NCFP Blog

My board members often remark, “There are so many organizations addressing this issue, it’d be great if they could work together.” I serve as executive director of several foundations, one of which is anonymous, based in a family office outside Chicago. My foundations all support excellent nonprofits we wish would share expertise, if not officially collaborate. Through the years, we… Read More

As a family funder, how can you acknowledge and responsibly navigate the power of your position? How does the power and privilege you hold affect those you interact with and support? How can you use your power for good—to make lasting impact? This Passages Issue Brief features stories, perspectives, and practical tips on power, and suggestions for how family funders can work… Read More

Like most family philanthropists, you’ve got succession planning on your mind. And for good reason. According to the Stanford Social Innovation Review, “In the next 20 years, an estimated $30 trillion will be inherited in the United States as the large and prosperous Baby Boomer generation passes its wealth on to the next generation. This is the largest wealth transfer… Read More

As a family funder, how can you acknowledge and responsibly navigate the power of your position? How does the power and privilege you hold affect those you interact with and support? How can you use your power for good—to make lasting impact? This Passages Issue Brief features stories, perspectives, and practical tips on power, and suggestions for how family funders can work… Read More

If there’s one theme that resonated most strongly throughout the 2019 National Forum on Family Philanthropy, it’s the importance of being willing to be uncomfortable. I’m not talking about the break-out room temperature, or how hard or soft the hotel pillows were, or even one of those jittery ‘not-your-best-networking’ moments. This is about a conscious act of choosing to be… Read More

As a family funder, how can you acknowledge and responsibly navigate the power of your position? How does the power and privilege you hold affect those you interact with and support? How can you use your power for good—to make lasting impact? This Passages Issue Brief features stories, perspectives, and practical tips on power, and suggestions for how family funders… Read More

Giving families have historically turned to each other for advice about family philanthropy. NCFP translated these stories into data by producing the first statistically-significant benchmarking study of national family foundations, Trends 2015. The study’s findings have helped families navigate the sector for the last five years—highlighting what their peers are doing and why. NCFP is now proud to present the… Read More

Editor’s note: While this post is from 2005, the advice is timeless!  Providing for children not only involves ensuring that they have clothes on their backs, roofs over their heads, and food in their stomachs, it also requires that families supply a sense of appreciation for their gifts, monetary and otherwise, and the desire to share those gifts with others… Read More