NCFP Blog

Ask NCFP

What is a disqualified person?

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Benjamin T. White

Self-dealing is defined to include almost all business and financial transactions between a private foundation and its “disqualified persons.” So what is exactly is a disqualified person? The following is excerpted from the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s Passages Issue Brief, “Avoiding Conflicts and Self-Dealing for Family Foundation Boards,” by Ben White. Friends of the Family and FP Online subscribers… Read More
Featured Article

Prize Philanthropy: Spurring Innovation and Awareness of New Solutions

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Rachel Szymanski

The recent Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences established by tech giants Yuri Milner, Sergey Brin, Anne Wojciciki, and Mark Zuckerburg has been awarded to 11 scientists doing innovative research. At $3 million for each scientist, these awards are more than twice the amount of each Nobel Prize. [Above photo: Dr. Jane Foley, Milken Educators, state, district and school officials, and… Read More
Voices from the Field

Giving while living – Steve Hilton and The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

Posted on April 15, 2013 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

Editor’s Note: The National Center is delighted to partner in 2013 with the Bridgespan Group to feature videos from its Conversations with Remarkable Givers series. For our February edition in this series, we share Bridgespan’s interview with Steve Hilton, president and CEO of The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. To learn more about the goals and highlights of this remarkable collection, read the… Read More
Ask NCFP

How Do We Help the Leaders of Our Grantees Find the Peer Support They Need?

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Pierce Family Foundation

JJ Hanley faced a situation well known to nonprofit executives: the number of volunteers that wanted to help was outstripping the agency’s capacity to manage them.  Operating with a small staff, volunteers were key to the success of JJ’s List – which connects people with disabilities with community businesses and services – and her late-night brain-storms of one weren’t getting anywhere… Read More
Voices from the Field

Can a Small Organization Have a Big Impact?

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Emily Tow

I get asked this question often.  How can a small foundation with few staff really catalyze large scale social change?  In fact, how can a foundation of any size play this role?  At The Tow Foundation, we have attempted to play a significant role in juvenile justice reform, an issue that seems like an intractable problem and not easily tackled… Read More
Featured Article

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: The Power of Field Scans

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Christine Sherry

In days of scarce resources and seemingly endless philanthropic choices, family foundations and funds can frequently feel overwhelmed by options and unsure where to best place their philanthropic bets.  Many funders wisely choose a focus area for funding, and then proceed to investigate – or be approached by – any number of apparently worthy organizations to support within that field… Read More
From NCFP

Values, Visions, and Vitality

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Virginia M. Esposito

Last week, the National Center for Family Philanthropy held its annual board retreat. We returned to The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in Tarrytown, New York for the first time since our first board retreat more than 15 years ago. We spent most of our first retreat developing our values statement and refining our mission and program agenda,… Read More
Voices from the Field

Giving while living: Caroline Avery, The Durfee Foundation

Posted on March 15, 2013 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

Editor’s Note: The National Center is delighted to partner in 2013 with the Bridgespan Group to feature videos from its Conversations with Remarkable Givers series. For our March edition in this series, we share Bridgespan’s interview with Carrie Avery, president of The Durfee Foundation and board chair of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. To learn more about the goals and… Read More
Ask NCFP

How Can We- and Why Should We- Use Facebook to Engage Family Members?

Posted on March 15, 2013 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

By Kelly Medinger Whether you are a Facebook neophyte or a self-proclaimed Facebookaholoic, there is no doubt that Facebook and other social media platforms have changed the landscape of why and how we communicate. So how does this landscape affect a private family foundation?  Especially when the family’s privacy is paramount? At the Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation,… Read More

We’re here to equip you with the tools you need to make a meaningful impact. Contact NCFP for support.

Get in Touch

Keep up with trends in family philanthropy. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Signup

Gain access to personalized support and a network of peers. Join our community!

Join Now