General Operating Support

We consider ASF member grant support to be an important indicator of how well our member foundations think we are doing. And, with so much member generosity to ASF in 2007, we know we are on the right track.

Our vision is to give you our members what you need, when you need it, in a format that works for you. To acheive maximum impact, ASF seeks to focus on meetings members' most critical needs, leveraging everything we do and reducing barriers to access. ASF strives to ensure that members know about and are able to use our materials and attend educational programs for the least expense with the greatest results.

General Operating Support will be used to support the continued development and improvement of the ASF Primer series, our quarterly newsletter Essentials, continued Foundation in a Box improvements, regional meetings in San Francisco and Atlanta, and curriculum development for ASF’s National Conference in Denver September 18-20, 2008.

For 2007, ASF deepened our partnerships with colleague organizations that benefit our members such as Social Venture Partners and Grantmakers for Education. We launched two new primers, with 15 more set for delivery in early 2008. Our quarterly newsletter, Essentials, has been redesigned and the Trustee Leadership Handbook updated and reprinted. Educational programs have also shown momentum and depth. Our New York conference in May reached record attendance levels. The highlights of the New York seminar were two new full day advanced programs; one for arts funders and another for education funders. In addition, ASF premiered two days of investment training divided into advanced topics and the basics of endowment management. The summer also proved busy with our first ever sole staff retreat held at the Taaffe House in California and a new leadership retreat for founders and volunteers. In the fall, we completed the year with a regional conference in Chicago and a Couple’s Philanthropy Retreat in Charleston, SC. Funding for these programs comes from member foundation grants above dues and from the Gates Foundation challenge grant which we successfully completed in August. Thank you for helping ASF achieve so much in 2007.