ABSTRACT
Previous work on foundations in Ireland has indicated that there are more operating than grant-making foundations and that the overall foundation field is small (Donoghue 2001). Indeed, foundations are not very visible entities when we look at the Irish nonprofit sector and this lack of visibility is evident in legislation and in history. There has been some recent policy interest, namely in community foundations, which merited a mention in the Government's White Paper as a support to voluntary and community organizations (Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs 2000).
