Philanthropic Families Partnering with Community Foundations

Community foundations can be a trusted resource and partner to philanthropic families. They help families solve practical issues such as geographic dispersion and can provide deeper support around issues such as community problem-solving and family succession planning. This NCFP Featured Search provides a range of examples of these partnerships. Know of other good resources to include here? Please let us know.

NCFP Webinars

July 21, 2016

Community Foundation Spark Session: Partnerships Between Family Donors and Community Foundations

Community foundations are a trusted resource and partner to philanthropic families by providing a range of expertise: community knowledge, philanthropic education, and functional capacity. They are in a unique position to not just manage assets, but also lead and influence greater community change. This Spark Session explores that many ways…

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June 11, 2015

Ten ways philanthropic families work with community foundations

[NOTE: Due to technical difficulties during the webinar, there is a short period of silence from 16:23 to 16:53 in the replay. Our sincere apologies!]   This special webinar as we count and describe the many ways that philanthropic families work with the more than 800 community foundations spread across…

August 8, 2013

Families and Community Foundations Working Together

Families have a special connection to the communities in which they live, and families engaged in philanthropy often have lasting relationships with their local community foundation. Community foundations play many roles – convener, advocate, strategic grantmaker, and donor advisor, to name just a few. This webinar features three very different…

Stories and Profiles of Donors

Giving as a Family: My Family’s Use of a Donor-Advised Fund Through Our Community Foundation

Article

A donor-advised fund (DAF) provides the donor(s) the opportunity to provide a tax-deductible gift to benefit the organizations and issues that the donor(s) care about most. Working with the community foundation has been great for our family because they provide management and support including handling the paperwork attendant to tax-deductions.

Knowledge Philanthropy: Engaging Donors in Community Needs

Article

The Calgary Foundation understands the importance of our 3 key roles: donor stewardship, effective grantmaker, community leader…but what’s our why? What do we believe? After sixty years of serving philanthropy for the benefit of community, we’ve learned our knowledge of community issues and needs represents the distinct value we bring…

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

Article

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,…

The Efroymson Family Fund: Commitment to Community

Article

Jacob and Minnie Efroymson moved from Evansville, Indiana to the relatively young state capital of Indianapolis in 1872. The couple opened a small dry goods store on South Meridian Street, unaware they were beginning a family commitment to the city that would last for generations.

Community Foundation Youth Engagement Models

Igniting the Spark: The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

Impact Story

In 2001, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta launched the Center for Family Philanthropy. The focus of the Center was two-fold: (1) to provide a higher level of services to philanthropists with donor advised funds of $250,000 or more, or a planned gift of $1M or more; and (2) to…

Igniting the Spark: Greater Worcester Community Foundation

Impact Story

As a way to support the voice of youth in the community and engage donors, the Great Worcester Community Foundation adopted the Youth for Community Involvement (YCI) Program in 1999. YCI provides an opportunity for youth from schools across the area to build skills in leadership and philanthropy. The foundation…

Igniting the Spark: YOUTHadelphia, A program of The Philadelphia Foundation

Impact Story

In 2006, The Philadelphia Foundation established YOUTHadelphia to build youth leadership skills by empowering teens to give back to their community. YOUTHadelphia is a unique youth philanthropy model, with a defined focus on mentoring among the cohort of youth, centered around the fact that newer youth are mentored by returning…

Igniting the Spark: Foundation for Metrowest

Impact Story

The Foundation for MetroWest, based in Natick, Massachusetts, has been committed to educating the next generation of community leaders through the Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) program since 1997. In that time, over 900 youth from MetroWest communities have funded nearly $700,000 in grants that support youth. This case study describes…

Articles and Additional Resources

How Do Family Foundations Partner with Community Foundations?

Article

Many families turn to community foundations to solve challenges ranging from geographic dispersion to anonymity, and to learn about community issues or make grants outside of the family’s core mission.

How can family foundations and community foundations work most effectively together?

Article

Are there good examples of family foundations working closely with the donor community, brought to the table via the community foundation, to strengthen philanthropic initiatives broadly? How can we partner with the community foundations in our state to know community goals and make more effective grants in those areas?

Families and Community Foundations: Natural Partners, Enhanced Results

Article

Family philanthropy has been at the heart of the community foundation field since its inception. In 1914, Frederick H. Goff and his family created the first community foundation in Cleveland, Ohio.  Since then, tens of thousands of families, individual donors and corporations—many of them family businesses—have helped to launch, sustain,…

Community Foundations: Your First Stop when Shopping for a New Donor-Advised Fund?

Article

Once a donor has decided that a DAF is the right giving vehicle, she has to make a very important decision: where is she going to house her fund? Mark Neithercut, a donor and philanthropic advisor with offices in Traverse City and Chicago, shares four reasons why he chose to…