Resources & Tools
Our resource library is home to hundreds of resources on the practice of effective family philanthropy, including a diverse range of reports, articles, guides, tools, and sample policies. We encourage you to search and explore the library by clicking below.
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Explore our featured resourcesThe Family Giving Lifecycle
While every philanthropic journey is unique, there are points at which all families must make decisions. The NCFP Family Giving Lifecycle provides the tools you need to make decisions that lead to effective outcomes at each stage of your philanthropic lifecycle.
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Acceleration, Innovation, and Reimagination in Family Philanthropy
This article was originally published in the Nonprofit Times and is reposted here with permission. The social sector is facing unprecedented…
November 2025: Network News
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations
Based upon a study of foundations in the United States and Canada that have survived through at least two generations, the authors ask…
Unlocking Doors: Relational Reparations, Shared Liberation, and the Healing Power of Story
CC Gardner Gleser shares the results of her NCFP fellowship project, which focused on relational reparations in family philanthropy and how funders can address harm in a way that is meaningful for all participants.
The Value of Capacity Building to Increase Nonprofits’ Impact
As nonprofits face federal funding cuts and a shifting regulatory environment, many funders are turning to capacity building to provide additional support and ensure sustainability of their grantee partners.
Sharing Power with Communities: A Field Guide
Through its work with nonprofits and foundations, Community Wealth Partners support the concept that those closest to the issues are also…
Investing in Capacity Building: Lessons from the Cedarmere Foundation
Relatively small amounts of money may be used by effective leaders to strengthen an organization’s people and infrastructure can be…
Practices for Engaging the Next Generation in Your Philanthropy
Leaders at multigenerational family foundations share successful ways to engage the next generation by providing meaningful opportunities to participate, sharing power, prioritizing learning, and more.
The Complete Guide to Family Philanthropy and Donor-Advised Funds
Families face choices when it comes to how to do their philanthropy. They give in different ways using different vehicles. Yet, behind every…
September 2025: Network News
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Philanthropy in Complex Multigenerational Families Report: A Companion Guide
This companion guide to the Philanthropy in Complex, Multigenerational Families: Balancing Individual Preference with Collective Purpose…
Social Impact Strategies: Intersectionality of Systems
How can philanthropic efforts go beyond addressing isolated challenges to fund the interconnectedness of social, economic, racial, and other…
August 2025: Network News
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Using Your Voice and Influence to Complement Your Grantmaking
Funders can use their voice and influence to amplify their grantmaking, something that is particularly important as nonprofits face a dearth of funds. From signing pledges to signal solidarity and take action to bold peer-to-peer calls to action and transparent communication, family philanthropy is using its voice to meet the moment.
Looking Ahead: Opportunities for Family Philanthropy
How did we get here? Where do we want to go? Join NCFP’s president and CEO for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of the family…
Planning for Effective Next-Generation Engagement
To improve its next-generation engagement and onboarding processes, the Sartain Lanier Family Foundation partnered with Grant Philanthropic Advisors to develop a ‘learning ladder’ that introduces the next generation to important skills and philanthropic knowledge and supports a smoother transition to board service.
July 2025: Network News
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Ask NCFP: How do we set expectations about our funding capacity?
Being transparent and setting clear expectations about your funding capacity is necessary to be a good partner to your grantees, especially during times of uncertainty. But, even if you can’t sustain an increase funding, consider how your time, expertise, and connections can provide additional support to your nonprofit partners.
Social Impact Strategies: People and Place
How can a place-based approach maximize philanthropic impact and drive meaningful, community-led progress? In this session we will consider…
How Family Philanthropies Can Support Community Organizing to Strengthen the Fabric of US Democracy
Family philanthropy is uniquely positioned to support a healthy democracy by funding community organizing, which often aligns well with their values and can fill funding gaps in meaningful ways, argues Loren McArthur.
From the Archive: Difficult Discussions at Difficult Times
NCFP’s From the Archive series highlights resources from our resource center that have stood the test of time and continue to provide…
Criteria for Board Service (Volgenau Foundation, 2025)
This document is the result of work aimed at identifying the most important precepts—ingredients, one might say—that underlie a successful…
The Time to Embrace Impact Investing is Now
Stacey Faella and Kathleen Simpson show the ways that impact investing has been a powerful tool at their foundations and offer advice to funders who want to explore new paths to support their grantees in light of funding gaps and significant need in the nonprofit sector.
Trends 2025—Results of the Third National Benchmark Survey of Family Foundations
The Trends report captures and tracks leading trends in the field of family philanthropy. Conducted every five years, this research…
How Your Foundation’s Records Can Measure Impact, Manage Risk, and Promote Transparency
Your foundation’s information is an asset and managing that information with record and knowledge management—and perhaps an archives program—can help you preserve your family’s legacy, ensure that you’re complying with legal requirements, make your impact clearer, and help you live into values like accountability and transparency. While foundations have different goals that may inform their individual approach to information governance, Bob Clark argues that there are critical concepts that all foundations should consider.
Relationships and Power: Listening Well
Join us to explore how intentional practices of listening can help shift power between philanthropic families and their partners, within…
Breaking Down Silos, Funding at the Intersection
A thriving democracy and reproductive rights are inextricably linked, argues Risa Kaufman. Here, she outlines how The Overbrook Foundation funds at this intersection and why funders who embrace the interconnected nature of today’s challenges can have greater impact.
Overcoming Psychological Barriers to Giving
This report explores the behavioral science behind the ten most common barriers to giving—such as too many choices, fear of uncomfortable family dynamics, and lack of urgency—and provides effective and actionable ways for donors to overcome those barriers.
More Family Foundations are Paying More than Five Percent Annually. Here’s Why.
NCFP’s Trends 2025 study showed that the majority of respondents are paying out more than five percent annually. Here, Maggie McGoldrick covers the various reasons that a funder might significantly increase their payout for a discrete period of time, including to make a big bet, account for programmatic shifts, or respond to a crisis.
April 2025: Network News
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
CEO Performance Review (Anonymous Foundation)
An example of a CEO performance review from an anonymous foundation.Employee Benefits Administrative Committee Charter (The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 2007)
An example of Employee Benefits Administrative Committee (ERISA Committee), from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.Family Giving Lifecycle: Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy
Learn about foundational topics in family philanthropy that will ground your practice throughout the rest of the Lifecycle, including managing conflict, decision-making frameworks, and the social impact landscape.
Family Giving Lifecycle: Succession and Legacy
This primer will help you and your family to define your philanthropic legacy, consider your philanthropy’s lifespan, and decide, if needed…
Family Giving Lifecycle: Operations and Management
This primer will help you and your family to draft a roadmap for efficient and effective operations. Download the primer above and explore…
Family Giving Lifecycle: Assessment and Learning
This primer will help you and your family to craft an assessment and learning plan to help define and measure the progress and success of…
Family Giving Lifecycle: Impact Strategy and Tools
This primer will help you and your family build a philanthropic strategy to achieve your desired social impact goals. Download the primer…
Family Giving Lifecycle: Governance
This primer will help you and your family to establish clear decision-making principles, policies, and practices to ensure long-term success…
Family Giving Lifecycle: Impact Vehicles and Structures
This primer will help you and your family to assess your options and understand which vehicles are best positioned to complement your goals…
Family Giving Lifecycle: Philanthropic Purpose
This primer will help you and your family to understand the core values and principles which drive you to give. Download the primer above…
A Guide to Meaningfully Engaging Next-Generation Adults in Your Philanthropy
This guide helps those who are currently managing the efforts formally welcome adult members of the next generation—or generations—into the work.
March 2025: Network News
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Building Trust Through Regular Check Ins
A resource on building trust through regular check ins from the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project.How to Show Up in a Trust-Based Way
A resource from the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project on how to best show up using trust-based practices.6 Grantmaking Practices of Trust based Philanthropy
This guide, from Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, offers insights and practical recommendations on employing trust-based grantmaking…
Trends in Family Philanthropy: Learnings for Effectiveness and Impact
What do the latest trends in family philanthropy tell us about effectiveness and impact? Join us to dive into select findings from the…
Trust-Based Capital: Endowments as a Strategy to Support Social Justice Organizations
Having an impact on deeply entrenched problems often requires funding at scale over long periods of time. While family funders use many tools to support their grantees and communities, few are employing endowments as a way to sustain nonprofits over the long term. Here, leaders from the Field Foundation of Illinois, Grand Victoria Foundation, and Schott Foundation share the benefits of endowments, particularly when funding social and racial justice organizations. Endowments not only allow capital to grow over time, but they shift power and decision-making to nonprofits in meaningful ways.
