Voices from the Field

Editor’s note: In this excerpt, Heather Fust writes about putting values into practice through staff culture at Foundant Technologies. The full article was originally published on Foundant Technologies’ website and appears with permission.  As I wrote at the beginning of 2019, “Choose Kind” remains front and center to every interaction and every thought in our day-to-day lives at Foundant. As… Read More

Editor’s note: This post originally appeared on Phīla Engaged Giving’s website and appears with permission. There’s a danger in making generalizations about any group of people, however, this blog post aims to share trends within the “Millennial” or “NextGen” demographic and to offer some tips on how to bridge the generation gap between the old(er) and young around philanthropic giving… Read More

A name can carry a lot of meaning for a family foundation. For some, it is a recognizable tool to connect and inspire across the family and wider community. For others, it can symbolize the family legacy—and perhaps with it, an obligation—that carries into the next generation. Either way, how a family uses its name raises questions about privacy, transparency,… Read More

Editor’s note: This interview originally appeared through The Russell Family Foundation’s website and appears with permission. Original preface: Over the last 20 years, outgoing chief executive officer Richard Woo has led The Russell Family Foundation from its early beginning as he and co-founders George and Jane Russell charted its philanthropic path and giving model all the way to present-day as… Read More

This piece was originally published through the Johnson Center and appears with permission. This blog was produced as a part of Field Focus: Inclusive Strategies for Prosperity, a digital series to explore philanthropy’s role in inclusive economic development and community prosperity. In his most recent article, the Johnson Center’s Distinguished Scholar in Residence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Dr. Juan Olivarez… Read More

This piece was originally published on PEAK Grantmaking’s website and appears with permission. Earlier this month, I facilitated a workshop on “Streamlining from the Inside Out” for our Southern California Regional Chapter. PEAK Grantmaking has long-championed the effort to simplify grants management processes and find efficiencies—starting with our “Project Streamline” initiative and, continuing today, through our Principles for Peak Grantmaking… Read More

Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series by the Whitman Institute (TWI), featuring foundations that practice trust-based philanthropy, that acknowledge the power dynamics and realities facing nonprofits, and that invite more authentic relationships and communication with grantees. This piece originally appeared on the Whitman Institute’s website and appears with permission. Since its inception in 1960, the Durfee Foundation in Los Angeles… Read More

“I found a career in philanthropy on Craigslist,” says Carlyn Madden, a co-founder of the Next Gen Giving Circle and now a consultant to funders and nonprofits. “Does it get more Millennial than that?” An avid volunteer, Carlyn was hired right out of college by The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Washington, DC region’s largest private foundation. There she… Read More

As members of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, we are happy to share with our fellow members a new digital platform, Give As We Grow, that we recently launched to help families cultivate a culture of generosity and service in their children. When our oldest son was four, they passed around a donation bucket at the children’s museum where he… Read More