Foundations

Deliver on Your Mission

Disruption across the economic landscape brings both challenges and opportunities for foundations.

Foundations must strategically stay ahead of change. Fluctuating markets can impact your ability to manage payout requirements and endowment spending obligations, complex investment portfolios and unique noncash gifts are on the rise and require significant attention, and hybrid workforces bring evolving operational requirements.

Discover how our industry-focused services can help your foundation maintain focus on what matters most: delivering on your mission.

Overcome Industry Challenges

From strengthening your internal operations to leveraging technology for support, our business solutions can help you plan for what’s next.

Protect Valuable Assets and Data

Cybercriminals infiltrate organizations at alarming rates with targets including operational secrets, sensitive financial information, and more.

A security breach could have massive financial and reputational implications for your foundation—ranging from regulatory penalties, infrastructure disruption, stolen funds, and damaged relationships—if sensitive data leaks.

The most effective way to mitigate a breach is to prevent one from happening. Test your current systems, or implement new ones, to evaluate your safety levels and identify controls you need for further preventive measures.

Prepare your foundation before a cyberattack strikes with our Cybersecurity Services.

Pursue ESG Initiatives

Align your business practices with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles to help accelerate your mission and transform your culture.

As organizations rapidly pursue ESG initiatives to support their values and meet the expectations of stakeholders—including investors, boards, customers, and employees—it’s crucial to implement, track, report, and assure standards that accurately define and measure your progress.

Key focus areas can include:

Develop ESG strategy. Identify strategic starting points for your organization to begin implementing ESG solutions.
Strengthen Board Governance. Set the tone for your organization by implementing governance practices that can help secure the confidence of your staff and stakeholders—and position your organization to respond to unexpected challenges and opportunities.
Pursue ESG Investment Opportunities. Align your investments with your values by focusing on responsible ESG investing strategies.
Secure Stakeholder Confidence with ESG Reviews. Deliver comprehensive ESG assurance to your key stakeholders with precise, reliable reporting—with engagements tailored to your defined key performance indicators (KPIs).

Start or enhance your current initiatives with our ESG Services.

Make Data-Driven Decisions

Leverage the power of IT solutions to help boost your operational efficiencies through access to comprehensive, real-time views of your entire organization.

Illuminate vital data to transform your foundation into a collaborative, data-driven organization. Enterprise systems can also provide insight into greater safety, quality, and compliance.

Test or enhance your technology standing with our Enterprise Systems Consulting, IT Development & Integration, IT Assessment & Planning Services, and more.

Enhance Performance & Safeguard Risks

Fulfill your mission more effectively and efficiently by aligning your organization, streamlining processes, and developing policies. Strategic technical and competitive benchmarking, organizational assessments, as well as internal and performance audits, can help equip you for challenges such as shifting workforce demographics, rising business costs, and regulatory changes.

Developing strong policies and guidelines around unique noncash gifts, public charity status planning, private foundation and endowment spending planning, and more is crucial.

Key focus areas include:

Enhance Organizational Alignment. Develop a formal strategic plan to help guide decisions, understand your current state, and devise a clear path to your desired future. Assess your organization’s alignment with your mission and goals to identify opportunities to deploy your team more effectively.
Start Transition Planning. Foundation leaders face complex financial and personal challenges when contemplating how to preserve assets for future management and generations. Transition planning should begin years before a planned turnover date and not in response to specific events. Confidently plan for your next phase and shape your legacy with our Individual Financial Planning, Organizational Planning, Succession Planning Consulting Services, and more.

Maintain Grant Compliance

Securing and maintaining federal, state, and local grants requires complying with strict requirements that can bring severe consequences if not followed, such as repayment of funds and even debarment.

Develop and maintain a compliance program that addresses your obligations and provide support to employees to comprehend applicable responsibilities, deploy ongoing internal monitoring, and more.

Maintain continued eligibility for future funding with our Grant Compliance Services.

Strategic Tax, Accounting, and Investment Solutions

Navigate the complex financial and tax challenges foundations face with guidance from our professionals.

Manage Alternative Investments

As private foundations turn to alternative investments to diversify portfolios and potentially increase their value, leaders must address their tax, fiduciary, and regulatory implications.

Define value, develop benchmarks, assess related fees, and more for investments such as:

Private equity
Hedge funds
Real estate
Venture capital
Private debt
Commodities

Outsource Key Accounting Functions

Drive accuracy, efficiency, and secure data retention with financial services for your back-office.

Save time and resources by outsourcing the complex accounting functions—from financial tracking, reporting, analysis, and compliance needs—to our professionals.

Develop Strategic Tax Planning

Foundations face challenges many other organizations—even other not-for-profits—don’t need to consider. These can drain precious time and resources without guidance from tax professionals versed in their nuances.

Confidently meet your tax and regulatory obligations with our State & Local Tax, Cost Segregation, Estate Tax Planning Services, and more.

Manage Alternative Investments
Outsource Key Accounting Functions
Develop Strategic Tax Planning

Manage Alternative Investments

As private foundations turn to alternative investments to diversify portfolios and potentially increase their value, leaders must address their tax, fiduciary, and regulatory implications.

Define value, develop benchmarks, assess related fees, and more for investments such as:

Private equity
Hedge funds
Real estate
Venture capital
Private debt
Commodities

Outsource Key Accounting Functions

Drive accuracy, efficiency, and secure data retention with financial services for your back-office.

Save time and resources by outsourcing the complex accounting functions—from financial tracking, reporting, analysis, and compliance needs—to our professionals.

Develop Strategic Tax Planning

Confidently meet your tax and regulatory obligations with our State & Local Tax, Cost Segregation, Estate Tax Planning Services, and more.

