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What Questions Should We Ask Our Auditors?

Posted on February 15, 2013 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

Once again everyone’s favorite time of year has arrived, audit time! For many, this can be viewed as a daunting and even arduous process.  A family foundation in NCFP’s network of Friends who no longer cringes at audit time shares this list of questions to ask your auditor to ensure your organization has a clean financial bill of health. Questions for the Auditors Did management limit… Read More
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Avoiding Leaky Pipes: Enhancing Collaboration Between Donors and Grantees

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Thomas Tierney

Editor’s Note: In this month’s FGN, Thomas J. Tierney and Richard M. Steele of The Bridgespan Group offer thoughts on how donors and grantees can overcome persistent traps to true collaboration, and get better results for society. The below article is adapted from their longer piece “The Donor-Grantee Trap: How ineffective collaboration undermines philanthropic results for society, and what can… Read More
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How do I set priorities as the new CEO of a family foundation?

Posted on June 15, 2012 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

Editor’s note: This article is excerpted from the new NCFP CEO Guide, Performance Review: The Complete Guide to Evaluating the Family Foundation CEO, volume 3 of our Family Foundation CEO Leadership Series. Setting priorities can be challenging for a new CEO, what with the myriad responsibilities of the job. When Kathleen Odne, the executive director of the Dean & Margaret… Read More
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Getting Started with CEO Performance Review: Now’s the Time

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Susan Crites Price

Editor’s Note: This article is excerpted from NCFP’s CEO Guide, Performance Review: The Complete Guide to Evaluating the Family Foundation CEO. In a 2010 interview study of 60 family foundation chief executives by National Center for Family Philanthropy President Virginia Esposito, most told her they do not receive a formal performance review by their board. But when NCFP interviewed board… Read More
From NCFP

Milestones in Family Giving: the Contagious Joy of Philanthropic Celebrations

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Virginia M. Esposito

Everyone loves a good celebration.  Families particularly mark the special moments in their lives with celebrations: an anniversary, graduation, wedding, or a birthday (especially those birthdays that end in the dreaded “0” – 30, 40, 50, and whatever numbers come after that!). While families may celebrate personal milestones, their approach to their philanthropic work may be more “nose to the… Read More
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Can Private Foundations Serve as Fiscal Sponsors?

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Andras Kosaras

By Andras Kosaras, Associate, Arnold and Porter LLP Private foundations frequently receive grant applications from groups that are under the fiscal sponsorship of a section 501(c)(3) public charity.  But sometimes the request is for the private foundation itself to serve as a group’s fiscal sponsor.  Is a private foundation legally permitted to serve as a fiscal sponsor?  Why would a… Read More
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Donor Legacy Statements, Values Statements, and Ethical Wills

Posted on March 15, 2011 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

I work for a small family foundation as their non-family executive director. The foundation has been in existence for 25 years. In the near term, I will be sitting down with the founder, who is preparing to write his legacy. I am wondering if you’re familiar with other founders who have shared excerpts concerning their vision for philanthropy that you thought to be… Read More
Featured Article

The Value of Family Philanthropy in a Democracy

Posted on September 15, 2010 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

The passionate generosity of countless American families has inspired – and continues to inspire – extraordinary gifts. Indeed, we may know many of these families more by their philanthropy than by the business successes that made their largesse possible. What is most remarkable is the very phenomenon of American family philanthropy itself. An astonishing number of families make record-setting, private contributions… Read More

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