Ginny Esposito

Virginia M. Esposito

Senior Fellow and Founding President

Virginia M. Esposito, is the founding president of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. In January 2020, Ginny transitioned to the role of Senior Fellow to focus her efforts on research, writing, and consulting with families.

For more than 35 years, Ginny has worked to advance private philanthropy through research and education. For 30 of those years, she has focused on the family philanthropic experience, promoting values, vision, and excellence across generations of donor families. Ginny was editor and principal author of the first edition of Splendid Legacy and of Splendid Legacy 2: Creating and Recreating Your Family Foundation. Her research publications include The Power to Produce Wonders: The Value of Family in Philanthropy and The Family Foundation CEO: Crafting Consensus out of Complexity. Ginny also edited, and was principal author of, the four-volume Family Foundation Library and numerous articles and issue papers on family philanthropy. She has presented at hundreds of programs for and about donor families throughout North America and on four other continents. In addition to her work on family philanthropy, Ginny edited Conscience and Community: The Legacy of Paul Ylvisaker, the writings and speeches of the late foundation trustee, educator, and dean of the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. She has served on boards and committees for organizations including Great Nonprofits, the Binational Commission on the Nonprofit Sector (US and South Africa), the Commission on the Future of Public Education (Public Education Network), Committee on Ethics and Accountability (Independent Sector), the Philanthropy and the Black Church Project, and Strengthening Native American Philanthropy. She currently serves on the board of directors of the John M. Belk Endowment.

Contributions

From NCFP

Building the Board Your Foundation Deserves

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Virginia M. Esposito

The title of this post has been carefully chosen to start or renew a conversation around great governance. How do you build the board your foundation deserves? Are there practices that make the most of volunteer leadership? Are there practices that keep you from having a highly functioning board? The answer to both is a resounding YES… Read More

2018 Trustee Education Institute: The Signature Seminar for Family Foundation Board Members

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Virginia M. Esposito, Andrew Schulz, David Grant, Hanh Le, Holli Rivera, Alice Buhl, Leticia Peguero, Lindsey Griffith, Mary Phillips, Nat Chioke Williams

NCFP’s Trustee Education Institute provides a comprehensive introduction to all of the key legal, investment, ethical, grantmaking, and family dynamics issues facing family foundation board members. Featuring a faculty made up of NCFP’s senior staff and highly respected philanthropy experts, this three day, intensive seminar typically covers: What does it mean to be a steward of both the public’s trust… Read More

Valuing the Family in Family Philanthropy

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Virginia M. Esposito, Ellen Remmer, Kerry Robinson, Michael Meadows

Giving families can wear many hats. At times, families may feel like they are losing the family identity in their giving. How does one keep the family in family philanthropy? What are steps families can take to make sure they are serving the public good while maintaining the family value & legacy? Join NCFP’s president, Ginny Esposito, as she interviews… Read More
From NCFP

But What Do We Stand For?

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Virginia M. Esposito

At our first retreat, twenty years ago this spring, the remarkable founding board gathered at Pocantico Conference Center and tackled this frustration. After some minutes, founding board member, Ira Hirschfield, of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, shifted the conversation. “We know what we are not,” he acknowledged, “but what do we stand for?”… Read More