Opportunity of a Lifetime 2.0: Multigenerational Family Philanthropy

More than ever before, giving families are working to involve multiple generations in their philanthropy.

According to the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s Trends in Family Philanthropy Study, nearly 3 in 5 U.S. family foundations engage younger family members in the foundation — and more than 40 percent say they expect to add to or increase the number of younger-generation family members on their boards in the near future.

This issue brief was written with this emergent trend in mind and to help families understand how to best involve multiple generations in their work.

In it, you’ll find information about:

• why you should involve the entire family in your giving,
• strategies for incorporating younger generations into your foundation’s work,
• common challenges and expert approaches,
• tips for on boarding new generations into your foundation, and
• suggestions for next generation family members who are getting involved in their families’ philanthropy.

As the title of this paper suggests, this passages paper is the second edition of “Opportunity of a Lifetime.” The original paper, “Opportunity of a Lifetime: Young Adults in Family Philanthropy,” written by Alison Goldberg (herself a Gen X family philanthropist) was published in 2002. A lot has changed in 15 years, so we decided to take another look at the best practices, technology, benefits, challenges, and opportunities for next generation engagement. This paper builds on and updates the work of the original to offer new voices and insights.