February 2025: Network News
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Relationships and Power: From Transaction to Trust
Join us for an interactive session that will examine how typical funder-grantee relationships often reproduce power imbalances, and how…
Amplifying Muslim American Generosity Through Storytelling
Through her NCFP fellowship Dilnaz Waraich sought to explore Muslim American giving through storytelling. In the process of developing an exhibit—Inspired Generosity— to showcase those stories, Dilnaz and the WF Fund engaged a wide range of people. Here, Dilnaz and Tamela Spicer discuss misconceptions about Muslim Americans and how the process of curating the Inspired Generosity exhibit changed the perspectives of those involved.
January 2025: Network News
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Lessons from the Durfee Foundation's Dual Leadership Transition
This case study explores how the former president and former executive director of the Durfee Foundation approached their succession planning and transition processes. Their tips for a successful transition include using external help, leaning into your values, soliciting balanced feedback, and more.
Advancing Disability Inclusion in Family Philanthropy
While many family philanthropies have an expressed commitment to equity, disability and its intersectional relationship with other identities is rarely considered—even while about one in four adults in the United States have a disability. National Forum speakers Christie Cawley, Ryan Easterly, Gail Fuller, and Dr. Zakiya Mabery shared their expertise for advancing disability inclusion in family philanthropy. Here, Cara Binder-Kopchick synthesizes their experiences and recommendations, offering ways that philanthropic leaders can make their grantmaking, governance, and operations more inclusive and effective.
Programs and Strategy Job Descriptions
Sample Job Descriptions Use the headings below to view programs and strategy sample job descriptions. To view our entire collection of…
Learning and Evaluation Job Descriptions
Sample Job Descriptions Use the headings below to view learning and evaluation sample job descriptions. To view our entire collection of…
Grants Management Job Positions
Sample Job Descriptions Use the headings below to view grant management sample job descriptions. To view our entire collection of example…
Finance and Investment Management Job Positions
Sample Job Descriptions Use the headings below to view finance and investment management sample job descriptions. To view our entire…
Bridging Generations: Transforming Family Philanthropy Through Racial Equity Learning Journeys
Racial justice and systemic inequities can be tough topics to grapple with as a family. Impact Experience’s Jenna Nicholas and Olabayo Allen-Taylor consider the ways that racial equity learning journeys not only provide an education for philanthropic families, but also draw families together across generations through shared experiences and knowledge as well as increased empathy.
Unlocking the Power of DAFs
How Funders Can Overcome Psychological and Operational Barriers and Use Donor-Advised Funds More Effectively Without the outside pressure of…
Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Sample Job Descriptions
Sample Job Position Descriptions Use the headings below to view racial equity, diversity, and inclusion sample job descriptions. To view our…
Executive Office Sample Job Positions
Sample Job Descriptions Use the headings below to view executive office sample job descriptions. To view our entire collection of example…
Communications and Marketing Sample Job Descriptions
Sample Job Descriptions Use the headings below to view communications and marketing sample job descriptions. To view our entire collection…
The NCFP Guide for Effective Family Philanthropy
The NCFP Guide for Effective Family Philanthropy defines effectiveness in the context of family philanthropy and anchors it in four…
Administrative and Office Management Sample Job Descriptions
Sample Job Descriptions Use the headings below to view administrative and office management sample job descriptions. To view our entire…
From the Archive: Pride of Place: Sustaining a Commitment to Geography
NCFP’s From the Archive series highlights resources from our resource center that have stood the test of time and continue to provide…
Philanthropy in Complex, Multigenerational Families: Balancing Individual Preference with Collective Purpose
Multigenerational families often face challenges balancing the needs of the collective with the needs of individual family members. This deeply researched report uncovers the reasons for this tension and points to a path families who who wish to to give collectively can take to strengthen their philanthropy. It covers family dynamics, next-generation engagement, family branches, questions of funding local geographies, and more.
Breaking Barriers: A Practical Guide to Unlocking Foundation Endowments for Mission and Returns
The report shares the findings from interviews with 30 philanthropic and impact investing leaders who collectively manage more than $300…
Four Imperatives for Centering Communities in Philanthropy
Traditional approaches to philanthropy are rooted in power imbalances that reinforce closed networks of social and financial capital. These…
Managing Constant Change with Grace and Care as a Family Philanthropy Staff Leader
While change is inevitable in most pursuits, managing it well in the practice of family philanthropy can be particularly complicated as so much of philanthropy is deeply personal. National Forum speakers Rebecca Cisek, Tina Kimbrough, Sylia Obagi, and Kyle Peterson shared their tips for managing a wide-variety of change. Here, Cara Binder-Kopchick synthesizes their recommendations, offering ways that philanthropic staff leaders can support their teams while focusing on their missions and taking care of themselves.
Building the Board Your Foundation Deserves: The Governance Checklist
This guide poses questions family foundation boards should address to promote effectiveness, including expectations for board members; board composition, selection, and terms; board committees and decision-making practices; and board assessments and term renewals.
November 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
What’s Past Is Prologue
As a second-generation family member, Liz Norton outlines the process she and her siblings undertook to honor the work of their parents, forge their own philanthropic path, and embrace transparency in the next era of the foundation’s work.
Evolving Your Family Philanthropy: Bold Transparency
How can being more transparent about your philanthropy strengthen your relationships and build trust with grantees and partners? The annual…
How and When to Use Intermediary Funds
Intermediary funds are appealing choices for donors who want to enter a new funding space, respond to urgent needs, or lack the time to commit to an issue they care about, among other reasons. Here, Chloe Cockburn of Just Impact Advisors outlines what intermediaries are, when donors should use them, and how to select a fund
October 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Much Alarm, Less Action: Foundations & Climate Change
Despite the urgency of climate change and the narrowing window for action, philanthropic funding to address climate change remains very…
Before Sunset
Foundations that decide to sunset—to fully spend down their endowments over a set period—have the opportunity to allocate their substantial…
Sixteen Grantmaking Characteristics to Effectively Support Public Policy Advocacy
Created by Bolder Advocacy in partnership with Dr. Sara Watson, this resource outlines the sixteen characteristics of grantmaking that best…
Breaking Up: Division in Family Philanthropy
This Passages is part two of a two-part series on divorce and division in family philanthropy, featuring tips for what board and staff can…
September 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Maximizing Your Resources: Structures and Tools
In this webinar, we will explore how family philanthropies can unlock their full philanthropic potential by aligning both traditional and…
Breaking Up: Divorce in Family Philanthropy
This Passages guide is part one of a two-part series on divorce and division in family philanthropy, featuring tips for what board and staff…
Using the Mirror Tool to Minimize Unconscious Bias in Grantmaking and Fund Leaders Closest to the Issues
Chicago Beyond dramatically shifted its grantmaking and, today, all of its multiyear grants are in support of BIPOC-led organizations with direct experience in the social issues they are working on. Here, Liz Dozier shares more about how the organization went about making this change and introduces Chicago Beyond’s Mirror Tool, which other funders can use to identify and reduce bias in the ways they fund.
From the Archive: Family Philanthropy Transitions: Possibilities, Problems, and Potential
NCFP’s From the Archive series highlights resources from our resource center that have stood the test of time and continue to provide…
Mapping Change: Using a Theory of Change to Guide Planning and Evaluation
This brief guide explains why grantmakers use theories of change to guide their questioning, unearth assumptions that underlie their work…
Just Listening: Principles and Practices for Advancing Equity through High Quality Listening and Feedback
Fund for Shared Insight believes in listening as a critical way to advance justice and equity in processes and outcomes throughout the…
Capital at a Crossroads: Redirecting Capital to Accelerate Racial Equity
Since the events of 2020, our nation has arrived at a crossroads. To create a more equitable future for all Americans, our nation must…
Leading for Racial Equity with Peer Support
This report captures The Giving Practice’s observations across nine years of peer cohort facilitation for executive leaders, providing…
How the Grunin Foundation’s Transparent Strategic Planning Process Led to Deeper Relationships with Community
The Grunin Foundation embarked on a strategic planning process to ensure its funding strategies were aligned with its capacity building work and equity framework. While they always funded in a relationships-focused way, they were surprised to find that putting more—though still minimal—processes in place helped strengthen their relationships with grantees and nonprofits in the community. Grunin Foundation’s Kelly Fliller outlines the foundation’s transparent strategic planning process and its outcomes.
