Community Foundation Spark Session: Community Foundation Business Models for Family Philanthropy

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Joanne Cohen, Kim Wright, Tony Macklin

Your community foundation wants to provide more intensive services to philanthropic families. But how will you define your customer segments and their goals? What unique value proposition will you deliver? What will be your goals for revenues and costs? And how will you define external and internal success measures? The community foundation field is experimenting with a variety of answers… Read More

Good Governance: How to Use Board Committees Effectively

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Amy Rauenhorst Goldman, Caroline J. Sabin, Mary Phillips

The use of committees is one of the most important tools for thoughtful governance in family philanthropy. This webinar will take a deep dive into all the qualities of an effective committee structure. Governance experts and family foundation leaders will share successful committee models as well as conducive leadership and engagement strategies. Come prepared to learn from your peers and… Read More

What is a private operating foundation, and should we consider using this option?

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Jason Born

The IRS distinguishes between public and private foundations and, within private foundations, between operating and non-operating (grant-making) foundations. While private operating foundations may choose to make some grants to other charitable organizations, they must engage primarily in direct charitable activities by running their own programs (i.e., using their own facilities, staff and resources to directly further their charitable operations)… Read More

Opportunity of a Lifetime 2.0: Multigenerational Family Philanthropy

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Kylie Musolf, Danielle LaJoie

More than ever before, giving families are working to involve multiple generations in their philanthropy. According to the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s Trends in Family Philanthropy Study, nearly 3 in 5 U.S. family foundations engage younger family members in the foundation — and more than 40 percent say they expect to add to or increase the number of younger-generation… Read More

21st Century Philanthropic Pipelines for Twentysomethings

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Alexis Marion, Carver Murphy, McQuillin Murphy, Adam Rockefeller Growald

How do we inspire and prepare the best generation of philanthropic leaders for the field and for our family work?​ Now in NCFP’s 20th year, we’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a 20-something philanthropist in the 21st century.  This webinar will feature a discussion among early career family philanthropists, showcasing successful strategies for strengthening philanthropic engagement… Read More

Community Foundation Spark Session: Serving Families Who Use Multiple Philanthropic Tools

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Abbe Temkin, Todd Hanson, Tony Macklin

Philanthropic families are increasingly using multiple tools and strategies to achieve their goals for social impact. Creative examples from NCFP’s network include:  a private foundation with funds at multiple community foundations, a donor-advised fund and impact investing portfolio, establishing a family foundation and a 501(C)(4) nonprofit or Political Action Committee, and giving through a family business and a charitable fund… Read More

Balancing Family Privacy and Public Trust: Transparency in Family Philanthropy

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Chris Rurik, Richard Russell, Richard Woo

While transparency is an important value in principle, what do you do when your foundation’s privacy is also your family’s privacy? How do we balance the need for public accountability with a family’s right to privacy? What do the tough but important questions regarding transparency and accountability mean for family philanthropy and how can foundations think strategically about these questions?… Read More

Spending Up: A Discussion on Strategic Lifespan at the Quixote Foundation

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Jeffrey Solomon, Lenore Hanisch, June L. Wilson

In the 2015 Trends Study, NCFP found that nearly three-quarters of all family foundations are still considering whether they want to limit their philanthropic lifespans. This webinar features a roundtable discussion on questions to ask your organization, values and beliefs that play into the decision, and the benefits and costs of choosing to spend up your foundation, featuring the perspectives of two leaders from The Quixote Foundation, which completed its “spend up” process in December 2017… Read More

Equity, Inclusion, and Connecting with Community in Family Philanthropy

Posted on March 9, 2017 by James Gore, Leticia Peguero, Nancy Chan, Sahar Afrakhan

What does inclusivity mean for family philanthropy? How can we promote diversity, community engagement, and openness while retaining the family focus of our giving practices? This session will feature a conversation on strategies for connecting with community and building an equity lens into your grantmaking and internal operations… Read More