Family Giving News Readers' Surveys

NOVEMBER: Your Family's Giving Vehicle

In our November readers' survey, respondents categorized their giving vehicles this way:

Respondents told us that they worked with community leaders and organizations to accomplish their philanthropic goals by:

Administrative or investment management support   We have not worked with community foundations   Other  

OCTOBER: Faith and Family Philanthropy

Last month we asked our readers what role, if any, their faith or spiritual beliefs play in their philanthropy, and here's what you told us:

• 33.6% of respondents said that faith or spiritual beliefs play a very highly active role in their philanthropy, and another 23.9% said that they played a highly active role.
   

• 58.4% that faith helps determine the specific institutions or nonprofits they fund. 55.4% said it affects their over all mission or goals and 51.3% said it affects the issue areas in which they concentrate their grantmaking. 

Here's what some of our readers' had to say on the subject of faith in their family philanthropy:

• "Because of our personal faith, I believe that we were able to understand that we have "enough" Because we have enough - we are free to consider how to give the excess. Enough does not come from a dollar amount (although we have been blessed with much) Enough for us comes from a sense a safety, security, a sense of community, trust, and vision for purpose in life. God has given us a mind to think, a body to serve, and a family to support and encourage. And when we already had enough he entrusted us with resources that now we seek to use in ways that truly further our deepest values within the lives of our children and throughout the World around us. We are young with 3 young children - and I feel so blessed that I have a lifetime in front of me to engage with others working to provide hope and love to the people of this World...for it is from this hope and love that I am filled and have enough."
   

• "When first asked about the question of 'faith' I was inclinded to include our value system, but when the word 'spirituality' was put in there, it became more specific and hence more difficult to connect it with the values we hold as a family. But I do believe that our desire to give back and do good in the world, our environmental ethic, our committment to children and to the inner cities, is so much woven into the fabric of our family. From our catholic/irish upbringing to the ways in which we've created a relationship with those around us and with a world beyond us, it often moves into the vague, blurring world of faith and spirituality. No? Or yes? Interesting stuff, none the less!"
   

• "Faith provides the light as well as the path on which we walk. As a family, we look to our faith to guide us, sustain us as we move through life."
   

• "It is all about the heart and 'where your treasure is, there your heart is also.'"
   

• "It's sad to see faith become the latest new buzz word in philanthrophy, but I think it has."
   

• "Even within our family, a diversity of religions and spirituality is represented. However there are certain fundamental values we share, and those commonly held values have shaped our foundation's mission."
   

SEPTEMBER: International Grantmaking

In our September readers' survey we asked you to consider the importance of international trends and issues in determining your grantmaking. Here's what we found:

• Nearly 47% of respondents told us that international events are somewhat important or very important considerations in their giving
   
• Of those surveyed, 48.1% allot some percentage of their budget to international grantmaking
   
• Of those respondents who currently give internationally, causes related to women's and children's rights ranked highest with 31.2% giving to support them
   
• Healthcare causes (non- HIV related) with 22.1%, the environment with 19.5%, and HIV-related healthcare causes, garnering 16.9%, were the three next largest initiatives to which you gave
   
•  Other causes mentioned included education, technology and religiously affiliated organizations.

To view the full statistical results of this survey, click here.

Here's what some of our readers had to say about the role that family philanthropists can play in addressing global issues:

• "It would be constructive to remind American philanthropists that tax laws in countries where changing social systems mean relying less on government are not as favouable as they are here. In other words, I personally make an effort to give more outside the US in certain areas, since those countries really have very little in the way of a domestic giving base of support as it is. If Americans are reminded of that, they might consider it more seriously."
   
• "Somehow, with the fear of 9/11, international philanthropy has become akin to terrorism in the minds of Americans. It is essential at this time to show precisely that care and funds for change is not a terrorist act."
   
• "In today's global economy it is imperative that American's from all walks of life remain informed, concerned and responsive to international issues, social justice concerns and human rights. Assisting in the funding of international humanitarian organizations is important as the American dollar can go a long way in assisting others in food production, clean water, housing, education and promotion of civil rights. On the other hand, it may be difficult to make sure the majority of the dollars granted are being spent to provide humanitarian aid. Secondly, it is important to grant dollars that are not in conflict with our own government's foreign policy."
   