Moving Toward Equitable Funding Practices Findings from Research on Community Foundation Practices
Community foundations can play a powerful role in connecting high-net-worth donors with local organizations working to advance community…
Values-Aligned Philanthropy: Foundations Resisting Hate and Extremism
Values-Aligned Philanthropy is a Council on Foundations project, supported by the Gill Foundation, that digs into the issue of funding hate…
Reimagining Capacity Building: Navigating Culture, Systems & Power
This publication takes a critical look at the ways in which capacity-building practices can be grounded in approaches that acknowledge and…
Meetings Matter (NCFP, 2021)
Why do family foundation board meetings matter? And when should you have them? This guide outlines why it’s important to have productive…
Innovating Place-Based Grantmaking: An Evaluation of the Annie E. Casey Foundation “Strategic Co-Investor” Approach
When the Annie E. Casey Foundation launched Family-Centered Community Change™ (FCCC) in 2012, the Foundation set out to make improvements to…
August 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Our Minds are Holding Us Back: Solutions to Overcome Psychological Barriers to Moving Resources
As humans, we all face obstacles to taking action. From the mundane—going to the gym or paying a bill—to the consequential, like switching…
The Family Governance Pyramid: Enhancing and Guiding Your Family Philanthropy
This guide provides a framework for philanthropic families that will help them establish and practice effective governance.
Demystifying Decision Making in Family Philanthropy
This guide examines the kinds of decisions that family foundations face and guidance on when and how to adopt different decision-making methods.
Water of Systems Change
This report examines how funders can create an environment that enables systems change.
Impact Investing: Mapping Families’ Interests & Activities in 2020
Impact Investing: Mapping Families’ Interests and Activities is part of a multi-year effort to study a problem that many ultra high net…
Legacy in Family Philanthropy: A Modern Framework
This guide provides you with a framework and strategies for creating your family’s philanthropic legacy, as well as case studies of giving families and questions for your own reflection.
Mindful Fiduciaries at the Wheel
This report explores a new version of fiduciary duty that centers racial, social and gender equity. The report is based on extensive…
July 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Open For Good: Knowledge Sharing to Strengthen Grantmaking
Knowledge has the power to spark change, but only if it is shared. In this GrantCraft guide, grantmakers share how and why their foundations…
Racial Justice Sourcing Report
CapShift and TheCaseMade partnered in developing a framework to help investors understand how to invest in a more equitable future. You can…
Embracing Complexity: Towards a Shared Understanding of Funding Systems Change
This report, developed by Ashoka and McKinsey, describes five principles and resulting practices that funders can adopt to better support…
Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy
The National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG) working paper is a starting place of learning for the Disability Inclusion Working…
From Beneficiary to Active Agent: How Youth-Led Grantmaking Benefits Young People, Their Communities, and the Philanthropic Sector
In this brief, the Sillerman Center explores Youth Philanthropy as a model with the potential to make grantmaking more democratic, inclusive…
The 2020 Giving Landscape
The sector has evolved in the wake of COVID-19, racial injustice, partisan tension, and economic challenges . How have the events of 2020…
Death, Legacy, and Leadership Transition
The death of a foundation leader or senior family member is likely the most emotional change a foundation will undergo. Suddenly, or not so…
Ask NCFP: Should we add discretionary giving to our grantmaking strategy?
NCFP receives a number of questions about family philanthropy and is particularly equipped to answer inquiries about philanthropic purpose…
The Foundation of Good Governance for Family Impact Investors: Removing Obstacles and Charting a Path to Action
Family offices and family foundations are among those leading the movement to integrate values and investment strategy through impact…
Pathways to Sustainable Investing: Insights from Families and Peers
Every day, wealth owners, families, and family office professionals start down the path of sustainability investing. This paper details the…
Balancing Purpose, Payout, and Permanence
This guide helps funders reflect more deeply on how their foundations choose to balance four factors—purpose, conditions and trends, time horizons, and assets for mission—especially in times of greater crisis or opportunity.
Participatory Grantmaking: Has Its Time Come?
The Ford Foundation commissioned this paper to explore participatory approaches, especially participatory grantmaking, and their potential…
Integrating Inclusivity Into Your Submission & Application Process: 7 Key Strategies
Failing to think about inclusivity when you’re collecting applications and submissions is unfair to those who are being excluded. But much…
Deciding Together: Shifting Power and Resources Through Participatory Grantmaking
This report examines why and how funders engage in participatory grantmaking and shift decision-making power to the communities impacted by funding decisions. Through examples and insights from a diverse range of participatory grantmakers, the report explores the benefits, challenges, and models of participatory grantmaking.
Bridging The Gap: A Review of Foundation Listening Practices
This report defines foundation listening broadly, to mean funders’ efforts to consider the views, perspectives, and opinions of the…
Policy Influence: What Foundations Are Doing and Why
This report provides data about how many foundations engage in efforts to influence public policy, why they undertake this work, and how they approach it. It shares what foundations have learned and how influencing policy can be an important lever for change.
Evolving Your Family Philanthropy: Staffing Structures
Which staffing models will work best for your family philanthropy? How can the right structure enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of…
June 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
Social Compact in a Changing World: How Philanthropies are Grappling with Growing Scrutiny and Critique
As foundations and philanthropists adapt to the new reality, this report identifies some best practices that can build legitimacy and deeper…
Scaling Solutions Toward Shifting Systems
Realizing that the world’s pressing challenges are becoming more complex, many philanthropic funders are reflecting on how to create more…
Philanthropy in Higher Education: Priorities and Approaches of Private Foundations
An examination trends in private foundations giving to colleges and universities to support their post secondary education strategies.Strategic Time Horizons in Philanthropy
Strategic time horizons are increasingly becoming the subject of thoughtful discussions within philanthropic organizations, causing a shift…
Impact Investing: Strategy and Action
This guide from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors explains how to take practical steps towards implementing your first impact investment…
Resilience at Work: How Nonprofits Adapt to Disruption. How Funders Can Help.
Today and in the future, there is one thing social change leaders can be sure of: they will experience disruption, uncertainty, and…
Learning Together for Exponential Results: How Two Flora Family Foundation Leaders Activated Shared Knowledge
Flora Birdzell and Kimberly Myers Hewlett have participated in two NCFP learning and action cohorts together. We talked to them to learn about the benefits of learning together, including deepening their relationship with one another and having a partner to reflect with, and how they applied what they learned, particularly to the Flora Family Foundation’s Black Maternal Health Initiative.
From the Archive: Avoiding Avoidance—Managing and Addressing Conflict in Family Philanthropy
NCFP’s From the Archive series highlights resources from our resource center that have stood the test of time and continue to provide…
Funders Guide to Creating a Sabbatical Program
Since the Durfee Foundation launched its Sabbatical Program for nonprofit executives in 1997, over 100 Los Angeles leaders have taken a…
From Creative Disruption to Systems Change
Since 1997, the Durfee Foundation has invested in helping to rejuvenate the bodies, minds, and spirits of Los Angeles’s most gifted…
The Archives of U.S. Foundations: An Endangered Species
A foundation’s archives preserve records of the programs, activities, products, governance, people, and history of the organization that may…
The First Year: The Complete Guide for the New Family Foundation CEO
It is sometimes said that serving in the role of family foundation chief executive is an art, not a science. Family foundation CEOs have…
Help Wanted: The Complete Guide to Hiring a Family Foundation CEO
Much has been written about recruiting and hiring nonprofit chief executives and even some about foundation CEOs. But until now, there hasn…
Performance Review: The Complete Guide to Evaluating Family Foundation CEOs
Performance review of family foundation CEOs (top paid staff person) can take many forms. It does not have to be a complex, time-consuming…
Leading Through Change: Advice from Seasoned Family Foundation CEOs
This guide, the fourth in NCFP’s CEO Leadership Guide series, draws on the wisdom of seasoned CEOs who have navigated challenging changes…
The Family Foundation CEO: Crafting Consensus out of Complexity
This groundbreaking report focuses a new lens on the family foundation chief executive, unveiling a wide variety of important findings and…
Bridging the Power Divide: How Family Funders Share and Shift Power
This guide features stories, perspectives, and practical tips on power, and suggestions for how family funders can work toward bridging the power divide with grantee partners and the communities they care about.
