oversight, fundraising, and relationships with affiliated boards.

Advanced Workshops are custom-designed to address particularly complex or unique issues, Advanced Workshops may be supplemented by: surveys tailored to gather data on specific issues; follow-up visits by facilitators to track progress and suggest next steps; focus meetings with internal or external constituents or leaders: and reports documenting discussions and providing specific observations and recommendations.

Extended Engagement Consulting provides foundation executives and boards with a flexible, affordable process to address specific challenges and opportunities, build capacity, enhance performance and accountability, and plan for organizational transitions and growth. A typical consulting engagement may last for several months and incorporate a range of programmatic elements. Consultants provide an objective assessment of the situation and experienced independent perspectives on challenges
and opportunities; develop a process to address issues and identify specific outcomes; facilitate meetings and discussions; provide ongoing counsel, guidance, and recommendations; and track progress and frame follow-up plans.

For more information about AGB's Foundation Consulting Services, please call (202) 776-0824 or click here to provide us with more information.

Other resources for institutionally related foundations can be found on our website or by calling (202) 776-0850 or e-mailing foundations@agb.org.