Looking Ahead to 2019
It is my pleasure to chair the board of directors for the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
This is an exciting time for NCFP. We completed a year-long initiative celebrating the organization’s 20th Anniversary called Imagining the Future of Family Philanthropy. This included convening 17 focus groups around the country, bringing forth themes that informed our 20th Anniversary Symposium in San Francisco. (You can see a summary of these themes here.)
NCFP has more big plans for 2019. We have started work on Trends 2020, the update to our 2015 Trends in Family Philanthropy, the first national benchmark survey of family foundations. Findings of this study will be featured at the National Forum for Family Philanthropy, scheduled for October 16-18 in Chicago. And we are about to launch the redesigned Family Philanthropy Online Knowledge Center, providing open access to the world’s largest database of family philanthropy resources.
NCFP is in the strongest financial shape in its history. With the 20th Anniversary completed and the organization on a sound financial footing, our founder, Ginny Esposito, decided it is time to imagine her own future in family philanthropy. The board is enthusiastic about Ginny taking on a new role as Senior Fellow at the end of 2019, which will allow NCFP and our families to continue to benefit from her unmatched expertise.
I’m grateful to my board colleague, Sandy Cardin, for agreeing to chair the national search for Ginny’s successor. We are engaging a firm to guide this process so that a successor can be in place at the end of the year.
The board is also launching a campaign to honor Ginny’s leadership, support the Fellows program, and ensure NCFP is well prepared to welcome its next president. Thanks to our development committee chair, Nancy Cable, for guiding this effort.
As both a third-generation family member and president of my family’s foundation, I have seen first-hand the value that NCFP provides to the field of family philanthropy in research, resources, and community. It exists as a valued nonprofit thanks to the contributions of generous giving families. Thank you for your support of the National Center for Family Philanthropy.