Trends 2020: Results of the Second National Benchmark Survey of Family Foundations
This 2020 report is the second in the Trends in Family Philanthropy series. It covers ongoing changes in the field including issues of equity, place-based giving, transparency, the role of the donor, and the question of spend down versus perpetuity.
Goals and Success Measures Survey Results
This document shows the results of an early 2018 survey of NCFP’s community foundation subscribers asking about their primary goals and…
Measures of Success Worksheet
This worksheet is designed to help community foundation professionals clarify their goals for serving philanthropic families and identify…
Measures of Success Thought Paper
The Philanthropic Initiative’s (TPI) 15-page thought paper on goals and success measures for family philanthropy services also discusses…
Pride of Place: Sustaining a Family Commitment to Geography
The original motivations for a donor to have a place-based giving program are likely intuitive… What has been more elusive are the…
May 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
What Does It Take to Spend Down Successfully?
Responding to research indicating that growing numbers of foundations opt for a spend-down strategy, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations…
Family Philanthropy Board Chairs: Leading with Joy and Effectiveness
Who typically serves as the board chair of a family foundation, and how does the board choose who will be placed in this essential role…
Donors: 5 Things Nonprofits Want You to Know
You want to make a difference through your giving, so you provide significant support to the nonprofit organizations that matter most to you…
Greater Good Lessons from Those Who Have Started Major Grantmaking Organizations
With more than 30,000 new private foundations established in the U.S. in the past 20 years, it is vital that early-stage grantmakers learn…
Mission Investing: A Framework for Family Foundations
In this report, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation identifies several unique organizational attributes that have contributed to its…
Ask NCFP: Should my family foundation board have term limits?
NCFP receives a number of questions about family philanthropy and is particularly equipped to answer inquiries about philanthropic purpose…
What other data, trends, and analysis exist on the establishment and use of donor-advised funds in the U.S.?
Donor-advised funds are one of the fastest growing philanthropic vehicles. Here are the latest numbers, along with links to a variety of…
How do donor-advised funds compare with private foundations and other family giving vehicles?
This article describes the most common philanthropic vehicles and shows the differences between two of the most commonly used vehicles, DAFs and private foundation.
What questions should donors ask potential sponsor organizations when considering setting up a donor-advised fund?
Before opening a donor-advised fund (DAF), donors need to be clear on the services, fees, and restrictions of a fund, as they vary widely…
What questions should donors ask their advisors before setting up a donor-advised fund?
Before opening a DAF, donor families should talk with their trusted professional advisors about the benefits and tax implications…
What questions should donors ask themselves before opening a donor-advised fund?
Before opening a donor-advised fund (DAF), families should reflect on and talk about their values and goals for their philanthropy…
What services do sponsor organizations for donor-advised funds typically offer?
This article summarized the services that sponsor organizations offer to their donor-advised-fund clients.
What are sponsor organizations and what are the different types of sponsor organizations for donor-advised funds?
This article explores the variety of organizations that are able to sponsor donor-advised funds.
What are the important limitations and restrictions on using a donor-advised fund?
This article outlines what donors can and can’t do when using a donor-advised fund to make grants. It also covers topics such as donor control and considerations about the lifespan of donor-advised funds.
What are the principal uses and benefits of donor-advised funds?
This report explores how and why donors use donor-advised funds (DAFs).
When is the best time to start a donor-advised fund?
Donors and families can establish a DAF at any time, through a number of different sponsor organizations. Sponsors typically require donors…
What are donor-advised funds (DAFs)?
Think of a donor-advised fund as a personal philanthropy checking and savings account. An individual donor, couple, or family creates an…
Evaluation Principles and Practices: A Guide to Evaluation at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The purpose of this document is to provide a refreshed description of our philosophy, purpose, and expectations specifically regarding…
Strategies for Scaling Philanthropic Impact Through Values-Aligned Investing
The Marguerite Casey Foundation (MCF) updated its investment policy statement to align its endowment with its grantmaking work. The foundation’s endowment continues to grow, beating industry benchmarks, while supporting the mission of the organization. Dan Gould, vice president of investments and operations at MCF, outlines four pillars that inform MCF’s values-aligned investing, including diversifying asset managers and engaging in shareholder advocacy.
How to Successfully Engage in Your Family’s Philanthropy as an Adult
In our recent publication, A Guide to Meaningfully Engaging Next-Generation Adults in Your Philanthropy, we explore ways for those who are…
Report: Family Business Philanthropy
Family business philanthropy plays a vital role in alleviating social and environmental problems around the world. This study analyzes…
Report: Entrepreneurs as Philanthropists
Entrepreneurship and philanthropy are closely intertwined in the United States, woven together in a cycle of wealth creation and…
Transparency in Family Philanthropy: Opening to the Possibilities
What choices do you have when it comes to transparency? How open and accessible is your family foundation—to the extended family, to grant…
Strengthening Grantees: Foundation and Nonprofit Perspectives
Strong organizations, leaders, and networks are crucial to foundations’ and nonprofits’ ability to achieve shared goals. What support are…
U.S. Trust Study of the Philanthropic Conversation (US TRUST-TPI, 2018)
Discussions between advisors and high net worth (HNW) clients about philanthropy are on the rise, finds the U.S. Trust Study of the…
How Women and Men Give Around Retirement
For years, economic studies have shown that people generally reduce their overall spending when they retire. But what about charitable…
Creating a Bold Vision: Rethinking Norms, Embracing Uncertainty
What if the way we’ve always done philanthropy is holding us back? How might we re-imagine governance, decision-making, time-horizons, risk…
April 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
From the Archive: Things We Wish Our Founders Had Told Us
NCFP’s From the Archive series highlights resources from our Knowledge Center that have stood the test of time and continue to provide…
Thrive at Five: The Secrets of Long-Term Family Philanthropy
If you are a newer family foundation with one or two generations on the board, five generations may seem like a long time away. Yet in…
Staying Connected: How Five Foundations Understand Those They Seek to Help
CEP’s 2016 report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy, finds that foundation leaders believe learning from the experiences of those they…
The Step-by-Step Guide to Evaluation
This report, developed by W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will help demystify evaluation and help you get the most out of evaluation for your organization.
Know Your Neighbors: Building Trusting Relationships in Family Philanthropy
Collaboration and partnership are the cornerstones to accomplishing meaningful impact on pressing social issues. But both are difficult to…
Going Beyond Giving: Perspectives on the Philanthropic Practices of High and Ultra-high Net Worth Donors
Forward Global (formerly The Philanthropy Workshop), with funding from the Raikes Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation…
The Funder's Guide to Investing in Volunteer Engagement
This revised guide from The Leighty Foundation provides a platform for funders, corporations, government and other stakeholders to learn…
Transitions in Family Philanthropy: A Primer for Community Foundation Staff and Donor Families
No matter the intensity of the emotions they generate, transitions have the potential to affect the course of your family’s life. These…
Multigenerational Family Foundation Board Engagement
In this publication, the Surdna Foundation and the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) spotlight the practices and structures that seven…
How Family Foundations Benefit From Relationships with Community Foundations
To family foundations, it may seem like community foundations are only after one thing: their assets. Family foundations may worry that a…
Opportunity of a Lifetime 2.0: Multigenerational Family Philanthropy
More than ever before, giving families are working to involve multiple generations in their philanthropy. This issue brief was written with…
A Case Study in Impact Investing
The case study explores the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s mission-aligned and impact investing strategies. This is the first in a series of…
Navigating Philanthropy and its Shifts: Insights from Philanthropic Advisors
In recent years, the philanthropic landscape has evolved in response to issues of equity and justice. Consequently, many donor families seek…
International Grantmaking: Funding with a Global View
In this guide, grantmakers describe the benefits and challenges of bringing a global perspective to their work. The guide explains the…
A Date Certain: Lessons from Limited Life Foundations
The limited life approach in philanthropy has received increased attention in recent years. But across foundations, perpetuity is often…
March 2024: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
NCFP strives to connect its members to resources, best practices, and to peer funders. Network News highlights updates from our members and…
The Future of Philanthropy: Where Individual Giving is Going
As the philanthropic landscape changes, the way donors perceive and approach giving is evolving, too — though not always at the same pace…
Things We Wish Our Founders Had Told Us: Interpreting Donor Legacy
This special NCFP Distinguished Fellow Essay by Susan Packard Orr explores the questions that Susan and her fellow trustees wished they had…
Investing for Positive Impact on Women: Integrating Gender into Total Portfolio Activation
This paper from the Croatan Institute applies the Total Portfolio Activation framework to help mission investors maximize their social and…
Tackling Racial Justice: Why, How and So What?
