On Being an Accountable and Transparent Organization

Accountability

The Lumpkin Family Foundation believes foundations must be open and transparent in their dealings with community. In fact, we believe openness is a necessary condition for achieving success.  The statements below, taken from our vision statement, reflect this philosophy.

...we strive to make the most effective use of the financial resources entrusted to us by members of the Lumpkin family, as permitted by the government of the United States, to do good work in the communities and fields in which we operate. We aim to be a model for grant-makers in establishing and using those policies and systems that ensure operational effectiveness and accountability.

...we seek to exercise responsible governance, demonstrate excellence in management and engage our constituents in a way that ensures our organizational and program effectiveness.

Click here to view our entire vision statement.

Reporting

Like other private foundations, we file a 990PF tax return annually.  Recent returns may be viewed by the public at www.guidestar.org.  This information provides a very detailed description of all our grantmaking and investment activities.  Guidestar posts tax returns filed by all nonprofit organizations, including private foundations.

Every other year, The Foundation publishes a report to the community that provides an overview of our financial situation and a summary of our programs, grants and recent activities.  It’s not as detailed as the 990PF but the format is more accessible.  We choose not to publish this report annually because we don’t believe the expense is justified given the availability of the information elsewhere.  Click here to view our most recent report.

We update our website several times a month.  We hope that most questions our constituents have about our programs or activities can be answered on this site.

If you have a question you feel cannot be answered from our website or the other sources listed above, you are always welcome to call or email us. Click here for staff contact information.

Community Involvement and Consultation

The Foundation’s programs aim to reflect and address the needs of the communities in which we work. We do this in a variety of ways, from engaging community members in our programs and on our committees, convening groups for discussions on matters of concern and consulting knowledgeable community leaders on an individual basis.

Current Status of Independent (Community) Member Relationships with The Foundation

• Board of Trustees: There are nine available seats on the board. Three seats are reserved for independent members; one is currently filled.
• Downstate Illinois Conservation Grantmaking Committee: Two of five committee members are independent members chosen from East Central Illinois for their expertise and knowledge and for their commitment to conservation. 
• Central Illinois Grantmaking Committee: Three of six committee members are independent members chosen for their connection to East Central Illinois communities and their knowledge of at least one aspect of the committee’s mission.
• Downstate Nonprofit Conference Committee: The Foundation sponsors a biannual conference for nonprofit leaders in downstate Illinois. A group of community leaders are responsible for planning the conference for their peers. Twelve nonprofit leaders from across downstate Illinois comprised the 2007 conference planning committee.
• Regional Alliance for Youth (RAY): In 2006, The Foundation sponsored a Summit for leaders in East Central Illinois interested in improving the system of supports for kids in the region. Out of this initiative came a new organization which The Foundation supports with staff and a budget for independent grantmaking. RAY currently has 11 members who are drawn from across the region.
• Consultations: Before launching a new program or making significant changes to an existing one, The Foundation consults with individuals or groups that may be affected, or who might have special knowledge of the program area. For example, before initiating a change in our library grants program, we invited existing library grantees to a focus group to explain and discuss proposed changes. The discussion led to a new grant for a shared, rotating youth collection at eight of those libraries.

Best Practices and Evaluation

The Foundation applies recognized standards to measure its performance as an effective and accountable organization.  For example, the addition of this page resulted from a discussion by our Committee on Trusteeship during a review of our Accountability Self-Assessment for Staffed Foundations. The Self Assessment is a report card for foundations provided by the Forum of Regional Association of Grantmakers. We also follow the Illinois Nonprofit Principles and Best Practices, published by the Donors Forum of Chicago.

Every third year, we ask applicants to evaluate how Foundation staff and members comported themselves in their relationships with applicants. The survey is conducted by an independent consultant to ensure the confidentiality of the responses and the integrity of the information. Click here for a summary of the most recent independent report.

Conflict of Interest Policy

We do everything possible to ensure the integrity of our programs and relationships. Click here to view our conflict of interest policy that all Board Members, Committee Members and staff agree to follow before taking on responsibilities with The Foundation.