NCFP Blog

Voices from the Field

Impact Investing, and What I Wish I Knew When I Started

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Meredith Lorenz Heimburger

sticky notes on bulletin board. Yellow sticky note says "Impact Investing" and pink sticky note has bar graph measuring money that increases over time
Introduction to Systemic Challenges I started my career as a teacher with Teach For America, hoping to replicate in my classroom a version of my grandfather’s rags to riches story, with education as the great equalizer for kids from underinvested communities. My former students would say I taught them well, but I learned more than I taught—about compounding, systemic challenges… Read More
Network News

August 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network

Posted on August 8, 2022

beach with sand and sunset
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. Are you a current Friend or Leadership Circle member of NCFP with an update or good news about your foundation that you would like to share with Family Giving News readers? Please email us. Interested in learning more about the families involved in NCFP’s Friends of the Family network? Go… Read More
Voices from the Field

Here’s How a Longtime Family Foundation Fractured, and Shifted Gears for a Meaningful Final Act

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Ade Adeniji, Inside Philanthropy

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on the many forms of family philanthropy, in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy, and produced by Inside Philanthropy’s editorial team. In 1894, Missouri native William H. Danforth founded what would become Ralston Purina Company as a balanced food production company for animals. The company revolutionized the feed… Read More
Voices from the Field

Family Foundations Collaborate for Local Grants on Climate and Equity

Posted on July 27, 2022 by John Anderson Lanier

Young black man with megaphone at protest against climate change
This was originally published by Drawdown Georgia and is re-posted here with permission What if several family foundations came together with a shared vision to jointly support a grant program for climate solutions and equity in Georgia? A new collaboration puts a fresh lens on the challenges and the solutions at hand. Family Foundations: Each one is different Early on… Read More
From NCFP

Takeaways Blog on Participatory Grantmaking

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Daria Teutonico

diverse group of people seated and raising their hands
This blog summarizes key notes from our June Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy webinar. Many family-led philanthropies are successfully using a participatory grantmaking approach by engaging community members in their decision-making. And, for many philanthropic families, participatory grantmaking is an emerging practice. In the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s recent webinar, Nwamaka Agbo, Monica George, Cynthia Gibson, Ambar Cristina Hanson, and Leslie Ramyk… Read More
Voices from the Field

Five Questions for Liesel Pritzker Simmons

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Liesel Pritzker Simmons

Anniversaries are times for reflection on and celebration of the past, as well as an opportunity to imagine the future. As the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) celebrates our 25th anniversary, we are speaking with community members about their reflections on the evolutions of their own philanthropy, the sector, and NCFP as well as their hopes for the future. … Read More
Voices from the Field

Open Calls in Philanthropy: An Uncommon Approach that Can Reveal Weaknesses and Maximize Strengths

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Kathleen Simpson

hand pulling back white paper to reveal mountain backdrop
This article was originally published by Mission Investors Exchange and is re-posted here with permission. In philanthropy, the open call interview process to fill board- and committee-level positions is not typically a common practice. These positions are often filled by those who already have an existing relationship with the foundation, such as colleagues and associates, friends and family members. Reasons… Read More
Network News

July 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network

Posted on July 6, 2022

white flower by roadside. Nature outdoor autumn photo
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. Are you a current Friend or Leadership Circle member of NCFP with an update or good news about your foundation that you would like to share with Family Giving News readers? Please email us. Interested in learning more about the families involved in NCFP’s Friends of the Family network? Go… Read More
Voices from the Field

Five Questions for Kimberly Myers Hewlett

Posted on July 5, 2022 by Kimberly Myers Hewlett

Anniversaries are times for reflection on and celebration of the past, as well as an opportunity to imagine the future. As the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) celebrates our 25th anniversary, we are speaking with community members about their reflections on the evolutions of their own philanthropy, the sector, and NCFP as well as their hopes for the future. … Read More
Voices from the Field

Open Letter to Family Philanthropists: Please, Invest in Our Democracy While We Still Can

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Adrienne Bousian

Black woman at voting polls with American flag in the background
“When you read about these near misses [of stable democracies staving off authoritarian threats], two factors prove decisive again and again: when a society’s elite stands up to an authoritarian faction, using their power to beat it back, and when the mass public organizes and demonstrates in favor of democracy.” – Zack Beauchamp, American democracy is tottering. It’s not clear… Read More

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