NCFP Blog

PRIs offer a tool for foundations to make an impact, while recouping dollars for new investments. It’s seemingly a win-win. However, only a small percentage of foundations are actually using them. And most of them are larger and well-resourced. Why is that?… Read More

Ending homelessness. Improving school readiness. Preserving wildlife habitat. Impact statements can inspire and bring together partners, staff and funders around common, long-term goals that deserve focused efforts and resources… Read More

Suddenly, I was thinking more about the meaning of money, responsibility, privilege, and the possible consequences of inherited wealth. That led me to question my parents’ legacy – how would their wealth impact future generations of our family?… Read More

If you are a newer family foundation with one or two generations on the board, five generations may seem like a long time away. Yet in family philanthropy, quite a few foundations have been operating and thriving, for 50, 75, even 100 years. What’s the secret of these family philanthropies that make it five generations or more? How do they stay united over time, over generations, and across family branches? How do they successfully attract and engage younger family members?… Read More

When you look at the common reasons foundations give for not taking applications, they kind of fall apart. At the end of the day, it really just comes down to a choice—a barrier intentionally placed between tax-subsidized wealth, and the public that it’s legally required to benefit… Read More

Even when we aspire to fund the right things, the ways in which we provide that funding run the risk of undermining the transformative potential of such work. As funders, we desperately need to learn how to let go and get out of the way… Read More