Customized Solutions by Foundation Structure

Address the unique tax needs that may face your organization by foundation type.

Community Foundations

Maintain focus on the communities you serve by:

Navigating the landscape as a sponsoring organization managing donor-advised funds
Supporting organizations as related organizations
Accepting and managing complex investment portfolios and noncash gifts

Hospital, University, and Other Public Charity Foundations

The public charity status provides a more favorable charitable classification for individual donor deductibility limitation purpose, but relying on a small pool of large donors and investment income can potentially jeopardize public support status—which must be managed by a complex mechanical calculation.

Confidently maintain your status and relieve foundation staff or volunteers from misinterpreting mechanics with our guidance.

Private Foundations – Corporate and Family

Develop comprehensive charitable planning to reach your desired outcomes if your corporation or family considers philanthropy as part of a liquidity event or long-term strategy.

Plan asset types that could be contributed to a private foundation, donor-advised fund, or other unique structuring planning, as well as exemption applications for private foundations or other charitable organizations types.

Plan for your minimum distribution requirements (MDR) with a private foundation analysis that provides up to 20 years of foresight to help:

Gain insight on necessary steps, based on your foundation’s goals, to meet payout requirements and comply with applicable regulations
Run MDR estimates based on varying selection criteria, such as investment return rates or large contributions to the foundation
Estimate and use excess distribution carryover, especially amid volatile markets

This analysis can help provide comprehensive reviews of your foundation’s MDR environment to effectively manage requirements as your investment and donor mix evolves.

Additional tax compliance, planning, and consulting services can include the following.

Self-Dealing:

Excess business holdings
Taxable expenditures and board education
Unrelated business income tax analysis and reporting
Foreign reporting
Board education

Grantmaking and Charitable Spending:

Advance approval of scholarship procedures
Program-related investments
Private operating foundations
Giving programs

Complex Investment Portfolios:

Alternative investments
Allocation of overhead expenses
Investment income
Excise, income, and state and foreign tax reporting exposure

Community Foundations
Hospital, University, and Other Public Charity Foundations
Private Foundations – Corporate and Family

Community Foundations

Maintain focus on the communities you serve by:

Navigating the landscape as a sponsoring organization managing donor-advised funds
Supporting organizations as related organizations
Accepting and managing complex investment portfolios and noncash gifts

Hospital, University, and Other Public Charity Foundations

Confidently maintain your status and relieve foundation staff or volunteers from misinterpreting mechanics with our guidance.

Private Foundations – Corporate and Family

Develop comprehensive charitable planning to reach your desired outcomes if your corporation or family considers philanthropy as part of a liquidity event or long-term strategy.

Plan for your minimum distribution requirements (MDR) with a private foundation analysis that provides up to 20 years of foresight to help:

Gain insight on necessary steps, based on your foundation’s goals, to meet payout requirements and comply with applicable regulations
Run MDR estimates based on varying selection criteria, such as investment return rates or large contributions to the foundation
Estimate and use excess distribution carryover, especially amid volatile markets

This analysis can help provide comprehensive reviews of your foundation’s MDR environment to effectively manage requirements as your investment and donor mix evolves.

Additional tax compliance, planning, and consulting services can include the following.

Self-Dealing:

Excess business holdings
Taxable expenditures and board education
Unrelated business income tax analysis and reporting
Foreign reporting
Board education

Grantmaking and Charitable Spending:

Advance approval of scholarship procedures
Program-related investments
Private operating foundations
Giving programs

Complex Investment Portfolios:

Alternative investments
Allocation of overhead expenses
Investment income
Excise, income, and state and foreign tax reporting exposure

“During our experience with Moss Adams, we received much more than just auditing and tax services. We truly built a partnership that made us better at what we do—finance, taxes, staying compliant with regulations—helping our foundation operate at the highest possible level. We sincerely enjoy working with everyone at Moss Adams and value their commitment to our success.”

- Mynor Veliz, CFO, Headwaters Foundation

Explore Featured Resources

Make stronger business decisions and stay informed on the industry trends and developments.

Event

2023 Private Foundation Conference

Navigate your foundation’s financial and operational complexity with help from our 2023 Private Foundation Conference.

Event

Private Foundation Conference: Day One

Navigate challenges around cybersecurity, donor-advised funds, and more.

Event

Private Foundation Conference: Day Two

Explore ESG strategies, economic updates, and more.

Guide

Private Foundation Tax Planning Guide

Focus on key tax laws and opportunities that could affect your foundation.

We’re All In

Foundations in a range of industries and fields look to our professionals for support, including:

Community foundations
Corporate foundations
Higher education foundations
Hospital foundations
Private foundations

Expansive Foundation Expertise

Deeply immersed within the not-for-profit sector, our professionals understand the nuanced business needs of foundations. Our collaborative approach takes the time to understand the specifics of your foundation and strategically develop unique solutions contextualized among greater economic trends and activity.

Our clients aren’t the only foundation leaders who look to us for guidance. We’re members of and frequently collaborate with influential foundation organizations including the Council on Foundations, Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties, Grantmakers of Oregon & Southwest Washington, Northern California Grantmakers, Philanthropy Northwest, and Southern California Grantmakers.

Empowering Opportunity: The Moss Adams Foundation

Social responsibility, environmental stewardship, inclusion and diversity, and other initiatives are core to Moss Adams values and business practices—and drive how we engage our clients, people, and the communities in which we live and work.

We support and value the work of foundations because we experience their philanthropic impact and accomplishments first-hand. Founded in 2000, The Moss Adams Foundation supports charities, disaster relief, and universities and education initiatives—with our GiveBack matching donations program providing our people opportunity to support the causes they care about.

Watch Webcasts Related to Foundations

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