Board assessment, continuity, and renewal

A Letter to Seniors (and will be seniors): Planning for Your Future in Philanthropy

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Alice Buhl

Their stories are fascinating reminders of the many philanthropic paths available, whatever your age. Their stories fall into four categories of approaches to how they planned their own as well as their family’s philanthropic futures: senior generation members who chose to stay actively involved in leading the family’s foundation. seniors who passed on leadership but stayed active in the foundation… Read More

Emeritus Board Members: Curse or Blessing?

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Alice Buhl

Mom and Dad are aging but we want to keep them involved.  Aunt Sally has been running the foundation forever but the other board members feel it is time for someone else to take over.  Uncle John is beginning to get confused.  The three sisters in the second generation have been controlling things for years but the next generation wants… Read More

Choosing and Preparing Your Grantmaking Successors

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Mary Phillips

Family foundation donors and first generation boards should begin the continuity and succession discussion early in the foundation’s lifetime if perpetuity is the objective. In a succession plan, one trustee usually succeeds another. However, before succession can take place there should be continuity of governance where members of more than one generation are working together as peers. This Passages profiles… Read More

Trustee Handbook and board policies (Hill-Snowdon Foundation)

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Hill-Snowdon Foundation

This document represents all standing policies that have been developed by the Hill-Snowdon Foundation since the year 2000.   It presents long-term policies as well as short-term (action-oriented with specific timeframe attached) policies that have not yet been completed, and includes Executive, Grantmaking, and Operational policies… Read More

Next generation leadership: Exploring transition at the Andrus Family Fund

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Deanne Stone

How to involve a family that size was daunting enough, but the trustees faced another hurdle. Historically, the seats on the family boards had been filled by a handful of family members from a few family branches. The fourth-generation wanted to have a more democratic selection process, but could they suddenly and convincingly open the doors to the family’s philanthropies after decades of exclusion?… Read More

Passing the Baton: Generations Sharing Leadership

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Alice Buhl

Today’s family foundation field has many well-prepared next generation members and a whole generation of longer living, active senior members. And while the field has been resourceful in promoting next gen involvement, it has done little to address succession issues for the senior generation or to consider options for shared, multi-generational leadership. Alice Buhl discusses lessons learned from family business,… Read More

Challenges of Board Leadership: What Now and Why?

Posted on March 13, 2008 by Ken Gladish

Good board leadership in the foundation field has become increasingly complex and challenging. It has also become more important than ever. And, in family foundations, trustees and directors are faced with a special set of conditions and circumstances that make their work even more "interesting."… Read More

Principled Planning: A Guide for Family Foundation Retreats

Posted on November 5, 2006 by Elaine Gast Fawcett

In 2005, the Council on Foundations developed a set of Stewardship Principles  to help family foundation board members govern, manage and lead their family foundations. These principles were based on more than a year’s worth of work, with input from hundreds of family foundation executives and trustees as well as other experts including academics, attorneys, and even an ethicist. This… Read More

Generations of Giving: Chapter 4 – The Collaborative Family Foundation

Posted on September 27, 2006 by Deanne Stone, Howard Muson, Katherine Grady, Kelin E. Gersick, Ph.D., Michele Desjardins

Chapter 4 of Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations, the landmark 2006 study by a team of researchers led by Kelin Gersick and co-published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy.  This Chapter introduces the concept of “The Collaborative Family Foundation” and looks at the characteristics and challenges of achieving this model. The Chapter describes several “windows… Read More

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