• Home
• About PVF
  • Foundation At A Glance
  • Foundation Staff
  • Board of Directors
  • Board Advisors
  • Advancing Philanthropy
• Our Programs
  • Teacher Grants
  • Resources for Foster Youth
  • Community Initiatives
• For Donors
  • Ways to Give
  • Who PVF Works With
  • Customized Grant Making
  • Public Charity vs. Private Foundation
  • Professional Advisor Resources
  • FAQ
• For Grant Seekers
  • Resources for Grantseekers
• Publications
  • Grassroots Philanthropy book
  • PVF in the News
  • PVF Videos
  • PVF Newsletters
  • General Publications
• Contact Us
  • Directions

• Foundation At A Glance
• Foundation Staff
• Board of Directors
• Board Advisors
• Advancing Philanthropy

About PVF > Advancing Philanthropy

GRANTMAKING CONSULTING

PVF strives to be a model for the philanthropic community, demonstrating new concepts in giving and disseminating information about its experiences to colleagues across the country and abroad.

In the last fifteen years, PVF has consulted with over 350 community foundations in the United States, Canada and Europe. The focus is on creative grantmaking, streamlined operations and community impact, and is available to community foundations at a nominal cost, thanks to The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which has funded this program since its inception.  The following is a summary of the services offered through the Program:

Grantmaking Consulting - Three-day visits involve meeting with foundation board, grants committee, foundation staff, and executive director. Review and analysis of foundation operations, grant making procedures and public relations. Also included are meetings with donors, interviews with local media, and meetings with local non-profit organizations.

Performance Review - Intensive four-day onsite review of all foundation operations, focusing on grantmaking, Board concerns, administration, staffing, development and fiscal heath. Visit is followed by an extensive written report on findings and recommendations.  The days are full and intense with the result being new enthusiasm, new expectations and new ideas.

Board Retreats - Facilitating Board Retreats, for one-half day to full day. Work through issues facing foundations, including growth, community outreach, and grantmaking.  Results of retreats include critique of foundation's work, new insights for change and recommendations for the future. 

Participating community foundations pay $500 and cover the cost of travel, meals and lodging.  The David & Lucile Packard Foundation covers the PVF consultant's fee.  If you are interested in utilizing the consulting services, please contact Bill Somerville at (510) 645-1890 or bsomerville@venturesfoundation.org. 

“You have caused us to rethink some very fundamental issues. Your ideas on grants are excellent and I think we will change the direction of our foundation. We have been missing the excitement that should be a fundamental part of giving.” — J. Kane Ditto, Board Member, Community Foundation of Greater Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi