Stop Hoping, Start Funding:
The Why, What, and How of Starting a 501(c)4

Session Description: 

Our current national context requires philanthropy to engage in courageous leadership and bold approaches, and that includes policy change. When philanthropies have both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations, they unlock additional tools to shift policies and systems. In 2019, the Children’s Equity Fund was founded as a cross-partisan 501(c)(4) organization to drive policy solutions for the early childhood education system. As a sister organization to the 501(c)(3) Bainum Family Foundation, Children’s Equity Fund can create actionable policy solutions, ensure they reach policymakers and work to get them passed.

This session will share the why, what, and how of starting up a 501(c)(4) organization. It will provide insights into Children Equity Fund’s experience, including several examples of the challenges and how the Fund navigated them. It will also provide practical tools and recommended steps for funders considering how to engage in more policy and political funding work.

Speakers: 

• Julia McKay
  Senior Manager, Healthy Democracy, Children’s Equity Fund
• Rebecca Cisek
  Chief Impact Officer, Bainum Family Foundation and Children’s Equity Fund

Session Resources