NCFP Blog

With today’s news of the horrific Nepal earthquake I am driven to take immediate action — to make an on-line donation or wire money to friends of friends in the dust-choked streets of Kathmandu and green pinnacles of rural Nepal. I am consumed with the grief of my many Nepali friends who are like family to me. But my experience of the Haiti earthquake response via the Haiti Fund at the Boston Foundation has taught me one paramount lesson: TAKE A BREATH. Unless I am physically on the scene, I imagine my Nepali friends with their contemplative souls would agree. Take a breath and assess… Read More

What would it take to create a core of exceptional leaders equipped with the tools and capacity to be effective change agents, networked to maximize the reverberation of their leadership and committed to doing so for their entire lives? At the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, this question is at the core of our mission to empower young people to make a positive impact in their communities. In all of our focus areas, we create and support initiatives that invest in strengthening the leadership potential of individuals, as we believe the key to solving our most intractable societal issues lies in the strength of the leaders that spearhead such changes. … Read More

Social media takes down the barriers between people and institutions. Anyone can be online, anywhere, and in conversation in real-time about causes and issues. Rather than hide from these conversations, family philanthropies, not necessarily as institutions, but as individuals, can engage with grantees, and potential grantees, on, say, Twitter, and learn more about the work in real-time… Read More

I remember my first summer volunteering at the age of 12 for my local YMCA summer camp. Being the youngest of three and seeing my older siblings head off to work each day as camp counselors, I was determined to get in on the action and not be left at home alone. … Read More