Perpetuity, lifespan, and spend down

Strategic Lifespan Peer Network Retreat

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Laurel Randi, Priscilla Enriquez, John Esterle, Glen Galaich, Marcus F. Walton

Learn with your peers from foundations who are considering or who have decided to spend down. This retreat will feature inspirational conversations, field-building and peer connections, case studies, and learning with a peer on the final stages of spending down. The sessions included will be: A Conversation about the Changing Field with Marcus Walton, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, interviewed by… Read More

Limited Life Foundations: Lessons from CEOs

Posted on June 8, 2021 by John Esterle, Joe Del Guercio, Teri Behrens, Glen Galaich, Ellen Friedman

Philanthropic purpose, impact, and perpetuity are on the minds of giving families more than ever before. Many are reconsidering the lifespan of their giving effort with a fresh lens as community needs increase and the sector evolves. Yet the opportunities of limited lifespan are often not clear or not fully understood, and neither are the potential challenges. In this webinar,… Read More

Legacy in Family Philanthropy: A Modern Framework

Posted on May 16, 2021 by Shira Saperstein, Janice Simsohn Shaw

Adult hand holding child's hand - legacy
Legacy is a fundamental consideration in the practice of effective family philanthropy, yet it remains one of the most ambiguous and often overlooked concepts in our field. Many families approach legacy with a retrospective lens—one that reflects on a philanthropic effort across a number of years or even generations. However, legacy is emergent and iterative. It ought to be considered… Read More

Strategic Lifespan Peer Network: Participatory Grantmaking

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Ibrahima Thiam, Lynda Mansson

How can we shift power and engage others in our decision-making process? How can we listen more effectively and support collaboration in our grantmaking? Join this important conversation with MAVA Foundation Director General Lynda Mansson and Ibrahima Thiam, executive director of Wetlands International Africa and a MAVA partner. They will be discuss how MAVA, a spend down foundation, has embraced… Read More

Strategic Lifespan Peer Network: Using Systems to Achieve Sustainable Success

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Brian Collier, David Peter Stroh

Why do social systems resist our best intentions to improve their performance? How can you use systems thinking to achieve sustainable system-wide impact by taking both the short and long term consequences of your decisions into account? Join field expert David Peter Stroh for a conversation with Brian Collier, Executive Vice President of the Foundation for the Carolinas. Brian has… Read More

Rehearsing the Future: An Introduction to Developing and Using Scenarios

Posted on January 8, 2021 by S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Scenarios are stories about different future environments in which today’s decisions might play out. We cannot predict the future. However, by thinking creatively and rigorously about a range of scenarios, we can rehearse future possibilities and prepare for what might be next. In the summer of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, job losses mounted, and the movement for racial… Read More

Strategic Lifespan Peer Network: A Conversation with the Hazen Foundation

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Cristina Jiménez, Lori Bezahler

Join President Lori Bezahler and Board Chair Cristina Jiménez from the Edward W. Hazen Foundation, a private foundation established in 1925 that is committed to supporting organizing and leadership of young people and communities of color in dismantling structural inequity based on race and class. Learn from the board and staff of this spend down foundation committed to equity and… Read More

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