From the President's Desk

A few months ago, I was speaking with a small group about those who had made a difference in our careers and influenced our love of philanthropy. It doesn’t take much for me to gratefully recount all the incredible leaders who took time to support me and, in so doing, made a powerful difference not only in the trajectory of my career but in my life. Someone wondered if we still have those leaders in the field today. Oh yes, I assured them, I meet them all the time. … Read More

‘Tis the season …to reflect back on the year and think about what has been accomplished, learned, left undone, and perhaps most brutally, what didn’t work out as planned. I had a hefty bucket of things I wanted to do in 2014… Read More

We need much more knowledge and understanding of effective board chair leadership. NCFP wants to support family foundations as they work toward effective governance. As such, I have been working on an interview project to better understand how boards function with special attention to the role of the board chair. … Read More

I may not be a regular on Twitter, but when it comes to summarizing the first National Forum on Family Philanthropy held in Cambridge, Massachusetts from May 7-9, a sampling of tweets from leading family foundation members, trustees and prominent business, academic and philanthropic leaders who were in attendance truly captures “what’s trending. Surdna Foundation: “In #philanthropy, to get quality… Read More

Here at the National Center for Family Philanthropy, as spring continues to scratch and claw its way to the surface, we are eagerly awaiting and fastidiously preparing for our first-ever National Forum on Family Philanthropy to be held next week in Cambridge, MA. This inaugural Forum on Family Philanthropy is the result of ongoing work by NCFP’s Board and staff… Read More

“What was it that I missed?” A simple question with a complex answer many times. This question was posed by an experienced family foundation CEO during a recent call of our Issues Advisory Committee.  The committee—formed to make sure we stay in touch with the needs and interests of the field—was discussing “the best mistake I ever made.” Learning from… Read More