The Summer 2016 edition of the National Committee on Responsive Philanthropy’s quarterly journal showcases four essays on the topics of…
Declining Applications and Inquiries: How Funders Can Do Better
Peter Marks, executive director of The L.B. Research and Education Foundation, received positive feedback from grant seekers who were not selected to move forward in the foundation’s application process. The feedback affirmed Peter’s own experience as a nonprofit grantseeker: funders often fail to provide helpful information in their declination letters. Here, Peter shares a template for other funders to employ.
Giving Together: A Workbook for Family Philanthropy
The exercises in this workbook are based on The Philanthropic Initiative’s experience working with hundreds of family philanthropies over…
Investing in Equality: Integrating LGBT Issues into Total Portfolio Activation
This paper from Croatan Institute provides a framework for impact investors as they consider how to invest in and support LGBT issues across…
Core Components of Foundations that Learn
There is a growing sense in the philanthropic field that knowledge, strategically applied, is as important to community-change efforts as…
Creating Choices Before Making Choices: One Family Foundation’s Journey to Finding a Strategic Focus
Rooted in business principles, philanthropic study, and reflective practice, this article examines the first step of building a grantmaking…
The Story of How the Civil Marriage Collaborative Helped America Embrace Marriage Equality
There were many forces at work in this historic change: tenacious leaders and litigators, coalitions of diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and…
Expanding Your Comfort Zone: A Window Into Risk in Family Philanthropy
Philanthropy is often described as society’s “risk capital.” Our generosity can support causes and ideas that business and government…
The Noyce Foundation Story, 1990–2015: Achieving High Impact With Low Overhead
This case study profiles the Noyce Foundation, which sunsetted in 2015. It describes its decision to spend down and what it had learned through that process and its 25-year history.
Impact Investing: Frameworks for Families
What do people really mean when they talk about “impact investing?” Why do people make impact investments, and how do they do it? What…
2015 NCFP Trends in Family Philanthropy: Results of the First National Benchmark Survey of Family Foundations
This report, conducted by the Urban Institute in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy, shares results and key…
Essentials of Impact Investing: A Guide for Small-Staffed Foundations
Impact investing has the potential to enable every foundation, regardless of size, to pursue its philanthropic mission more effectively. It…
A Steadying Hand: The Critical Role of Non-family Board Members
Non-family trustees have played a vital role in the work of The David and Lucile Packard Foundation for more than 45 years. This special…
In Times of Growth: Planning for an Influx of Assets
An influx of assets is a powerful transition point in your philanthropy. With rising resources comes the budding potential to do more of…
Avoiding Avoidance: Addressing and Managing Conflict in Family Philanthropy
Conflict is normal in any family or organization. Yet, many of us avoid conflicts, even if that avoidance affects relationships or how the…
Improving Philanthropic Practice by Prioritizing Reflection & Learning
Family philanthropy done well can achieve lasting and meaningful change in the world and within the families themselves. To be effective…
Family Philanthropy Transitions: Possibilities, Problems and Potential
Even if your family foundation or fund is very new, chances are you have already experienced at least one transition in the lifecycle of…
Global giving: Making a world of difference
This monograph from The Philanthropic Initiative describes what global philanthropy is, why it matters, and the many ways that donors can…
Preparing for Bold Leadership
As I look back at the past few years, it’s clear that the challenges we faced as a society and as a sector have been unrelenting. It’s also…
Giving strategically after disaster: Ten points to consider
In the early days following a disaster, philanthropists naturally want to take action. With communities broken and people suffering, the…
Crafting Your Charitable Mission Statement: A Guide for Donors
When donors start along their philanthropic journeys, one question that often arises is whether it is important to craft a mission statement…
Vision and voice: The role of leadership and dialogue in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion
Produced in partnership with the D5 Coalition and the Seattle University Nonprofit Leadership Program, “Vision and Voice” is the product of…
Raising Children with Philanthropic Values
“Develop an understanding of your own values, starting with your “money values.” We all have beliefs about money. Affluent parents may have…
A Legacy Lives On: The Kaplan Family Foundation’s Successful Leadership Transition
Ask any family member and they are usually able to identify the current family leader. This is the person around whom everyone gathers; the…
Storytelling and Social Change: A Strategy Guide for Grantmakers
This guide from Narrative Arts is about how to use narrative strategies to advance social change. Grantmakers will find guidance and…
Foundations Moving On: Ending Programmes and Funding Relationships
Whether you are part of a family foundation that runs its own programmes, a big corporate grantmaker, a small venture philanthropist, an NGO…
The Power of Urgency – The Eckerd Family Foundation
This Passages Issue Brief chronicles the experiences of the Eckerd Family Foundation, which operated in Tampa, Florida from 1998 to 2012…
Northern New England Community Foundation Impact Investing
An increasing number of urban and rural community foundations are launching or broadening impact investing strategies, including through…
Fast Forward to Greater Impact: The Power of Field Scans
Field scans are emerging as a core tool for family funders inundated by increasingly larger numbers of nonprofits seeking funding, the…
Igniting the Spark: Creating Effective Next Gen Boards
This Passages Issue Brief introduces an increasingly popular method for preparing the next generation for philanthropic service: the next…
Conflicts of Interest and Avoiding Self-dealing for Family Foundation Boards
What is self-dealing? Who is a disqualified person? This Passages Issue Brief is in the National Center’s growing library of resources…
What is my giving style? Two considerations: Visibility & Impact
This guide identifies two (among many) considerations that shape a philanthropist’s giving style. The first is the degree of visibility a…
Working Together for Common Purpose: Family Philanthropy Through the Family Office
As the field of family philanthropy evolves, the options available to families for managing and making the most of their giving continue to…
Celebrating Milestones in Family Philanthropy: Inspiration for the future
Milestone birthday celebrations are momentous occasions in all families. For many, this tradition carries over directly to the philanthropic…
A Place at the Table: Non-Family Membership on the Family Foundation Board
What are the signs that your foundation’s board might benefit from adding a community board member?
Philanthropic Grantmaking for Disasters: Lessons Learned at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
This report, commissioned for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, reviews principles, best practices and codes of conduct for humanitarian…
Discretionary Grants: Engaging Family... or Pandora’s Box?
If you asked at a gathering of family foundation folks whether using discretionary grants is a good idea, you’d never reach consensus. Many…
Philanthropy’s Role in Developing Responsible Adults
Families of wealth face unique challenges. In most cases, children cannot avoid being set apart because of the communities in which they…
A Letter to Seniors (and will be seniors): Planning for Your Future in Philanthropy
This paper was developed from interviews with a dozen seniors, all over 60 and several in their 80s. Some of the individuals interviewed…
Measuring What Counts: Meaningful Evaluation for Family Foundations
Family foundations are in business to make a difference. As one family foundation leader put it, creating a family foundation is a “powerful…
The Power to Produce Wonders: The Value of Family in Philanthropy
The passionate generosity of countless American families has inspired – and continues to inspire – extraordinary gifts. Indeed, we may know…
Beyond the Family: An Ecosystem Approach to Family Philanthropy
The success of family philanthropy is dependent on the willingness of the family to embrace an ecosystem of partners. In fact, the most…
The Needmor Fund: 50 Years, 50 Stories
A celebratory history, told through stories, of the first 50 years of The Needmor Fund.Choosing and Preparing Your Grantmaking Successors
Family foundation donors and first-generation boards should begin the continuity and succession discussion early in the foundation’s…
A Guide to Actionable Measurement
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive…
How PRIs Can Help Maximize Impact and Approaches for Getting Started
In 2018, Mary Ann Weiss wrote a post for NCFP about program-related investments (PRIs), their advantages, and the barriers to using them…
Family Foundations as Agents of Change
We often hear media reports on the contributions and impact of super-sized grants and mega-foundations. But data and experience tell us it’s…
Families Step Up to Meet Economic Crisis
The recession that began in 2008 caused philanthropic assets for most families to decline sharply. Program plans for 2009 and 2010 were…
Grants to individuals: Investing in people and their communities
Aiming to have a broad effect on organizations or communities, some grant makers choose to fund individuals. It’s true that grants to…
Passing the Baton: Generations Sharing Leadership
Today’s family foundation field has many well-prepared next generation members and a whole generation of longer living, active senior…
Alternatives to Perpetuity: A Conversation Every Foundation Should Have
This Passages is aimed at new donors considering a limited lifespan for their foundation, existing foundations that have already set a…
Evolving Your Family Philanthropy: Family Engagement and Legacy
How does your family philanthropy define and cultivate a legacy? What is the desired impact of your giving and who do you hope will…
Families In Flux: Guidelines for Participation in Your Family's Philanthropy
As families grow more complex, varied, and geographically dispersed, it is important to have clear guidelines about who participates in the…
Growing to Give: Instilling Philanthropic Values in Teens and Preteens
This guide describes many practical reasons for engaging youth in charitable activities, as well as the variety of activities parents can…
10 common errors to avoid in completing a private foundation's form 990-PF
For better or worse, the Form 990-PF is the document that the Internal Revenue Service, Congress, state regulators, the media, and the…
Trustee Compensation: What Is Appropriate?
