In a country where wealth is increasingly concentrated and the role of the government as a redistributive force is debated constantly, can we be an example of how individuals and families can redistribute their wealth in their own way?

Even when we aspire to fund the right things, the ways in which we provide that funding run the risk of undermining the transformative potential of such work. As funders, we desperately need to learn how to let go and get out of the way.

A philanthropic-expert marketplace would take advantage of the investments foundations make in their professional staffs and in so doing would enable grant makers to have greater influence on the larger philanthropic world.

Why does your family give? This question is central to the work you do — because it helps understand the motivations behind your foundation’s mission.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative LLC raised the question about why some philanthropists choose a limited liability company (“LLC”) instead of a private non-operating foundation (“foundation”) to carry out their mission.

When you were at the table, we generally worked through consensus building, rarely actually taking a vote. Of course since you were there, we had no trouble coming to agreement. We knew whose vote counted!

The importance of documenting the ethos of our founders is well known in family philanthropy. Authors and leaders throughout the field have published articles and tools (e.g. Grandparent Legacy Project) aimed to help families ask questions to elicit the core values of our founders. These values are the backbone of our work. And when we are able to connect our founders’ values to real-life stories, it can have a profound impact on our families and those we serve.

A donor-advised fund (DAF) provides the donor(s) the opportunity to provide a tax-deductible gift to benefit the organizations and issues that the donor(s) care about most. Working with the community foundation has been great for our family because they provide management and support including handling the paperwork attendant to tax-deductions.

Many of us in family philanthropy are driven by a grand vision of a better world. We are motivated by bold ideas, and finding ways to use our philanthropy to make a difference and leave a lasting impact. And, at the same time, we are too often hamstrung by a fear of failure.

We live in a world of growing income disparities, human rights violations, increasing environmental concerns, political instability and ongoing global threats and atrocities. We will never have an impact on these issues until we enlist the help of those who will be 60 years old in 2071. Yes, I’m talking about the five-year-olds of today.