This issue of Family Giving News addresses various issues related to philanthropy as a multi-generational enterprise. In anticipation of the September release of Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations, we are pleased to feature the first in a series of excerpts from this important new book on multi-generational philanthropy. We will also feature a new composite case study by Katharine G. Baker and Fredda Herz Brown, which examines the impact of family dynamics on the ability to carry out a philanthropic mission, and offers suggestions for handling conflict and redirecting energy to benefit your giving agenda. Finally, we'll explore how to inspire younger family members to take over the helm of family giving and how to encourage millennial philanthropists.
In Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations, Kelin Gersick and his team reveal the patterns of leadership and organizational development that they discovered based on 30 in-depth case studies of multi-generational family foundations from the United States and Canada. This excerpt explores five scenarios in which family dynamics can impede or prevent families from adopting a strong succession plan.
Generations of Giving Excerpt: Five Reasons That Families Avoid Succession Planning
Pre-order your copy of Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations before the September 2004 release date and save 40% off the regular price!
When evaluating your long-range philanthropic goals and developing a succession plan, it's a good idea to consider these tips:
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Strategies for Managing Generational Conflict
This tips have been extracted from "Passages: Managing Conflicts in Your Family Philanthropy," and were adapted from a workshop for the Council on Foundations Family Foundation Conference in 1993, led by Ivan Lansberg. |
Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Philanthropy—An Interim Report by Kelin E. Gersick. Passages— Exploring Key Issues in Family Giving, Volume 5.2. National Center for Family Philanthropy.
Passing the Torch: The Great Wealth Transfer. More than Money. #32, April 2003.
Successful Succession: Inspiring and Preparing New Generations of Charitable Leaders by Virginia M. Esposito. Passages— Exploring Key Issues in Family Giving, Volume 5.3. National Center for Family Philanthropy.
Families and family enterprises, whether they are family-owned businesses, family foundations, or other ventures, are not entirely separate entities with clearly delineated boundaries. They are, instead, separate systems whose fluid boundaries often overlap and whose dynamics profoundly effect one another.
Planning ahead and establishing a succession strategy early in your philanthropic endeavor can help circumvent many of the problems presented by generational transition. Other difficulties, however, such as values shifts, personality conflicts among family members, or a long history of familial unrest, can prove more difficult to avoid. Because a family's philanthropy is a highly personal affair and often tightly bound to the founding generation's ideals, values, and sense of their place in the world, it can be the site of intense debate and even open conflict. Conflicts over ideals and vision, although present among family members of the same generation, can be especially prevalent among family members of different generations. More than ever, the rapidly changing world in which we live—driven by rapid technology growth, globalism, and political uncertainty—guarantees that there will be a gulf between the founding generations' experiences and those of their children and grandchildren. These varied experiences among family members can result in a shift in attitudes towards wealth, society, and giving, which can change a family or foundation's philanthropic trajectory.
In the following FGN case study, Katherine G. Baker and Fredda Herz Brown of The Metropolitan Group discuss how the Johnsons—a fictitious composite of the many families they have worked with over the years—address generational stereotypes and handle conflict with the help of a consultant mediator.
In this case study, the Johnsons learn how invaluable communication and outside intervention can be in times of tension or conflict. Outside input, whether garnered through a mediator, trusted advisor, or non-family board members, can help put generational and other family conflicts into perspective. Perspective, along with planning and open communication, are integral in avoiding the mire of familial conflict and being free to carry out your philanthropic mission.
Making Family Philanthropy Generationally Relevant: A Composite Case Study
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Generational Differences: Final Thoughts for Parents and Children From the parents:
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Making Peace Between the Generations in Family Businesses by Thomas D. Davidow and Richard L. Narva.
Managing Conflicts and Family Dynamics in Your Family Philanthropy by Deborah Brody Hamilton. Passages— Exploring Key Issues in Family Giving, Volume 4.2. National Center for Family Philanthropy.
Many donors seek to engage the younger generations in philanthropy and to encourage them to adopt the tradition of giving as their own in years to come. Just as important as developing a plan of action for succession, instilling the desire to give in the younger generations is vital to the long-term success of a family's philanthropy. Whether your family's philanthropy is organized through a donor-advised fund at the local community foundation or a large foundation with a more substantial grantmaking budget, much of the experts' core advice for teaching philanthropy is the same:
Depending on the age of the child and your family's philanthropy, your course of action may be different. For large family foundations, involving the next generation may be achieved through a board of junior trustees who research and recommend grant recipients to the current Board of Trustees, or who are given a specific sum to allot as they see fit within the foundation's wider grantmaking budget. For individual donors, this may mean involving children and grandchildren in the process of managing a donor-advised fund as the Johnsons did in our example. Or, it may simply mean encouraging your teenager to spend her Thanksgiving feeding the homeless, or helping a nine-year-old save a portion of his allowance to donate to the World Wildlife Fund to save pandas from extinction.
For more on encouraging teenagers to be philanthropic, keep and eye out for a new Passages, coming summer 2004!
Families that Give Together: Realizing the Benefits of Family Philanthropy by the Dallas Foundation.
Giving Family: Raising Our Children to Help Others by Susan Crites Price, The Council on Foundations, January 2001.
Opportunity of a Lifetime: Young Adults in Family Philanthropy by Alison Goldberg. Passages— Exploring Key Issues in Family Giving, Volume 4.1. National Center for Family Philanthropy.
Raising Children in Affluent Families from Families First Parenting Programs.
Raising Children with Philanthropic Values from the TPI Library Series: The Venturesome Donor by The Philanthropic Initiative.
Talking with Mr. Rogers About Children and Giving an interview by Susan Carey Dempsey.
Youth in Philanthropy Web Site Resource List by the Foundation Center.
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