As individuals and families contemplate their charitable giving, they often consider forming a private foundation or creating a donor-advised fund. Understanding the pros and cons of each giving strategy can help them determine the best option to meet family development and philanthropic goals.
The impact of COVID-19 on our communities is only just starting to come into focus. No matter what happens from here, the damage will be dramatic. Many nonprofits that have not traditionally made grants to individuals are asking if they can do so, and how. With a little bit of planning and advice up front, disaster relief grants to individuals can ...
Jeff Raikes, co-founder of the Raikes Foundation, and Fred Kaynor, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Schwab Charitable, discuss a strategy that can help donors increase their charitable impact. Jeff outlines three important tenets:Choose a cause you are passionate aboutResearch causes and charities to understand how you can m...
Philanthropy is changing and evolving more quickly than ever, with new societal challenges, new players, and new strategies. In this time of change, questions of how family foundations can optimize their effectiveness are increasingly urgent. This paper by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors provides an overview of the Theory of the Foundation, some ...
With impact investing, the viability and projected growth of the creative economy is not easily seen. But when using the “creativity lens” that looks at creative activity beyond the limits of art and culture, a different story emerges. It can be seen that impact investing in the creative economy has been hiding in plain sight. This study by Rockefe...
There is a passionate and growing effort among funders to focus less on change that is short-term or only at the project or program level; such funders are instead using models that reach across different sectors and approaches and dig deep into root causes, leading to more structural, systemic change. Aiming their efforts at more transformational ...
A historic agreement was reached in 2015 when member states of the United Nations came together and signed “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which included a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs charted a way forward to a just, secure, and sustainable future for people and the planet. This...
A board chair is perhaps the most important and meaningful job in any family foundation. If you are currently chair—or anticipate that you will be someday—you may find it’s one of the most rewarding roles you will ever have. It’s also a role of great nuance, calling for keen facilitation, leadership, and a healthy dose of se...
National Center for Family Philanthropy recently spoke with Bill Leighty about how he’s helped keep the Leighty Foundation’s memories alive by recording its history. While many foundations use external production companies, Bill created his family’s legacy videos himself—using his own technological know-how, video equip...
Veronica and Greg share how investments in their donor-advised fund account have grown over the years, which has enabled them to give even more to the causes they care about.
One of the many challenges facing wealthy families in today’s fast-paced society is the need to meaningfully involve family members, including the rising generation, in the management of the family wealth enterprise. One way to engage the family is through philanthropic giving where families can derive great benefit from working together to define ...
What does it mean for a family funder to share and shift power? Here are ideas and questions to help guide an internal discussion on how your policies and practices affect the power dynamics of your philanthropy, and what you can do to alleviate this in your grantmaking, governance, and management practices.
When starting with family philanthropy, a family can choose a donor-advised fund or establish a private foundation. Each option has different requirements and management issues, including start-up costs, privacy matters, control of grants and assets, and flexibility in impact investing. Serving as a general guidance for you and your experienced adv...
In this Executive Summary of the Trends 2020 survey report, conducted by the National Center for Family Philanthropy, it shares the updated trends on the governance and management practices of U.S. family foundations, and includes new questions relevant to ongoing changes in the field including issues of equity, place-based giving, transparenc...
Every new leader faces challenges. But for those who are breaking barriers within nonprofits or family foundations, the challenges are even more pronounced. The new leaders must find their footing and navigate cultures that either overtly or subtly remind them that they are different, whether they are the first person of color, first woman, or firs...