Getting Started: Sample Policies and Practices
Here you will find a collection of sample policies and practices related to establishing a family foundation.
For a wide variety of additional sample statements and other resources, see Policy Central: Getting Started With Family Philanthropy.
READ: Life Cycle of a Private Foundation: Starting Out
An IRS overview of the trust instrument, corporate charter, articles of association, and other written instruments by which a new private family foundation is created under state law.
READ: Bylaws of the Doane Family Foundation
Sample bylaws from the Doane Family Foundation.
READ: Sample Bylaws with a Focus on Family Branch Representation
These sample bylaws include specific language regarding participation from each branch of the family.
READ: What Ought to Be in an Organization’s Bylaws
Bylaws are the internal governance rules of a group of people who have organized for a common goal. This short article written by Betsy Buchalter Adler, a founding partner of the San Francisco law firm of Adler & Colvin, describes the commonly required elements for an organization’s founding bylaws.
READ: The Parable of the Mustard Seed: A Founder’s Statement of Intent
The donor legacy statement of Ike Leighty, founder of the Leighty Family Foundation.
Donor Legacy Statement of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation.
Founder’s Statement from the Brinson Foundation.
READ: Conflict of Interest Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
READ: Policy Central: Getting Started With Family Philanthropy
Looking for sample bylaws, donor legacy or intent statements, or sample mission statements? Need an example of a donor advised fund agreement? Start with NCFP’s “Getting Started in Family Philanthropy” collection in Policy Central.