This briefing paper addresses two key questions related to compensation: if a foundation chooses to compensate board members, how does it…
Successful Succession: Inspiring and Preparing New Generations of Charitable Leaders
Succession planning is vital for any family philanthropy. This guide outlines why, when, and how to go about preparing the next generation…
Collectively Reducing Nonprofit Burden through Data Standards
To understand the makeup of the nonprofits they support, individual funders increasingly request demographic information directly from…
Opportunity of a Lifetime: Young Adults in Family Philanthropy
Why and how should you involve young adults in your family philanthropy? This guide demonstrates how young adults and the family philanthropy can benefit from the participation and perspectives of the family’s young people.
Difficult Discussions at Difficult Times
In family philanthropy, times of crisis often prompt difficult but necessary conversations that can help families affirm their values, shape their strategies, and grow their impact. All funders have to grapple with local and national crises—from natural disasters to civil unrest. Family philanthropies may also face internal crises, such as family conflict, the death of a family member, or a divorce. Regardless of the source of tumult, families can use these challenging times to remain steadfast in their work or consider meaningful shifts.
How to Interrupt the "Vicious Cycle of Inherited Wealth:” A Conversation with Iris Brilliant
For wealth inheritors, having access to a large sum of money they did not earn is a privilege, but often comes with mixed emotions and a…
Board Compensation: Reasonable and Necessary?
Deciding whether to compensate or reimburse family foundation board members can be a difficult and complex decision. This Passages Issue…
The Benefits—and Challenges—of Adding an Equity Lens to Philanthropy Practices
Philanthropy is rooted in and continues to operate within inequitable systems and structures. Philanthropists have long sought to address…
Philanthropy in Complex, Multigenerational Families
In this community conversation, we invite family philanthropy practitioners to explore how giving evolves as families grow, diversify, and…
Fostering Connection for More Effective Philanthropy
In the drive to improve our philanthropy practices and contribute to greater impact, we often overlook the very characteristic that sets our…
August 2023: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Family Foundation Finds Focus in Grantee Relationships
Cohesive family giving across geography and generations is patient work. Trustees’ willingness to listen to one another and to invest time…
Balancing Individual and Family Interests in Collective Giving: Question and Answer with the Authors
Researchers from Lansberg Gersick Advisors hypothesized that families’ abilities to work together effectively in their philanthropy is…
The Power of a Learning Journey
Family philanthropy benefits enormously from continuous inquiry. But it can be challenging to identify paths to deepen knowledge, explore…
Application Processes and Effective Family Philanthropy: No easy answers
You don’t know who you don’t know – Jay Espy, former CEO, Elmina B. Sewall Foundation What does your application process say about you? As…
Indian American Philanthropy: A Tradition of Seeding Change and Inspiring Giving
Introduction Indian Americans are one of the wealthiest and fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States. Many Indian Americans are…
It’s Time To Retire The Term “High Net Worth”
Phila Engaged Giving’s Stephanie Ellis-Smith and Nancy Reid outline the benefits of changing “worth” to “wealth” in the term “high net worth…
July 2023: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Freedom & Effectiveness Through Accountability
Because a body of men, holding themselves accountable to nobody, ought not to be trusted by anybody. – Thomas Payne It should go without…
Partnership Lifecycle and Exercising Funder Responsibility and Accountability
“I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself.” -Teton Sioux Tribe We’re in this…
Living Our Values Through Stakeholder Compensation
This piece was originally published by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and is re-published here with permission. In 2022 we wrote about our…
Listening, Learning, Supporting: Reflections on the RFF Team’s Support Beyond The Grant
When the Rogers Family Foundation announced the sunsetting of our Oakland education strategy in October 2020, our team knew we’d reach a…
June 2023: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Choosing Effectiveness as a Family
Effectiveness is a universal aspiration in philanthropy. It is ongoing and iterative, but it begins with making a choice. As our colleagues…
Aligning Legacy with Liberation: What if your family’s legacy was rooted in supporting liberation for all peoples?
What do we gain when we think of legacy as the good we do instead of as the material success we’ve had? Lauren, a young millennial and one…
May 2023: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Six Insights On Embedding DEI In Communications
The Kenneth Rainin Foundation has been advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across our organization for the past few years. We’ve…
Honoring Time: Grantseeker Compensation
Grantmakers grapple with how to value the time a grantseeker spends completing the grant application, wrangling the financials, and…
Partnering with Purpose and Possibility: Asking the Bold Questions
How far can we push you? With that question, raised by a Fellow in the first few minutes of our formal launch meeting for the new class of…
New Research: Study Finds that Collaborative Model is Necessary for Family Foundations That Wish to Achieve Generational Continuity
For many, family philanthropy presents an opportunity to create a shared experience, unifying the family by working together toward a…
Change Starts from the Inside: A Values-Aligned Leadership Transition
So many individuals, me included, are committed to making positive change in the world. In philanthropy, many of us dedicate significant…
April 2023: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Navigating Climate Change Philanthropy
Funding to combat climate change can feel overwhelming. Tony Macklin outlines pathways that families can take to having an impact on climate…
An Easy Step to Improve Transparency and Access in Philanthropy
Grantmakers can have a reputation for having opaque guidelines and limited access to information. David Weitnauer and his colleague, Rachel…
A Philanthropy for Our Times: Reimagining Purpose and Practice in a New Era
🔑 Key Moments from the Webinar 3:32 – Introduction to Dimple Abichandani 7:41 – Dimple shares the inspiration for her book 13:31 – The…
March 2023: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Avoiding Avoidance: Managing Healthy Family Conflict
Disagreements between two or more people are about what they want to happen next. The participants can typically resolve the dispute without…
Equitable Philanthropy Case Study: The 1954 Project Approach
This piece was originally published by The Bridgespan Group and is re-posted with permission. Founded by philanthropists Liz and Don…
February 2023: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Coming Together for the Greater Good
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Concinnity , an annual newsletter for the Andrus Family Philanthropy Program, and…
Philanthropic Purpose in Action
Philanthropic purpose matters whether you are just beginning your work or are a long-established family philanthropy. But what are the…
Building and Maintaining Successful Board Chair-CEO Relationships
“Will you let the other person be a whole person—be who they really are?” That question came early in a session about the relationship…
Finding the Right Advisor to Help Align Your Investments With Your Values
Addressing the world’s most pressing issues will require harnessing the power of all investment capital—including the corpus of foundations…
January 2023: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Powering Possibilities: In Community and for Community
Amazing things happen when people come together in community. Mutual aid groups support local communities with access to food and needed…
Five Questions for Kelly Nowlin
Anniversaries are times for reflection on and celebration of the past, as well as opportunity to imagine the future. As NCFP celebrates our…
December 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Members and Partners
Network News highlights updates from NCFP’s members and network partners. Current NCFP members or network partners are encouraged to email…
Supporting Systems Change
“We want to get to the root of the problem, not just fund the symptoms.” “We should go upstream and prevent these things from happening.” I…
Responding Quickly and Effectively in Times of Disaster: Preparation and Partnerships are Critical
At CAF America, we support donors who want to build long-term partnerships with local organizations and create meaningful impact, anywhere…
Embracing a More Holistic Approach for Greater Impact
In 2015, I stepped away from the field of education and dove into the world of philanthropy. Previously, I had been principal of Fenger High…
The Work of a Lifetime: Reparative Philanthropy, Relationships, Healing, and Joy
Editors note: These reflections are rooted in a discussion called, Reparations: The Opportunity for Family Philanthropy to Advance Healing…
November 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. Are you a current Friend or Leadership…
Creating a Legacy: Cultivating Shared Leadership
Join us to hear from philanthropic families who are exploring the art and opportunity of generational transitions and multigenerational…
Legacy is not Synonymous with Complacency
“Why do we have to change?” This was the question posed to me by my board chair last year while the Zellerbach Family Foundation (ZFF) was…
How and Now Matter: Reflections from the 2022 National Forum on Family Philanthropy
Every two years the family philanthropy community gathers for reflection and inspiration at the National Forum for Family Philanthropy. San…
Listening, Learning, and Leading Across Generations of Family Philanthropy
Sam Walton believed “great ideas come from everywhere if you just listen and look for them.” Look and listen. These actions are at the core…
