Rural Funders Peer Network: Rural Community Capacity Building

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Jerry Kenney, Emily R. Warren Armitano, Kathleen Flanagan

As funding flows into rural communities, the opportunity for these communities to access, deploy, and effectively manage these funds has risen as a pressing priority. The ability to assess community needs, design inclusive, ‘shovel-ready’ projects, and coordinate, write, and manage grant applications requires time, human capital, and resources that are hard to come by in overstretched rural communities. This discussion… Read More

Strategic Lifespan Peer Network: Investing with an End in Sight

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Emilie Cortes, Karie Dewan, Priscilla Enriquez

Planning to spend down is financially complex. It can be tough for board and staff to predict the financial future of the work. How do you plan for the funding needed for staffing, operations, and multi-year investments? While planning, how can you best make decisions to maximize the financial and social impact of your dollars? Join Emilie Cortes, trustee of… Read More

Breaking Up: Divorce in Family Philanthropy

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Elaine Gast Fawcett

This Passages guide is part one of a two-part series on divorce and division in family philanthropy, featuring tips for what board and staff members can do to prepare and cope. This first part includes case studies on family foundations who have navigated divorce, questions to consider when developing board policies, and perspectives on the implications of divorce on assets… Read More

Strategic Lifespan Peer Network: Spending Up, Committing to Increased Assets for Increased Impact

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Colleen O’Keefe, Pat Sauer

How are you thinking about your foundation’s assets, the challenges and inequities in our world, and supporting timely problems? In 2021, the Sauer Foundation shared, “the assets of the foundation would increase from $28 million to $100 million, and that amount would be invested in the community over the next 10 years.” This foundation’s gift to spend up and make… Read More

Pluralism in Family Philanthropy: Navigating Tensions and Bridging Divides for Impact

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Uma Viswanathan, Tegan Acton, Heather Templeton Dill, Brian Hooks, Nicholas A. Tedesco

Group of people of on top of the mountain at sunset
In an increasingly divisive society, people are facing complex, challenging dialogues around politics, ethics, and social issues, struggling to manage perspectives across the political aisle and facilitate healthy discourse with multiple viewpoints. What is taking place on a macro scale is mirrored within individual families—difficult conversations, distinct political and cultural divides, and in many cases gridlock or an inability to… Read More

Making Space for Youth Leadership

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Charlotte Cottier, Tracy Wasden, Marlene Corrado, Alexis Marion

There are many different strategies and formats to engage the next generation of youth in family philanthropy. Yet in all cases, younger members of the next generation need opportunities to take leadership roles that help them learn new skills, gain relevant experience in philanthropy, and hone their own practices and interests before taking on leadership as adults. Join us for… Read More

Five Levers of Legacy

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Vasser Seydel, Janice Simsohn Shaw, Sapphira Goradia

multigenerational family
Historically, legacy in family philanthropy has been considered from a retrospective point of view—as the culmination of the impact of a family and its philanthropic efforts. However, a new generation of leaders is redefining legacy to be formative, intentional, and continually refined. Join us for a conversation on the five levers of legacy and how to be more intentional about… Read More

Practicing the Equitable Evaluation Framework™

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Katy Pelissier, Kimberlee Salmond, Henriët Hendriks, Marcia Coné

As philanthropy evolves and moves to centering equity, assessment, research, learning, and evaluation strategies must also evolve. What is the Equitable Evaluation Framework (EEF) and how do we engage with the EEF? Join your colleagues in a conversation about how they are seeding and growing a field of EEF practitioners to shift the paradigm. About this Series The monthly Fundamentals… Read More

Staffing for Success

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Frank Baiocchi, Terrill North, Kim Van Horn, Alison Fass, Katherine Jacobs

Professional staff is frequently an essential element of an effective family philanthropy effort; however, it can be a difficult construct to navigate. What are the skills and expertise required for staff members to be successful in family philanthropy? How can philanthropic families prepare to hire the right talent? What does the hiring process entail and what are some common missteps… Read More