NCFP Blog

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Renewing Your Commitment

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Virginia M. Esposito

The process of emerging from a long, gray winter is a cause for celebration. Extra sunlight and the reintroduction of the stunning colors of nature are also extraordinarily energizing. I suppose that is why some take to spring cleaning. Since I am rarely inspired to clean, I personally prefer to take the energy and the inspiration to renew the vibrancy… Read More
Ask NCFP

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

CEO Transitions in Family Foundations

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Alice Buhl

Among the most important tasks that any board confronts is the choice of head staff person. If anything, this decision has even greater significance in family foundations. Whether the position is vacant because of the retirement of a beloved CEO or the departure of a problematic one, CEO transitions in family foundations typically have three major stages: clarifying the foundation… Read More
Ask NCFP

Tips and tools for effective family board meetings

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

This month’s Ask the Center features tips and tools for effective family board meetings from Marla Bobowick, former Vice President at BoardSource and founder of Bobowick Consulting, and Karie Brown, principal of KB Consulting and Board member of the Hidden Leaf Foundation. Marla and Karie were the featured speakers on the August 2010 Family Philanthropy Teleconference, Creative Agendas for More… 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
Ask NCFP

How to Manage Relationships with your legal, financial, and investment advisors

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

How can we get an honest picture from our advisors about whether the strategies they are pursuing are the right ones? How do we know our advisors are telling us everything we need to know? Consider having general investment, legal and other training sessions for your foundation board that are conducted by someone other than the advisors who you’re working… Read More
Featured Article

Conflicts of Interest: Steering Clear of Potholes and Other Bumps in the Road

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Anne Etheridge

Most family foundations prefer to focus on the business of giving, without having to worry about tripping over the sometimes obscure rules and regulations that govern this work. But the fact is that family foundation boards need to be aware of potential potholes on the road named philanthropy. Driving blind down this road can get you into trouble. One potential… Read More
Uncategorized, Case Studies

The Ansara Family Fund: Partnering Beyond Borders for Long-term Impact

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Jason Born

When Karen and Jim Ansara contacted the Boston Foundation on January 14, 2010 to talk about how their family’s donor advised fund could best respond to the earthquakes in Haiti – which had happened less than 48 hours before – they were continuing both a longstanding commitment to international philanthropy, as well as a more recent commitment to Haiti in… Read More
Featured Article

Are you prepared to operate your family’s philanthropy in a disaster?

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Susan Crites Price

Like a lot of smaller funders, the 20-year-old McCarthy Family Foundation operated out of Treasurer Tim McCarthy’s home office. He learned a lot of important lessons about disasters the hard way after his home was among the hundreds of properties destroyed in the October 2007 San Diego wildfires. The foundation had no disaster evacuation or recovery plan. And it is… Read More
Uncategorized, Case Studies

Finding and Fighting the Causes of Homelessness: The Melville Charitable Trust

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Jason Born

In 1990, a family trust in Connecticut decided to pursue an audacious goal: to end homelessness in America. The board thoroughly studied the issue, and eventually committed themselves to an equally bold strategy – creating a national movement. The Melville Charitable Trust’s considerable impact since then was recognized recently when its long-time executive director, Robert Hohler, received the Council on… Read More

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