Learning from the History of Philanthropy in the San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most prosperous places in the United States, home to technological giants, entrepreneurial…
Philanthropy's Response to Inflation: Bolstering Our Grantees During Challenging Times
Many of us are familiar with the tension between the needs of nonprofits and the giving levels of foundations during economic downturns. At…
October 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. Are you a current Friend or Leadership…
A Funder’s Learnings on Supporting Partners Beyond the Grant
When I joined Laurene Powell’s team to formalize and scale philanthropy at Emerson Collective, my first goal was to build on the generosity…
The Critical Need to Invest in Women's Leadership: An opportunity to learn, take action, and generate match funding
Over the course of my career in philanthropy and government, I’ve been fortunate to participate in many high-level meetings where key…
The Tenets of Impactful Giving
Using Values & Passion as Your Giving Guide Stars Wherever it takes you, the journey towards achieving maximum philanthropic impact starts…
Five Questions for Doug Bitonti Stewart
Anniversaries are times for reflection on and celebration of the past, as well as an opportunity to imagine the future. As the National…
Seeing is Believing: Engaging the Next Generation through Video and Experiential Learning
One important aspect of family foundations is the way in which they help transmit family values from generation to generation. Beyond the…
Five Questions for Armando Castellano
Anniversaries are times for reflection on and celebration of the past, as well as an opportunity to imagine the future. As the National…
Kitchen Table Philanthropy: How My Immigrant Journey Informs My Philanthropy
My family, like many others is an immigrant family and we are celebrating 50 years since we immigrated to the United States. In my case, my…
Impact Investing, and What I Wish I Knew When I Started
Introduction to Systemic Challenges I started my career as a teacher with Teach For America, hoping to replicate in my classroom a version…
August 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. Are you a current Friend or Leadership…
Family Foundations Collaborate for Local Grants on Climate and Equity
This was originally published by Drawdown Georgia and is re-posted here with permission What if several family foundations came together…
Takeaways Blog on Participatory Grantmaking
This blog summarizes key notes from our June Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy webinar . Many family-led philanthropies are successfully…
Five Questions for 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…
Open Calls in Philanthropy: An Uncommon Approach that Can Reveal Weaknesses and Maximize Strengths
This article was originally published by Mission Investors Exchange and is re-posted here with permission. In philanthropy, the open call…
July 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. Are you a current Friend or Leadership…
Five Questions for 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…
Open Letter to Family Philanthropists: Please, Invest in Our Democracy While We Still Can
“When you read about these near misses [of stable democracies staving off authoritarian threats], two factors prove decisive again and again…
Join the Climate Philanthropy Movement: A Conversation with McKnight’s Noa Staryk
We sat down with Noa Staryk, board chair at McKnight Foundation , to learn more about their nation-leading approach to climate philanthropy…
Delaplaine Foundation to Establish Community Advisory Council
Delaplaine Foundation, a private family foundation with deep roots in the Frederick, Maryland community, has been dedicated to making a…
June 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Takeaways Blog on Designing Effective Board Meetings: Purpose, Outcomes, Process, and People
This blog summarizes key notes from our May Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy webinar . Effective meetings are critical for engaging…
Grantee Perception Report: What We Heard and How We Plan to Do Better
This article was originally published by the Surdna Foundation and is re-posted here with permission. Have you ever had food stuck in your…
Family Philanthropy Speaks: A Conversation with Nicole Systrom
NCFP President and CEO Nick Tedesco speaks with Nicole Systrom, founder of Sutro Energy Group. Nicole talked about philanthropy’s role in…
Demystifying the Hidden Figure of ‘Effectiveness’
In philanthropy, effectiveness is our north star—it is the bar we measure ourselves against and the standard we strive to uphold. But what…
In Practice: How Foundations Can Compensate Stakeholders for Their Time
If a foundation convenes key stakeholders, including grantees, to inform a project like its strategic plan, should it compensate…
Join us in San Francisco
Cathy Cha, Kimberly Myers Hewlett, and Allison Magee are co-chairs of the 2022 Forum advisory committees. Two-plus years into a global…
May 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Takeaways Blog on Governance Practices for Better Decision Making
This blog summarizes key notes from our April Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy webinar . Governance practices of philanthropic families…
Choosing Your Estate Attorney
This article provides a roadmap for choosing an estate planning attorney, asking the right questions and making the right choices. A well…
Pluralism in Family Philanthropy: Navigating Tensions and Bridging Divides for Impact
In an increasingly divisive society, people are facing complex, challenging dialogues around politics, ethics, and social issues, struggling…
So You Want to Do a Participatory Strategy?
This article was originally published by Alliance and is re-posted here with permission. Love the intention—but let’s make sure you get it…
April 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the Mary…
Kitchen Table Philanthropy in the Time of Ramadan
This April, Muslims around the world are observing the holiday of Ramadan—a month-long period of fasting from dawn to sundown, and of…
Takeaways Blog on Reducing the Administrative Burden through Fiscal Sponsorship
This blog summarizes key notes from our March Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy webinar . Management, operations, and administration are…
Funding Equity: Disability Inclusion in Grantmaking
One in four adult Americans and an estimated one billion people globally experience disability. However, only one cent out of every ten…
Family Philanthropy Speaks: A Conversation with Steve Toben and Susan Briggs
NCFP President and CEO Nick Tedesco speaks with Flora Family Foundation’s leadership: President Steve Toben and Board Chair Susan Briggs…
Responding to Crisis: Resources for Supporting Ukraine
At moments like this, with crises and disasters unfolding across the globe, we know philanthropic families are looking for ways to respond…
Step up, Speak Up, and Join Us in Supporting AANHPI Communities
This article was originally published by the Center for Effective Philanthropy and is re-posted here with permission. A recent report from…
March 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Anticipating the Complications of Divorce in Family Philanthropy
This blog post is excerpted from the new Passages guide: Breaking Up: Divorce in Family Philanthropy Divorce is never easy for any family…
Use Collaboration as a Way to Embrace Change (Part 4 of 4)
Collaboration in family philanthropy requires a deep, often emotional, commitment as it relates both to the individual and their family…
Takeaways Blog on Complexities of the Collective
This blog summarizes key notes from our February Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy Webinar . For many, family philanthropy presents an…
Using Research and Advocacy to Engage with National Policy
At the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation (SHSF), we invest in solutions that expand equitable access to public services and support…
The 7 Habits of Highly-Effective Search Committees
When family foundations recruit a new top executive, they often spend considerable energy screening search firms that will help them…
February 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Lead and Give with Bravery and Humility
S ociety is calling leaders to action: demanding fundamental changes in our mindsets, how we operate, and what we pursue. Responding to the…
Examine Your Own Equity Practices Before Asking Grantees
This article was originally published by LEAP Ambassadors and is re-posted here with permission. What are good questions funders can ask…
Racial Justice in Family Philanthropy: A Conversation Between Nick Tedesco and June Wilson
Prior to Nick Tedesco’s official start as president and CEO of the National Center for Family (NCFP), he attended NCFP’s conference where…
Takeaways Blog on Reflecting on Your Origin Story
This blog summarizes key notes from our January Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy Webinar . The criticism of wealth is longstanding and…
Racial Equity is Fundamental to Effective Family Philanthropy
Learning opportunities bring us the delight of something new: we hear or do something for the first time, we might—metaphorically—or…
New Year’s Resolution – Give Boldly, Give More, Give Now
New Year’s resolutions may be 4,000 years old, and probably just as old is the tradition of breaking those resolutions all too soon after…
January 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Family Philanthropy Versus Climate Change: An Opportunity of a Lifetime and Beyond
At the United Nations’ COP26 conference in November 2021, President Biden said climate change is “an existential threat to human existence…
Announcing our 2022 Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy Webinar Series
We’re excited to announce our 2022 Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy webinar series with the NCFP community. The monthly webinar series…
Engaging Parents and Guardians in Youth Philanthropy
Earlier this month we shared the Sillerman Center’s ongoing youth philanthropy research as it relates to COVID-19, based on The State of…
How You Collaborate Will Shape The Impact You Have (Part 3 Of 4)
In this space the primary reason people come together to collaborate is to have a positive social impact and this was readily apparent in…
Will COVID-19 usher in a new era of collaboration in philanthropy?
