Who We Serve (Old)

The National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) is the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to families who give and those who work with them.

We provide the resources, expertise and support families need to transform their values into effective giving that makes a lasting impact on the communities they serve. Together, we make great things happen.

Donors and giving families

Donors and giving families are at the heart of our work. Our experience with and understanding of the very personal act of giving is reflected in the advice and services we provide. We offer a safe, confidential and objective place for you to begin your philanthropic journey. We’re here to help you think through your options, ask the right questions and connect with others who have been through the same process.

To get started, take a look at what we have to offer. You can also contact our expert staff with questions or become a Friend of the Family today to access our resources.

Family foundations

We think of family philanthropy as the organized commitment of a family’s private wealth— time, talent or treasure — to public purposes. Many of the families we work with choose to honor that commitment through the family foundation vehicle. Whether you’re a donor, board member, next gen family member, CEO or other staff member, we have the world’s largest collection of resources to help you manage the challenges of running a family foundation.

Community foundations

Community foundations play vital roles in cities and towns across the country — they serve as hubs for donor engagement, capital and learning. As dedicated partners in the philanthropic sector, our goal is to help you more effectively serve the donors and families in your region by providing objective research, trusted expertise, specialized content and unique networking opportunities. Together, we act as a catalyst for the greater good by helping thousands of giving families each year.

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Policy Central: Sample Policies and Practices

NCFP's Policy Central includes sample policies and practices in the areas of governance, grantmaking, family dynamics, engaging the next generation, investments, management, and staffing. New samples are added frequently, and are here when you need them!

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Advisors, regional associations and philanthropic networks

We work with advisors, regional associations and other philanthropic networks to provide essential, objective information about charitable options for your clients and members as well as access to cutting edge resources in family philanthropy. We recognize that advisors and philanthropic networks are essential partners in helping donors and families achieve their goals. We offer a variety of resources to help you engage donors in meaningful discussions about their giving goals.

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Working with Consultants

There are almost as many reasons to hire a consultant as there are consultants. These resources will help you take the right steps to find, hire, and manage a consultant who will deliver what you need whether it be for strategy, evaluation, communications, or providing fundraising advice and support for your grantee partners.

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Sector building

In addition to our work supporting donors, families, community foundations, regional associations, advisors, and other donor networks, the National Center is a dedicated voice for the value of family involvement in philanthropy. We continually seek to ensure that the contributions of families are respected and understood in the greater philanthropic sector.

Family Philanthropy and Donor-Advised Funds

This online guide is for donors and families considering donor-advised funds, as well as for others, including advisors, seeking to learn more about the benefits and complexities of this important philanthropic vehicle.

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COVID-19: Response and Recovery Resources for Giving Families

This collection features resources from the field, an interactive map of local funds, upcoming COVID-19 webinars, and more.

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Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

This Content Collection includes a variety of perspectives and tools for addressing REDI issues within your organization, including a collection of customized Checklists, Quizzes, and Self-Assessment Tools for boards and staff.

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Trends in Family Philanthropy: Current Research in the Field

This Content Collection features NCFP's Trends 2020 Study and other current research on the field of family philanthropy.

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Living the Legacy

This special Content Collection shares chapters from NCFP's popular "Living the Legacy Journal," sharing perspectives and stories of families who have explored and adopted the practice of a living legacy across generations.

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Stanford PACS Guide to Effective Philanthropy

The aim for this book is to simplify the components of effective philanthropy. The Guide has two major parts. Part One lays out a series of personal considerations that will help shape your philanthropic strategy. Part Two delves into the tactical practices of philanthropy to help you deploy your resources most effectively.

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Trust-based Philanthropy

Whether you’re a long-time practitioner or are just considering adopting this approach, we hope these resources will help you bring trust-based principles into practice.

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Participatory Grantmaking

This Content Collection features research, case studies, discussion guides, and other articles and blog posts on the practice of Participatory Grantmaking (also sometimes referred to as Community Led Grantmaking).

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Multi-faceted Giving

This content collection was curated to help answer those questions and allow your philanthropic family to better accommodate diverse systems of giving.

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Generations Together: Engaging Youth

This special collection was curated by our Engaging Youth Peer Network. We thank them for their leadership and sharing. Unless otherwise noted, all resources listed are intended to be able to be used directly with kids.

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Expenditure Responsibility

This NCFP Content Collection includes FAQs, rules and sample policies for the process of expenditure responsibility to ensure your grants to "non-charities" are for charitable purposes.

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Policy Central: Sample Policies and Practices

NCFP's Policy Central includes sample policies and practices in the areas of governance, grantmaking, family dynamics, engaging the next generation, investments, management, and staffing. New samples are added frequently, and are here when you need them!

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Foundation Archives

This Content Collection features reports and articles of interest to foundations considering whether to establish archives to preserve their records, knowledge, and histories.

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Strategic Philanthropy

This Content Collection features NCFP research, webinars, and additional resources to use as your foundation or family considers its overall strategy and approach to philanthropy.

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Collections

Curated by our staff to meet your needs

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