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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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…
Youth Engagement Models: Igniting the Spark
Learn about the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s model for youth engagement. Its Planet Philanthropy program engages donors’…
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…
Andrus youth service program application
A sample application from a family foundation inviting next gen family members who are interested in participating in the family’s formal…
Andrus youth service program handbook
A sample next gen program handbook from a family foundation inviting next gen family members to “develop a long-term commitment to being the…
Pandemic Philanthropy: Youth Giving Edition
And so it began. Our youth board had Zoom calls nearly every month where we met each other, discussed what philanthropy is, made general…
Making Space for Youth Leadership
There are many different strategies and formats to engage the next generation of youth in family philanthropy. Yet in all cases, younger…
Takeaways from Engaging Youth Peer Network: Supporting Youth Givers Across Ages
During the final Engaging Youth Peer Network event of 2020, participants had the opportunity to hear about a variety of strategies for…
Community-Centric Youth Philanthropy: A Case Study of Greater Worcester Community Foundation’s Youth for Community Improvement Program
This case study aims to demonstrate how youth philanthropy can be an avenue to democratize philanthropy while it simultaneously benefits…
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…
Effective Family Philanthropy: The Tarsadia Foundation
This case study showcases how the Tarsadia Foundation has evolved to prioritize youth philanthropy in order to teach next-generation of family members about the value of giving back—and to shape its grantmaking agenda and culture.
Supporting Youth and Next-gen Philanthropy: How to Get Started
Sammie Holzwarth, Kimberly Myers Hewlett, and Vasser Seydel on NCFP’s recent webinar This article was originally published by Foundant…
Engaging Youth Retreat: A Recap
Courtesy of Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash This article was originally published by Foundant and is re-posted here with permission. For…
Engaging Youth Voices in Participatory Grantmaking Practice
Photo courtesy of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation A group of teenage philanthropists sit around a boardroom table at an urban…
Youth & Teen Programming: Planet Philanthropy Example
Atlanta Planet Philanthropy Brochure W4H Email to parents and kids W4I Planet Philanthropy Participant Letter and Information Package W4J…
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…
Give As We Grow: Engaging Youth in Philanthropy
As members of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, we are happy to share with our fellow members a new digital platform, Give As We…
Igniting the Spark: Dekko Family Foundation
The Dekko Family Foundation is located in Kendallville, Indiana. The idea for Youth Pods started in the 1990s, when a staff member went to a…
Igniting the Spark: Greater Worcester Community Foundation
As a way to support the voice of youth in the community and engage donors, the Great Worcester Community Foundation adopted the Youth for…
Igniting the Spark: Foundation for Metrowest
The Foundation for MetroWest, based in Natick, Massachusetts, has been committed to educating the next generation of community leaders…
Igniting the Spark: Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation
The Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation is located in Studio City, California, with family geographically dispersed around the country. The…
Igniting the Spark: The Lawrence Welk Family Foundation
The Lawrence Welk Family Foundation is located in Santa Monica, California, with family geographically dispersed around the country. The…
Igniting the Spark: Metrowest Study
In 1997, the Foundation of MetroWest launched its Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) program which has been educating youth about the needs in the…
Igniting the Spark: Tracy Family Foundation
The Tracy Family Foundation is located in Mt. Sterling, Illinois, with family geographically dispersed around the country. The foundation’s…
Igniting the Spark: The Tarsadia Foundation
The Tarsadia Foundation is located in Newport Beach, California. The foundation supports non-profit organizations with programs and projects…
Igniting the Spark: Lumpkin Family Foundation
The Lumpkin Family Foundation is located in Mattoon, Illinois, with family geographically dispersed. The foundation supports people pursuing…
Cricket Island Foundation: A Case Study of a Small Foundation’s Impact Assessment
In 2015, the Cricket Island Foundation conducted a multi-method assessment of its grantmaking portfolio to examine its impact and inform…
Igniting the Spark: YOUTHadelphia, A program of The Philadelphia Foundation
In 2006, The Philadelphia Foundation established YOUTHadelphia to build youth leadership skills by empowering teens to give back to their…
Igniting the Spark: The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
In 2001, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta launched the Center for Family Philanthropy. The focus of the Center was two-fold: (1)…
Why Am I Always Being Researched?
In this publication, Chicago Beyond offers “how” we can begin to level the playing field and reckon with unintended bias when it comes to…
The Perrin Family Foundation: A Funder Journey Story
The Perrin Family Foundation is a family foundation based in Connecticut, with a focus on supporting youth-led social change focused on…
Values, Kids, Philanthropy, and COVID-19
We’re eating more meals together than we ever have before. We are getting to know our neighbors better. We see our child or children more…
November 2019: 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 cutting edge work. This month features updates…
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…
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…
Effective Family Philanthropy: The Cricket Island Foundation
What It Looks Like When a Multigenerational Family Foundation Makes All Voices Equal Therma-Tru Corporation was a family-owned business…
Moving Beyond 5 Percent: A Values-Based Funding Shift
Earlier this year, our board made the decision to increase our annual payout from 5.7 percent to 7 percent for 2026, with a commitment to…
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…
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…
The Case for Multiple Giving Vehicles
There is a range of vehicles available to engage the whole family in philanthropy—each vehicle is a tool in your philanthropy toolbox that…
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…
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…
Splendid Legacy 2: Creating and Re-Creating Your Family Foundation
When your family decides to create a foundation, you’ll face a number of important choices that will guide your philanthropy for decades to…
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…
Sample Case Statements E-Book
A ‘Case Statement’ is a document that provides basic information about an organization, program or ministry. It summarizes what the unmet…
Listening & Feedback: A Funder Action Menu
This menu from Fund for Shared Insight offers a conversation-starter to help foundations think in a systematic way about how they can…
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…
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…
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.
Water of Systems Change
This report examines how funders can create an environment that enables systems change.
Logic Model Example for Grantees (Ruth Mott Foundation, 2023)
A sample logic model provided by the Ruth Mott Foundation for it’s grantees.
Next-Generation Activities Resource List (Longbrake Family Foundation, 2021)
A next-generation activities resource list document from the Longbrake Family Foundation.
Independent Board Member Criteria (Sweet Geeks Foundation, 2024)
A job description for an independent, non-family board member who brings diverse perspectives and lived experiences in alignment with the Sweet Geeks Foundation’s existing funding areas.
Name, Claim, and Share Power: Perrin Family Foundation (Passages Issue Brief Excerpt)
As a family funder, how can you acknowledge and responsibly navigate the power of your position? How does the power and privilege you hold…
Next-Generation Program Plan for Age 16 Plan (Longbrake Family Foundation, 2021)
A next-generation program plan for age 16 plan document from the Longbrake Family Foundation.
Igniting the Spark: Andrus Family Fund
The Surdna Foundation is one of the oldest and largest family foundations in the United States. In addition to the Surdna Foundation, the…