Blog | From NCFP

Summer, Sharing, and Vacations: Activities for Children

July 15, 2007 | Virginia M. Esposito
It’s summer and a young person’s fancy turns to …philanthropy? Well, perhaps more than you might think. I ran into a friend recently and she told me her college freshman daughter was off to Nicaragua. Sarah belongs to a group that organizes charitable field trips for young people – giving them the chance to help those considerably less fortunate while Read More
Knowledge Center | Article

Motivations for Board Service

May 13, 2007 | Virginia M. Esposito
Why many family members want in and some don’t want to leave Of all the governance questions I get and stories I hear, none come more frequently and with more urgency than those related to preparing the next generation of trustee leaders. Now those of you who have read these columns or heard me speak know that my concern in Read More
Blog | Featured Article

Program and General Support: Choices for Giving Families

April 15, 2007 | Kevin Laskowski
In an ongoing salvo in the decades-long debate surrounding program and general operating support, a 2007 report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy charges: The grantmaking practices of a significant part of the foundation sector may be crippling small community-based and other nonprofit organizations because of one significant factor—the unwillingness of most foundations to provide general operating support to Read More
Blog | Featured Article

Geographic Dispersion: Opportunities for Far-Flung Families

September 15, 2006 | Kevin Laskowski
Among all the challenges that family philanthropies of all types face, giving families increasingly find themselves struggling with geography. In 2000, the National Center for Family Philanthropy and the Foundation Center found that the grants of a vast majority of family foundations were committed to a city, state, or region; only 7.8% of family foundations were classified as national or Read More
Blog | Featured Article

Six Simple Steps to a Successful, Stress-Free Family Meeting

May 15, 2006 | Sarah Trzepacz
Like so many other things preparation for a family meeting is vital to its success. With a little planning you can orchestrate and carry off a family meeting that accomplishes your philanthropic goals, strengthens your family’s commitment to effective governance of your giving vehicle, and is more enjoyable than you thought possible. By taking time to think through why, when, Read More