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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...

By fostering the idea of giving from a young age, children can learn the value and joy in helping, sharing, and giving to those who have less than them. Instilling the core ideals of philanthropy in your children's lives can also help them develop a sense of purpose and self. The key is to educate and give them something to emulate.

What might your best stock holding, a piece of real estate, shares in a privately held company, interests in private equity, venture or hedge funds, fine art, collectibles, and bitcoin have in common? Whether you purchased them for love or investment purposes, they could be among the best items to give to your favorite charities to realize maximum ...

A foundation is a powerful platform through which families can address the challenges in society about which they care about most. Yet, most families only use a small portion of their foundation assets to pursue their philanthropic missions. As families grapple with the scale of funding solutions to the world’s toughest challenges, many are t...

Charitable planning can be an important part not only of managing income and estate taxes, but of engaging the family and strengthening family values. Adding in a multigenerational component can make it even more meaningful and compelling. Just as every family is unique, so is the philanthropic approach where communication is key and there is ...

Enterprising families are showing an increased interest in participating in direct investments around the globe. Some families have turned to private equity out of frustration with the volatility in the public markets and the unexpected correlations between asset classes that occurred during the 2008-2010 timeframe. The factors that impact their pr...

There are many benefits to involving children in family philanthropy. One of them is the children’s realization of the positive impact their own participation has on the world (no matter how small); another is their excitement about making a difference. For the families who want to pass down the value of charitable giving to their children, there a...

Wealth amassed by affluent individuals is being channeled into family foundations, increasingly led by millennials. They sit at the crossroads between the forces driving the millennial generation and the weight of their families’ legacies. They want their financial resources to achieve the greatest possible impact. They question why all their inves...

For a number of philanthropists, philanthropy is a family affair: a means of passing on key values to the next generation as well as giving back or doing good. How are millennials in family foundations, with the weight of legacy on their shoulders, approaching philanthropy? This fascinating generational shift is explored in more detail in this new ...

Donors often ask how they can maximize their giving dollars when seeking to fulfill their charitable giving missions. A tax effective way is to donate appreciated securities to a donor advised fund, rather than selling the securities and donating the cash proceeds. So how does it work?