• "With the new global economy international issues have become local issues. Local issues (technology, education, literacy, agriculture, jobs, poverty, etc.) now all impact people around the globe. Think of all the unintended consequences that have happened just recently as some issues are resolved, they have an impact on other parts of the world. Knowing or unknowing, you will have an impact on international issues."
   
• Families, in particular, must be sensitive to societal changes that would logically lead to new focus areas for the new generations in their foundations. It is always appropriate to consider international issues thoughtfully because that is the context in which we live. The difficult part is deciding who or what has the more compelling case. If the focus is too narrow (always exclusively the US), then we ignore the risk of having "their" problems come to our shores without any ideas or programs that might offer resolution.

AUGUST: Understanding Your 990-PF

In August, we asked  you to tell us how you share information about your family philanthropy.

To view the full results of the survey, click here.

JULY: Top Ten Trends in Family Philanthropy

In July, we asked readers to tell us what they thought were the top three trends in family philanthropy.

To view a chart of the July results' statistics, click here.

Here are the top three picks, and what you had to say about them:

1. Calls for greater accountability and effectiveness: 53.5%

• “I think the interest in scrutiny of family foundations and other not-for-profits is not going to be a short-lived trend. Family foundations would be well-advised to carefully document policy, procedures and transactions. A good starting place is to develop and implement an investment policy statement covering the operating fund, intermediate term assets, and the endowment or long-term fund.”
   
• "The call for greater accountability will likely lead to foundations being more specific in their grantmaking focus. Rather than spread the grants across many issues and programs, it is likely that family foundations will start to provide larger funding to a smaller group of grantees that can document their success in meeting their objectives.”

• “As philanthropists become more engaged, there will be more emphasis on outcomes and outcome measurement, and funders will come to think of what they do as ‘making investments’ rather than ‘making grants.’”
   
• “…as family philanthropy grows, it needs to be anchored in a set of values and commitments that give rise to best practices, without inviting overt regulation or oversight that can suck the idiosyncratic life out of it.”

2. Issues related to generational succession: 47.5%

• "…Generational succession will … require foundations to deal with internal family dynamics and to wrestle with the challenge of keeping succeeding generations involved in family philanthropy while recognizing the need for those generations to listen to their own inner voices. Issues related to generational succession must be clearly identified, articulated, and shared; dealt with head-on in timely ways; and responded to with flexibility."

• "…foundations will need to find a way to help older generations think through why and how and who they want to involve from younger generation members, so that succession is intentional, not accidental."

• "Understanding generational attitudes and interests is a challenge for leaders of funded organizations who are accustomed to what the founders or older generation supported and now have to accommodate to new ways."
   
• "Family philanthropy needs to be defined and promoted as a positive vehicle through which families of all economic classes can learn about the issues affecting their communities and learn about each other's interests while supporting nonprofits. Family giving can and should be promoted as a useful tool to teach children many skills - quantitative and qualitative analysis, decision-making, leadership, etc., —early that they can't learn through textbooks. It would instill philanthropic giving in them from the start. Again, education about philanthropic giving shouldn't be limited just to children from wealthy parents and privileged backgrounds. All children could benefit."

3. Issues of perpetuity and donor intent: 38.1%

• "Today, unique family dynamics are being formed through divorce that will greatly affect who from the families will best represent donor intent … Family foundations that are member corporations are finding it difficult to maintain donor intent, locate board members, and ascertain who should represent the family best on the board.”
   
• "…Lack of internal family expertise or desire to assume leadership roles will play a large role in determining whether a donor’s philanthropic objectives are carried out in perpetuity."
   
• "The creep of foundations away from the purposes of their donors is disturbing. . ."
   
• "there seems to be more consideration of sunsetting vs. perpetuity within family foundations. . ."

JUNE: Generations of Giving

As a part of our Generations of Giving Preview Issue, we asked how many generations participate in your family's philanthropy and if you'd ever experienced generational conflict in your philanthropic endeavors. Here's what you told us:

Family Giving News Home

family giving news is published monthly by the
 national center for family philanthropy
Virginia M. Esposito, President
Jason C. Born, Editor
Sarah. A Trzepacz, Associate Editor
1818 N Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036
http://www.ncfp.org
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