NCFP Blog

Voices from the Field

The Tenets of Impactful Giving

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Gillian Howell

Hand turns dice and changes the word reactive to proactive.
Using Values & Passion as Your Giving Guide Stars Wherever it takes you, the journey towards achieving maximum philanthropic impact starts with your convictions and beliefs about how you might change the world for the better. Values are your guide stars. They guide the choices you make, and the most satisfying and effective philanthropy is built on those deeply held… Read More
Voices from the Field

Five Questions for Doug Bitonti Stewart

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Doug Bitonti Stewart

Anniversaries are times for reflection on and celebration of the past, as well as an opportunity to imagine the future. As the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) celebrates our 25th anniversary, we are speaking with community members about their reflections on the evolutions of their own philanthropy, the sector, and NCFP as well as their hopes for the future. … Read More
Voices from the Field

Seeing is Believing: Engaging the Next Generation through Video and Experiential Learning

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Debbie Brodsky, Josh Mintz

Anne and Henry Zarrow with "If you see a need you do something" written behind them
One important aspect of family foundations is the way in which they help transmit family values from generation to generation. Beyond the top-level value of philanthropy, family foundations are mechanisms to share the core values that underlie the family’s approach to its work such as justice, equity, opportunity, and compassion—and the deep connection and relationship the family has with its… Read More
Voices from the Field

Five Questions for Armando Castellano

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Armando Castellano

Anniversaries are times for reflection on and celebration of the past, as well as an opportunity to imagine the future. As the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) celebrates our 25th anniversary, we are speaking with community members about their reflections on the evolutions of their own philanthropy, the sector, and NCFP as well as their hopes for the future. … Read More
Voices from the Field

Kitchen Table Philanthropy: How My Immigrant Journey Informs My Philanthropy

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Dilnaz Waraich

My family, like many others is an immigrant family and we are celebrating 50 years since we immigrated to the United States. In my case, my sister and I came with “Mommy” and “Daddy” from Hyderabad, India. And recently, I’ve had time to reflect on my five-decade immigration and assimilation journey and how that journey impacts my family’s philanthropy. Throughout… Read More
Voices from the Field

Impact Investing, and What I Wish I Knew When I Started

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Meredith Lorenz Heimburger

sticky notes on bulletin board. Yellow sticky note says "Impact Investing" and pink sticky note has bar graph measuring money that increases over time
Introduction to Systemic Challenges I started my career as a teacher with Teach For America, hoping to replicate in my classroom a version of my grandfather’s rags to riches story, with education as the great equalizer for kids from underinvested communities. My former students would say I taught them well, but I learned more than I taught—about compounding, systemic challenges… Read More
Network News

August 2022: News and Notes from NCFP’s Friends of the Family Network

Posted on August 8, 2022

beach with sand and sunset
Friends Focus highlights updates from members of our Friends of the Family network and their work. Are you a current Friend or Leadership Circle member of NCFP with an update or good news about your foundation that you would like to share with Family Giving News readers? Please email us. Interested in learning more about the families involved in NCFP’s Friends of the Family network? Go… Read More
Voices from the Field

Here’s How a Longtime Family Foundation Fractured, and Shifted Gears for a Meaningful Final Act

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Ade Adeniji, Inside Philanthropy

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on the many forms of family philanthropy, in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy, and produced by Inside Philanthropy’s editorial team. In 1894, Missouri native William H. Danforth founded what would become Ralston Purina Company as a balanced food production company for animals. The company revolutionized the feed… Read More
Voices from the Field

Family Foundations Collaborate for Local Grants on Climate and Equity

Posted on July 27, 2022 by John Anderson Lanier

Young black man with megaphone at protest against climate change
This was originally published by Drawdown Georgia and is re-posted here with permission What if several family foundations came together with a shared vision to jointly support a grant program for climate solutions and equity in Georgia? A new collaboration puts a fresh lens on the challenges and the solutions at hand. Family Foundations: Each one is different Early on… Read More
From NCFP

Takeaways Blog on Participatory Grantmaking

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Daria Teutonico

diverse group of people seated and raising their hands
This blog summarizes key notes from our June Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy webinar. Many family-led philanthropies are successfully using a participatory grantmaking approach by engaging community members in their decision-making. And, for many philanthropic families, participatory grantmaking is an emerging practice. In the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s recent webinar, Nwamaka Agbo, Monica George, Cynthia Gibson, Ambar Cristina Hanson, and Leslie Ramyk… Read More

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