Network News

February 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network

Posted on February 2, 2022

Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the Flora Family Foundation, Grunin Foundation, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, George and Cynthia Mitchell Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Panta Rhea Foundation.  Are you a current Friend or Leadership Circle member of… Read More
From NCFP

Lead and Give with Bravery and Humility

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Nicholas A. Tedesco

Society is calling leaders to action: demanding fundamental changes in our mindsets, how we operate, and what we pursue. Responding to the call requires us to step into unknown spaces and discomfort and to go beyond platitudes and statements of support. The bold step into action challenges us to be brave, vulnerable, and humble. Leadership is hard. It is messy… Read More
Voices from the Field

Examine Your Own Equity Practices Before Asking Grantees

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Lowell Weiss

This article was originally published by LEAP Ambassadors and is re-posted here with permission. What are good questions funders can ask prospective grantees about their equity values and practices? When Lowell Weiss, President of Cascade Philanthropy Advisors, asked his fellow Leap Ambassadors, he received a range of responses. First, Are You in a Position to Judge? Several ambassadors brought up the need… Read More
Voices from the Field

How Multiple Generations of the Disney Family Come Together to Fund Social Justice in LA and Beyond

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Ade Adeniji, Inside Philanthropy

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on the many forms of family philanthropy, in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy, and produced by Inside Philanthropy’s editorial team. It all began at Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in October 1923. Here, bright young cartoonist Walt Disney and his older brother Roy O. Disney established the upstart… Read More
From NCFP

Racial Justice in Family Philanthropy: A Conversation Between Nick Tedesco and June Wilson

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Nicholas A. Tedesco, June L. Wilson

Prior to Nick Tedesco’s official start as president and CEO of the National Center for Family (NCFP), he attended NCFP’s conference where Edgar Villanueva discussed white supremacy and racism in philanthropy. In a candid conversation with Compton Foundation Executive Director June Wilson, Nick reflects on his reaction to Edgar’s session at the Forum and how that was a catalyst on… Read More
From NCFP

Takeaways Blog on Reflecting on Your Origin Story

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Daria Teutonico

This blog summarizes key notes from our January Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy Webinar. The criticism of wealth is longstanding and brings to the fore a conversation on justice that is important to reflect upon in the pursuit of effective family philanthropy. Though necessary, this type of reflection often raises a number of difficult questions that require philanthropic families to interrogate their… Read More
From NCFP

Racial Equity is Fundamental to Effective Family Philanthropy

Posted on January 12, 2022 by Kimberly Myers Hewlett, Kelly D. Nowlin

Learning opportunities bring us the delight of something new: we hear or do something for the first time, we might—metaphorically—or actually—scrape our knees, we pick ourselves up, and we enjoy a sense of accomplishment as we recognize that new thing we know or can do. Much like viewing the world through the eyes of young children, the National Center for… Read More
From NCFP

New Year’s Resolution – Give Boldly, Give More, Give Now

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Miki Akimoto

New Year’s resolutions may be 4,000 years old, and probably just as old is the tradition of breaking those resolutions all too soon after January 1. Nevertheless, the turning of the calendar can be a moment to stop and take stock of the year that is ending, and to think about how you want to reset and reframe your work… Read More
Network News

January 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network

Posted on January 7, 2022

Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. This month features updates from the Acton Family Giving, Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Eleanor Crook Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, General Service Foundation, Libra Foundation Phillips Foundation, and Rasmuson Foundation. Are you a current Friend or Leadership Circle member of NCFP with an update or good news… Read More
Voices from the Field

Family Philanthropy Versus Climate Change: An Opportunity of a Lifetime and Beyond

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Katherine Lorenz

At the United Nations’ COP26 conference in November 2021, President Biden said climate change is “an existential threat to human existence as we know it.” And qualitative and quantitative data support this claim. Climate hazards—driven by global greenhouse gas emissions—will continue to affect and amplify socioeconomic challenges in nearly all areas for decades to come. And the climate crisis is at… Read More