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This study finds many companies still using divestments as a short-term tactical tool, often to raise cash or pay down debt. That’s no surprise given the difficulties many businesses have faced in terms of cash and credit since the financial crisis. However, in this prolonged period of low growth, divestments are likely to play a more strateg...

Newsletter of the Synergos Institute dedicated to disseminating best practices and innovations in philanthropy and social investment around the world.

Investors and advisors focused on wealth growth and preservation may see environment, social, and governance/socially responsible investing as taxing a portfolio's performance. This paper offers a framework with associated metrics for assessing ESG/SRI integration into the portfolio with the same rigor and discipline used in all other fiduciary dec...

This paper offers a practical look at how an individual or family might plot a successful road map that aligns and grows with their unique abilities, needs, and personality. The authors detail the steps in a philanthropic asset allocation process involving fact-finding, planning, and continuing assessment as seen through the eyes of three hypotheti...

Can you lose a charitable deduction for failing to obtain a correct acknowledgement? A recent Tax Court case says yes. As we approach year-end giving season, know the rules, whether you are giving $500 or $50 million.

For many philanthropic families, successfully engaging the "next generation" proves challenging. This can be especially true if the family supports a specific community or region in which the younger family members do not live. This paper looks at the benefit of allowing the next generation to pursue their interests in more global issues.

While family businesses are playing an important role in the economy and studies have regularly shown that in the long-term they outperform other businesses, there is the continual challenge of succession to the next generation. An estate is built up over the generations and the family grows larger. This source of diversity is not without its chall...

This first national study explores the topic of family philanthropy through the family office including opportunities and challenges, perspectives and experiences of practitioners and family members with the family office structure. This is a collaborative project of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, Threshold Group, and FOX.

In a family enterprise - particularly in a multigenerational family business - the company is often the dominant aspect of the family's identity. Adding a philanthropic track to the enterprise not only creates a significant return on investment in terms of the company's relationship with its customers and employees, but also can affirm the core val...

While foundation leaders have displayed a remarkable ability to adapt to change, economic and legislative uncertainty make fulfi lling their mission directives all the more arduous. This period of transition promises to be more than a temporary shift, and many foundation executives believe some fundamental changes are necessary.

Grant-making used to require the manual distribution of information, but now grant program administrators can receive, organize, manage, and distribute applications online. The author highlights the benefits of application management systems and provides guidance in selecting the right system for your organization.

Why are some families able to pass the legacy of philanthropy from generation to generation while others are not? This white paper by Claudia B. Sangster, director of Philanthropy Services with Harris myCFO, LLC, looks at how to encourage the next generation of givers.

Estate planners who help their clients become more strategic about philanthropy in their legacy planning strengthen relationships with clients and their heirs and significantly increase the likelihood that their clients’ charitable distributions will align with their interests and be more effective. Whether creating a new estate plan or revisiting ...

The most successful family foundations are strategic about how money is given away, to whom it is given and for what purposes, and in evaluation of the programs funded and the role of the funder. This paper examines eight strategies that distinguish the most successful family foundations from the least successful ones.

One of the most important aspects of a family’s legacy planning can be philanthropy. Family philanthropy can be thought of as the organized charitable giving by several members of a family to achieve a unified goal. It is more than the annual giving of one individual or married couple, though such giving is critically important in its own right. P...