When speaking at the launch of Trust Africa in Dakar, Senegal on 6 June 2006, Barry Gaberman listed ten attributes of foundations that make them important in getting what he called the ‘business of society’ done. Together, he says, these add up to ‘a picture of a sector that goes beyond just the provision of services, important as that is, to one that challenges the status quo in society’. Particularly important, in his view, is the support they give to the institutions of civil society. What follows is part of his presentation at the TrustAfrica launch.