NCFP Blog

Effective Family Philanthropy in Action

Using Your Voice and Influence to Complement Your Grantmaking 

Posted on August 4, 2025 by Maggie McGoldrick

Funders can use their voice and influence to amplify their grantmkaing, something that is particularly important as nonprofits face a dearth of funds. From signing pledges to signal solidarity and take action to bold peer-to-peer calls to action and transparent communication, family philanthropy is using its voice to meet the moment. Conversations about philanthropy typically focus on financial assets. However,… Read More
Effective Family Philanthropy in Action

Planning for Effective Next-Generation Engagement

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Kaky McGinness Grant, Pat Lummus

To improve its next-generation engagement and onboarding processes, the Sartain Lanier Family Foundation partnered with Grant Philanthropic Advisors to develop a ‘learning ladder’ that introduces the next generation to important skills and philanthropic knowledge and supports a smoother transition to board service.  In 2024, the Sartain Lanier Family Foundation had begun to see the impact of its recent strategic planning… Read More
Ask NCFP

Ask NCFP: How do we set expectations about our funding capacity?

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Maggie McGoldrick

NCFP receives a number of questions about family philanthropy and is particularly equipped to answer inquiries about philanthropic purpose, governance, next-generation engagement, family dynamics, and succession and legacy. This series is designed to answer commonly asked questions and provide resources and considerations for family funders. If you have a family philanthropy question, consider submitting a request for assistance to NCFP… Read More
Effective Family Philanthropy in Action

How Family Philanthropies Can Support Community Organizing to Strengthen the Fabric of US Democracy

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Loren McArthur

Family philanthropy is uniquely positioned to support a healthy democracy by funding community organizing, which often aligns well with their values and can fill funding gaps in meaningful ways, argues Loren McArthur.  Many family donors are worried about the state of American democracy. Today, just 34 percent of Americans are satisfied with the way democracy is working in the United… Read More
From the Archive

From the Archive: Difficult Discussions at Difficult Times

Posted on June 9, 2025

NCFP’s From the Archive series highlights resources from our Knowledge Center that have stood the test of time and continue to provide valuable guidance for the field.  In family philanthropy, times of crisis often prompt difficult but necessary conversations that can help families affirm their values, shape their strategies, and grow their impact. All funders have to grapple with local… Read More
Effective Family Philanthropy in Action

The Time to Embrace Impact Investing is Now

Posted on June 3, 2025 by Stacey Faella, Kathleen Simpson

Stacey Faella and Kathleen Simpson show the ways that impact investing has been a powerful tool at their foundations and offer advice to funders who want to explore new paths to support their grantees in light of  funding gaps and significant need in the nonprofit sector.  In 2025, many of us in philanthropy are confronting an uncomfortable truth: the tools… Read More
Effective Family Philanthropy in Action

How Your Foundation’s Records Can Measure Impact, Manage Risk, and Promote Transparency

Posted on May 19, 2025 by Bob Clark

Your foundation’s information is an asset and managing that information with record and knowledge management—and perhaps an archives program—can help you preserve your family’s legacy, ensure that you’re complying with legal requirements, make your impact clearer, and help you live into values like accountability and transparency. While foundations have different goals that may inform their individual approach to information governance,… Read More
Effective Family Philanthropy in Action

Breaking Down Silos, Funding at the Intersection

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Risa Kaufman

A thriving democracy and reproductive rights are inextricably linked, argues Risa Kaufman. Here, she outlines how The Overbrook Foundation funds at this intersection and why funders who embrace the interconnected nature of today’s challenges can have greater impact. Urgent issues do not exist in silos. Rather, they are cross-cutting and interdependent, particularly in a rapidly changing landscape. Efforts to address… Read More
From NCFP

More Family Foundations are Paying More than Five Percent Annually. Here’s Why.

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Maggie McGoldrick

NCFP’s Trends 2025 study showed that the majority of respondents are paying out more than five percent annually. Here, Maggie McGoldrick covers the various reasons that a funder might significantly increase their payout for a discrete period of time, including to make a big bet, account for programmatic shifts, or respond to a crisis. The IRS requires private foundations to… Read More
Network News

April 2025: Network News

Posted on April 18, 2025

NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and partners, showcasing accomplishments, new approaches or giving areas, innovative ideas, and staff and board transitions, and more.  We encourage our members and parters to email us with news that you would like to be shared. Compton Foundation Leaves… Read More

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