The Families and Workers Fund is a new donor collaborative that includes a mix of private, corporate, and family foundations pooling…
Philanthropy with Purpose Drives Lasting Change
This article was originally published by the Center for Effective Philanthropy and is re-posted here with permission. Change is borne of…
Youth Philanthropy During COVID-19 and the Success of Hybrid Programming
At the Sillerman Center , we think about youth philanthropy programs as those that support young people making grants directly to nonprofit…
Takeaways Blog on Engaging the Next Generation
This blog summarizes key notes from our November Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy Webinar . Multigenerational families use varying, and…
December 2021: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
We Can Be Bold Together
Today, the family philanthropy field is at a point of inflection. We are amidst a culminating moment in which our social, economic, and…
Giving Circle Spotlight: Ecowomanist Institute ELM Giving Circle
Grapevine, an online platform for giving circles, interviewed one of its community members to shed light on their origin story, the power of…
Trust-Based Philanthropy: Shifting Power to Communities
This article was originally published by Citi GPS: Global Perspectives & Solutions and is re-posted here with permission. Philanthropy is a…
Family Philanthropy Speaks: A Conversation with Vilas Dhar
Vilas Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, joins NCFP President and CEO Nick Tedesco for a Family Philanthropy Speaks…
Ginny’s Governance Checklist Part 4: Ensuring Board Vitality: Communications, Committees, and Renewal
The Governance Checklist blog series is a practical guide to building and maintaining the best possible family foundation board. Framed…
Tough Talk
This article was originally published by Phila Engaged Giving and is re-posted here with permission. Having tough conversations are often a…
Prepare for Ethical Dilemmas on Family Boards
This article was originally published by GMA Foundations and is re-posted here with permission. Many family foundations have taken the time…
Video Highlights from the 2021 Trustee Education Institute
The Trustee Education Institute is one of NCFP’s signature events, offering family foundation board members and CEOs a comprehensive…
November 2021: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Addressing Challenges on the Journey to Equity, Inclusion, and Justice
This article was originally published by Foundant Technologies and is re-posted here with permission. Last fall we asked our clients to…
Nesting to Achieve Impact: Lessons for Family Funders from a National Foundation
Family funders are regularly seeking opportunities to amplify their impact in the communities in which they live, work, and serve. Although…
Four Ways To Become The Kind Of Leader Philanthropy Needs
This article was originally published by Forbes and is re-posted here with permission. We often think of a good leader as someone who goes…
Lessons Philanthropy Can Take From The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference
We’re all waiting to find out what is going to come out of COP26, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference that starts at the end of October…
Five Lessons from Our DEI Growth and Transformation
This blog was collaboratively written by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s Executive Team A few years ago, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation…
Build Bridges and Spread Solutions: Reflections on the past and the path forward at the 2021 Trustee Education Institute
At the very onset of this year’s 2021 Trustee Education Institute , David Callahan, founding editor of Inside Philanthropy , said that even…
Family Philanthropy Speaks: A Conversation with Dimple Abichandani and Robin Snidow
Dimple Abichandani, Executive Director of the General Service Foundation (GSF), works closely with the foundation’s chair, Robin Snidow. In…
Takeaways Blog on Scaling for Success
This blog summarizes key notes from our September Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy Webinar . Giving families often reach a point where…
Creating a Legacy: Planning for the Future
How is your family philanthropy thinking about its impact horizon? How can you embed flexibility and intentionality into your structures so…
The Value of Problem Solving With Peers
When I started as the first executive director of the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, the National Center for Family Philanthropy…
Ginny’s Governance Checklist Part 3: Composing Your Board Eligibility, Size, Selection, and Terms
The Governance Checklist blog series is a practical guide to building and maintaining the best possible family foundation board. Framed…
October 2021: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Showing Up and Sharing Power: How One Foundation Board Deepened Relationships with its Nonprofit Partners Through Trust-Based Conversations
This article was originally published by Trust-Based Philanthropy Project and is re-posted here with permission. Leadership at the Durfee…
Funders Support Strong Communities Through Meaningful Relationships
Myron Miller, trustee of the Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation, sat among members of the clergy at an immigration rights event hosted…
An Extraordinary Life: Remembering Anne Springs Close
The field of philanthropy lost one of its most remarkable leaders last month. So did the fields of conservation and environmental protection…
Modeling Collaboration: New Partnership between Stanford PACS and NCFP
For the last few years, the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI) at Stanford’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society…
September 2021: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Discussing Wealth, #HalfMyDAF, & the State of Philanthropy: Q&A with Jen Risher
Jen Risher is the author of We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth , and co-founded the #HalfMyDAF initiative in response to the pandemic…
Video Highlights from the 2020 Trustee Education Institute
The Trustee Education Institute is one of NCFP’s signature events, offering family foundation board members and CEOs a comprehensive…
Family Philanthropy Speaks: A Conversation with CC Gardner Gleser
CC Gardner Gleser is the first non-family chair of the Andrus Family Fund and is the Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the…
Whole Philanthropy: Chicago Beyond's Approach to Operationalizing Transformation
Whole Philanthropy is Chicago Beyond’s approach to operationalizing transformation. The foundation seeks to build a deep foundation of trust…
Ginny’s Governance Checklist Part 2: Clarifying Foundation Needs and Board Member Expectations
The first installment of this blog series on building and maintaining your board focused on which principles will inspire and guide your…
Are Foundation Trustees Perpetuating Climate Injustice? Here’s How We Can Change That.
This article was originally published by Inside Philanthropy and is re-posted here with permission. The recent IPCC report couldn’t be…
Every Collaboration Needs Some Structure (Part 2 of 4)
As the second part of our series on 21st Century Collaboration, we explore a common tension that often arises for family foundations caught…
Takeaways Blog on Impact, Measurement, and Evaluation
This blog summarizes our August Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy Webinar . Impact is often an elusive concept in philanthropy. Giving…
Five Ways Your Grants Management System Can Activate Trust-based Philanthropy
Courtesy of Mikhail Nilov from Pexels If the last tumultuous year has taught us anything, it’s that future-proofing your foundation’s grants…
Why and How Family Foundations Can Advance Equity Through Participatory Measurement
Courtesy of Pace Center for Girls The recent investment by MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett in funder coalitions Fund for Shared Insight and…
Family Philanthropy Speaks: A Conversation with Lisa Graustein
Lisa Graustein, a trustee of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund in Connecticut, brings her experience as a public school teacher and…
August 2021: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the…
Building and Maintaining a Highly Functioning Board: Ginny’s Governance Checklist
About this Series In the early days of a family foundation, the donors and other enthusiastic family members tend to turn first to the…
Turning Aspiration into Action: A New Report Illustrates Equity in Action at the McKnight Foundation
This article was originally posted by the McKnight Foundation and is re-posted here with permission. Ever since the McKnight Foundation…
Three Simple Ways for Funders to Make Their Rural Work Authentic
I have been there. The visit from the big city or national funder. The awkward conversations with the visitors that want to get the best…
Takeaways Blog on Grantee Relationships and Power Dynamics
Courtesy of Alexander Suhorucov from Pexels This blog summarizes key notes from our July Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy Webinar . Power…