December 15, 2011; Source: Boston Globe | (Please also see comments below newswire) Though billed as a merger, it appears clear that The Boston Foundation has absorbed TPI, a consulting firm that advises donors on how to give their money away. TPI has become a unit of TBF, which, of course, has its own donor advising capacity. TBF will assume all of TPI assets, costs, and debt. Ellen Remmer of TPI was clear that finances were one major driver of the decision. According to the Boston Globe, the group’s revenues had declined by 60 percent during the recession. TPI has been a well-known leader in the field of donor advising for decades. The Boston Foundation is among the top community foundations in the nation. It ranks 12th in asset size among all community foundations in the U.S. according to the Foundation Center, but it is 10th in community foundation grantmaking and in 2009 ranked 8th in terms of gifts received. —Ruth McCambridge