NCFP Blog

10 Questions to Help Start the Values Conversation

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Suzanne Hammer

Why you give matters just as much, if not more, than what you give. Whether you are talking about preserving wealth or giving it away, it’s important to be clear on the values that drive that decision. How many people have voiced their own values, held a conversation with loved ones about the values they share? My guess? Not many… Read More

Aligning your external mission with your family’s values

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Doug Bitonti Stewart

In our day-to-day work in family philanthropy, we often worry about ‘what’ we do and don’t often pause to consider the ‘why.’ Perhaps we should also spend some concerted time thinking about the why — asking questions like, "Why is our family involved in philanthropy? What impact do we hope to see in our families through this work?”… Read More

Voices from the Field

Why We Must Stand Up for Overhead

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Katherine Lorenz

It is critical that donors invest in the long-term health and sustainability of the institutions we are asking to tackle the world’s most entrenched social problems. Starving organizations of strong strategic plans or essential technology—often viewed as overhead and therefore superfluous—actually prevents their ability to use the limited resources they do have most effectively… Read More

Voices from the Field

Good Governance: How Should Family Foundation Boards Spend Their Time?

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Phillip Henderson

Checks landing in the mailboxes of nonprofit organizations with foundation return ad-dresses have long been considered philanthropy’s most important currency. Reflecting that view, family foundations have tended to focus their operations, self-image, and their very reasons for being on getting the dollars out the door… Read More

Voices from the Field

Can general operating support become the new normal?

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Jen Teunon

If every funder only pays for a specific program or a specific line item, an organization becomes fragmented and unstable. Without general operating support, an organization doesn’t have the money for staffing, rent, technology, training, or even the phone bill. And, without a strong infrastructure, programs that improve our communities can’t happen. … Read More

Voices from the Field

10 general guidelines for greater foundation transparency

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Rick Cohen

Given the immense diversity of foundations, it is a challenge to talk about any aspect of foundation behavior that goes beyond the minimum required in law and public policy to reach prescriptions for the behavior of foundations across the board… Read More

Ask NCFP

What is mission investing and is it different from impact investing?

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Mission Investors Exchange

Mission investments are made by foundations and other mission-based organizations to further their philanthropic goals. Mission investments (like impact investments) are intended and designed to generate both a measurable social or environmental benefit and a financial return… Read More

Voices from the Field

12 strategies to Have a Bigger Impact with a Small Grant

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Kris Putnam-Walkerly

Do you want to make a big splash with grant dollars, but you can only make a small gift? Not a problem! Some of the most effective change starts with a small grant. By following a few simple strategies, you can create a growing ripple effect with a small gift. … Read More

Ask NCFP

How can my family foundation use real estate for tax-advantaged charitable giving?

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Dennis Bidwell

Charities seek gifts of real estate because they have come to realize that, although more than 30% of the baby boomer wealth transfer that surrounds us is in real estate holdings, less than 3% of charitable giving is made through gifts of real estate. That means that much of the potential for donations to worthy causes is left untapped… Read More

Families and Community Foundations: Natural Partners, Enhanced Results

Posted on September 15, 2013

Family philanthropy has been at the heart of the community foundation field since its inception. In 1914, Frederick H. Goff and his family created the first community foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, tens of thousands of families, individual donors and corporations—many of them family businesses—have helped to launch, sustain, and grow the more than 700 community foundations that exist… Read More

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NCFP Blog

NCFP Blog

10 Questions to Help Start the Values Conversation

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Suzanne Hammer

Aligning your external mission with your family’s values

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Doug Bitonti Stewart

Why We Must Stand Up for Overhead

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Katherine Lorenz

Good Governance: How Should Family Foundation Boards Spend Their Time?

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Phillip Henderson

Can general operating support become the new normal?

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Jen Teunon

10 general guidelines for greater foundation transparency

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Rick Cohen

What is mission investing and is it different from impact investing?

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Mission Investors Exchange

12 strategies to Have a Bigger Impact with a Small Grant

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Kris Putnam-Walkerly

How can my family foundation use real estate for tax-advantaged charitable giving?

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Dennis Bidwell

Families and Community Foundations: Natural Partners, Enhanced Results

Posted on September 15, 2013

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