The Beldon Fund: Final Impact Assessment

Posted on November 26, 2014

During its time-limited lifespan, the Beldon Fund sought to maximize its impact with focused investments in environmental advocacy and health. The Fund pursued three unique but interrelated strategies to advance positive change on the issues it cared about: 1) Build capacity and clout, 2) Support civic engagement, 3) Broaden the base of support. A fourth strategy, Giving more than grants,… Read More

The Irwin Sweeney Miller Foundation: A Study in Spend Down

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Alice Buhl

[Photo: The New Commons Mall in Columbus, Indiana, a centerpiece of the Irwin Sweeney Miller Foundation’s neighborhood revitilization project.] This is the story of the third generation members of the Miller family who chose to spend down the Irwin Sweeney Miller Foundation, with assets of approximately $25 million. Their story is different from many in two important ways. First, the… Read More

The Power of Urgency: Options for Spending Down and Limited Life Foundations

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Alice Buhl, Joseph W. “Joe” Clark, Tony Proscio

This conversation will provide a fascinating look at the advantages and disadvantages of the limited life approach, both for the community of grantees and for family members themselves. Even if your family is not currently considering the limited life option, the strategic approaches taken by the boards of these foundations to achieve their goals will offer many valuable lessons and insights… Read More

The Power of Urgency – The Eckerd Family Foundation

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Jason Born

Organized from its inception as a limited life foundation, the Eckerd Family Foundation took a bold and strategic approach to using its assets to create significant change on issues affecting young people, including juvenile justice, foster care, and education… Read More

Giving While Living

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Gara LaMarche, Lenore Hanisch

The number of limited life foundations is increasing. Donors who decide to spend their philanthropic resources while alive employ different strategies in their grantmaking and have different goals than those families whose philanthropies are planned to exist in perpetuity… Read More

Closing the door: Spending out frees the Beldon Fund board’s imagination

Posted on October 21, 2005 by Deanne Stone

Many family foundations that make the decision to spend out their assets within a limited timeframe say that doing so keeps them focused on the mission, energized, and on their toes. Bill Roberts, former executive director of the Beldon Fund, speaks for many of the foundations interviewed for NCFP’s Passages Issue Brief on this topic, “Alternatives to Perpetuity: A Conversation… Read More