Resource Search

While there are good resources to help family foundation boards identify common and effective practices in each area of governance-related questions, this guide by the National Center for Family Philanthropy focuses less on the outcomes and more on ensuring that all of the issues are considered for building the board your foundation deserves.

Women’s growing economic influence across all generations has been one of the most significant shifts within our economy across recent decades. While this new dynamic represents great progress, many women lack confidence when it comes to investing. To help change this mindset, this issue focuses on sharing stories that lead by experience to build confidence around all aspects of their wealth.

By recognizing there are various charitable giving vehicles that donors use to engage in philanthropy, there is also the recognition that there is no single method that is a universally perfect solution and that there are donors who may wish to utilize more than one structure. So how do families know which charitable structures will work for them?

While every philanthropic journey is unique, there are points at which all families must make decisions. This series of seven short videos offers a comprehensive introduction and refresher to critical concepts to consider at each stage of your family philanthropy—from philanthropic purpose and selecting giving vehicles, to operations, succession, and legacy. Additional resources and insights are provided on each topic to further help you navigate your philanthropic giving and strengthen your family engagement.

Through interviews with dozens of donors, Legacy in Family Philanthropy: A Modern Framework, explores big concepts, such as how the ever-evolving idea of legacy relates to values-driven giving and a commitment to impact. It also explores practical matters, such as how multigenerational families can—and do—navigate conversations about legacy.

Families are reconsidering their motivations for giving and how their philanthropy carries forward their values, aims, and objectives. It’s promoting deeper intentionality, humility, empathy, understanding, and trust. These shifts are prompting families to reflect on what they seek to build now and how it informs their legacy. It’s imperative to shift legacy from a reactive construct to an emergent one that serves as a guide and measure of accountability.

The explosion of the use of philanthropic vehicles, coupled with massive intergenerational wealth transfer, means that affluent families are giving in more ways, both collectively and individually. Taking a deeper look, researchers found that as families evolve, they face common dilemmas regarding their philanthropy—most critically, the choices they make about balancing the individual philanthropic priorities of their members with a collective family philanthropic endeavor.

Through a survey and series of interviews with members of 20 U.S.-based, multi-generational family philanthropic systems, researchers found that as families evolve, they face common dilemmas regarding their philanthropy—most critically, the choices they make about balancing the individual philanthropic priorities of their members with a collective family philanthropic endeavor. The study’s standout finding was that the creation of a robust family philanthropy “system” was vital to providing outlets for families’ increasingly diverse philanthropic interests.

Because nearly 90% of all foundations are set up with the intent to exist in perpetuity, their success depends on their ability to prepare for and manage change. The challenge isn’t merely a transition, but also the internal stress of balancing the energy and engagement of new blood with the experience and traditions of its senior members. Based on over a decade of experience supporting over 2,000 foundations, this booklet provides pertinent discussion points for each of these common transitions and what to consider at each juncture.