All Peer Network Event: Putting the Fun Back Into Meetings – Navigating Challenges & Barriers

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Bobbi Hapgood

After our last discussion about infusing fun into meetings, it’s time to look at the barriers. We will cover barriers to all different types of meetings (in-person and virtual) and other family engagements. Do family dynamics and other sources of conflict make it difficult to have enjoyable meetings together? How do you diffuse conflict or navigate when people don’t want… Read More

Family Philanthropy Board Chairs: Leading with Joy and Effectiveness

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Elaine Gast Fawcett

Two white women sit at a table, looking off camera to illustrate the Passages issue brief on Board Chairs
A board chair is perhaps the most important and meaningful job in any family foundation. If you are currently chair—or anticipate that you will be someday—you may find it’s one of the most rewarding roles you will ever have. It’s also a role of great nuance, calling for keen facilitation, leadership, and a healthy dose of self-awareness—a combination that’s not always easy to find… Read More

Community Foundations Network Topical Call: Working with Diverse Donors & Families

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Ted Vander Roest, Kelly Brown, Sharmila Rao Thakkar

Join Kelly Brown, Director of the D5 Coalition, Sharmila Rao Thakkar, expert family philanthropy consultant, and Ted Vander Roest, Executive Director of the Springfield Foundation to learn about their experiences supporting diverse donors. Resources mentioned: Springfield Foundation’s African American Community Family of Funds page D5Coalition’s website and diverse voices in giving video series Donors of Color Network and their report on giving… Read More

Non-family Staff Peer Network: Board Chair Dynamics – Expectations, Evaluation, Collaborating, and Engaging Together

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Kelly Chopus, Elaine Gast Fawcett

Join the Non-family Staff Peer Network for a discussion on board chair dynamics and the potential challenges and successes in this role at a family foundation. Whether it be collaborating with other staff and family members, managing complicated expectations and engagements across an organization, or navigating your foundation’s journey, join us and learn from your peers who will ask thought-provoking… Read More

Pride of Place: Sustaining a Family’s Commitment to Community

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Virginia M. Esposito, Gilbert Miller, Kelly Chopus

What does it mean to have “pride of place”? How do giving families retain their commitment to the founding region or community where their philanthropic resources were first created? How can family foundations and funds accommodate increasingly disparate personal interests among those serving on the board while staying true to the original geographic focus of the donor family? These questions… Read More