Generations of Giving: Chapter 3 – Choices and Challenges for the Controlling Trustee Foundation

Posted on September 27, 2006 by Deanne Stone, Howard Muson, Katherine Grady, Kelin E. Gersick, Ph.D., Michele Desjardins

This is Chapter 3 of Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations, the landmark 2006 study by a team of researchers led by Kelin Gersick and co-published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy.  This chapter features an introduction to the controlling trustee foundation, and a look at the giving motivations and perspectives of founders and donors. The… Read More

Generations of Giving: Chapter 2 – Family Philanthropy in North America

Posted on September 27, 2006 by Deanne Stone, Howard Muson, Katherine Grady, Kelin E. Gersick, Ph.D., Michele Desjardins

This is Chapter 2 of Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations, the landmark 2006 study by a team of researchers led by Kelin Gersick and co-published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy.  This Chapter features a look at the history of early family philanthropy in America, including the role of tax policy in creating the Charitable… Read More

Generations of Giving: Introduction

Posted on September 27, 2006 by Deanne Stone, Howard Muson, Katherine Grady, Kelin E. Gersick, Ph.D., Michele Desjardins

This is the introduction for Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations, the landmark 2006 study by a team of researchers led by Kelin Gersick and co-published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy. This introduction features the lead author’s proposition that the concept of “success” in family foundations has been severely under-explored in the field of philanthropy,… Read More

Generations of Giving: Transitions in Family Foundations

Posted on September 27, 2006 by Deanne Stone, Howard Muson, Katherine Grady, Kelin E. Gersick, Ph.D., Michele Desjardins

This excerpt from the introduction for Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations, explores the six components of transitions in a typical family foundation, introduced as follows: The overall time span of a transition may be a few months or several years, depending on the type of transition and the complexity of the system. But we believe that… Read More

Sharing Values Effectively Across Generations

Posted on August 10, 2006 by Sharna Goldseker

Sometimes it can be tough to communicate values across generations even if the only thing that changes is the vocabulary. Although at heart we know that members of our family share values, defining and verbalizing a shared philosophy can take a special effort… Read More

Measuring Effectiveness as a Family Philanthropy

Posted on November 10, 2005 by Doug Bauer

While no family launches a charitable giving vehicle with the intention of spending time and resources without results, it can often be difficult to quantify or even evaluate the results of your philanthropy. Certainly every family hopes that their giving will have a positive impact on the lives of those in their communities, but how can the results of your… Read More

Closing the door: Spending out frees the Beldon Fund board’s imagination

Posted on October 21, 2005 by Deanne Stone

Many family foundations that make the decision to spend out their assets within a limited timeframe say that doing so keeps them focused on the mission, energized, and on their toes. Bill Roberts, former executive director of the Beldon Fund, speaks for many of the foundations interviewed for NCFP’s Passages Issue Brief on this topic, “Alternatives to Perpetuity: A Conversation… Read More