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

Family Philanthropy Stories- Capture the Legacy of Your Giving with NCFP and the History Project

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Virginia M. Esposito, Michelle Knapik, Niles Lichtenstein, Kelly D. Nowlin

Why, in 2017, are we still relying on grandma’s photo albums and poorly scanned Facebook uploads to preserve our family histories? Legacy preservation is deeply important whether you are preparing for succession or seeking to keep donor intent alive. So, how can you bring your family’s history up to date in the New Year? In this webinar, NCFP teams up… Read More

Trends in Family Philanthropy: A Conversation with NCFP Fellows Katherine Lorenz and Doug Bitonti Stewart

Posted on December 8, 2016 by Virginia M. Esposito, Katherine Lorenz, Doug Bitonti Stewart

This webinar features two of the field’s emerging leaders, former NCFP Fellows Katherine Lorenz & Doug Bitonti-Stewart. Doug and Katherine will reflect on a variety of issues they have explored with NCFP and will discuss important trends in the field at large. Moderated by NCFP President Ginny Esposito, their conversation highlights issues and topics of interest to all family funders,… Read More

Trends in family philanthropy: A conversation with NCFP founder and president Virginia Esposito

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Virginia M. Esposito, National Center for Family Philanthropy

NCFP’s recently released Trends in Family Philanthropy study was based on the first-ever nationally representative sample of family foundations, and features a treasure trove of data on topics such as family foundation governance, board activities, and grant making strategy. This complimentary event, featuring an overview of the study by NCFP President Ginny Esposito, will highlight issues and topics of interest to all family… Read More

2016 NCFP CEO Retreat: a Joint Retreat for Family and Non-Family CEOs

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Virginia M. Esposito, Katherine Lorenz, Doug Bitonti Stewart

The role of a family foundation CEO is unique, often bridging generations of family members, community leaders, staff, advisors, and partners. Expectations can be challenging to meet and boundaries are sometimes vague and ever-changing. Success in this role requires a cadre of specialized leadership skills. This 3-day retreat, to be held at the family home of David and Lucile Packard,… Read More
From NCFP

Looking for the Helpers

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Virginia M. Esposito

My moments of reassurance come when a family funder tells me about a grant or project they’ve launched to restore and reinvigorate community. Often, these are efforts to ameliorate suffering but also to get at root circumstances and causes… Read More