Back to School: Become a Foundation Expert; Fielding Graduate Institute and IFF Advisors, LLC, Create First Integrated Certified Program in Foundation Management.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Fielding Graduate Institute and IFF Advisors, LLC have joined forces and created the first integrated Certificate in Foundation Management, it was announced today by Fielding President Dr. Judith Kuipers and Douglas K. Freeman, J.D., LL.M., Chairman, IFF Advisors, LLC.

Fielding, a premier distributed graduate education university, and IFF Advisors, LLC, one of the largest and most experienced foundation consulting companies in the nation, have created a program that offers a unique mix of face-to-face and online discussion, academic and experiential learning. The program will mix the classroom with fieldwork and practical exercises. This program begins Jan. 23, 2005, and will be conducted (four weekends, three in the beautiful community of Santa Barbara and one in Los Angeles) over a period of six months. The curriculum covers the full range of traditional foundation management issues, including:

--Organizational design, governance, and transition planning

--Grant making

--Fiduciary duties and asset management

--Administration and compliance

--Family dynamics and challenges

The certificate program has been developed primarily for founders, family members, consultants, and foundation staff. In addition, professionals who work with family and independent foundations, including lawyers, accountants, and financial planning professionals will benefit from this curriculum.

The program is offered in three distinct modules and each kicks off with a two-day face-to-face group meeting that will include both lecture and small group work, followed by a six-week online facilitated discussion. The faculty will be drawn from nationally recognized experts at IFF Advisors and the Fielding Graduate Institute, as well as from other leaders throughout the country. The online training will be conducted through Fielding's experienced Human & Organization Development faculty.

"We have developed this integrated program by combining rigorous reading and preparation with case studies and fieldwork. This certificate provides an exciting combination of scholarship and real life experience, designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of foundation management, and to respond to the unique challenges of family philanthropy," said Dr. Judith Stevens-Long, Project Director and Associate Dean in Fielding's School of Human & Organization Development.

"The operational, practical, financial and regulatory aspects of foundations will be covered," said IFF's Doug Freeman. In Mr. Freeman's career, he has guided over 200 family foundations. Through IFF's Dr. Lee Hausner, an internationally-recognized clinical psychologist and author of "Children of Paradise," students will experience the challenges of family dynamics and learn skills and strategies to respond to family wealth issues, leadership, and communication. "We are delighted to announce this important partnership. The certificate program begins on January 23, 2005 and runs through the end of July," said Dr. Charles McClintock, Dean of the School of Human & Organization Development.

Interested parties should contact Fielding Graduate Institute (Judith Stevens-Long, Ph.D. at [e-mail] or www.fielding.edu) or IFF Advisors, LLC, (Carrie Huntley at [e-mail] or www.iffadvisors.com).

About Fielding

Founded in 1974, and approaching its thirtieth anniversary, the Fielding Graduate Institute, headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, is a world-recognized leader in doctoral level graduate education, having created one of the long term successful distributed Socratic learning models for mid-career adults. Fielding's School of Human & Organization Development is one of the nation's most respected graduate schools of Organization Development and Management practitioners. Fielding is an accredited, non-profit graduate university offering numerous programs within three schools: Psychology, Human & Organization Development, and Educational Leadership & Change. The Fielding community enables students to participate effectively from anywhere in the world and is dedicated to lifelong learning, social justice and change, as well as innovation in organizations, communities and society. For more information, visit online at www.fielding.edu.

About IFF

IFF Advisors, LLC, based in Irvine, CA is a national consulting firm created to enhance the human, intellectual, social and financial capitals of individual, family, foundation and non-profit clients, through independent, impartial, fee-based advice. IFF Advisors provides long-term strategic planning and essential administrative services to facilitate the implementation and operation of family and independent foundations, donor-advised funds, and family philanthropy. The Family and Independent Foundation Division focuses on:

--Strategic and organizational planning

--Leadership and succession planning 

--Family mentoring

--Grant program, design, structure, and administration

--Fiduciary planning and guidance

--Compliance and risk management

For more information, visit online at www.iffadvisors.com.