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Is Spending Down Right for Your Philanthropy? How to Make the Decision and What to Consider in the Process

This webinar is open to the public, but is designed for giving families and those who work with them.

Virtual webinar

21
September 2023
2:00–3:30 PM EDT

Interested in learning more about spending down? Join our Strategic Lifespan Peer Network. Many in this group have decided to operate with a limited lifespan. Others are thinking about the decision to spend down.

Key Moments from the Webinar

  • 06:15 Introduction to the McClatchy Foundation
  • 08:18 Introduction to the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh
  • 09:32 Introduction to the Stupski Foundation
  • 12:22 Communicating your Spend Down Decision
  • 28:27 Programmatic Strategy During Spend Down
  • 38:59 Staffing
  • 41:49 Preserving Legacies?
  • 47:32 Board and Staff Alignment
  • 50:20 Investment Strategy

Determining the lifespan of a philanthropic effort is one of the most important decisions a philanthropy’s board, staff, and family members make.

Would the philanthropy have more impact and better meet community needs by spending more or all of its assets in a limited timeframe instead of existing in perpetuity? How does a philanthropic family make this decision? What plans must be put in place related to grantmaking, investing, staffing, and communications while a lifespan decision is being considered and when it has been finalized?

Hear from family philanthropy staff and board members who can provide guidance on the critical questions to ask, how to go about making a decision on lifespan, and how to successfully navigate the spend down journey once that decision has been made.

About the Series
Community Conversations are topical webinars on issues and trends in family philanthropy and are available to the field at large. These events lift up experts in the field, challenge philanthropists in their thinking and practices, and share timely stories and strategies in the family philanthropy community.

Event Recording