How can board members stay connected across time zones and significant distances?

Posted on June 9, 2016 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

As families grow, geographic dispersion of family and board members will become a common challenge. Each and every family must figure out a strategy that is right for you. Kelly Nowlin, family trustee of the Surdna Foundation, suggests the following, “The executive director or president of the foundation can make trips to dispersed board members and schedule one-on-one time to… Read More

Scenario and Contingency Planning in Philanthropy

Posted on May 5, 2016 by The Bridgespan Group

Scenario and contingency planning help nonprofit leaders plan for and react to opportunities and challenges that may arise over a given time frame. They enable nonprofits to ask and answer the question, "What would we do if…?" for a variety of circumstances, taking time to consider strategic implications, identify and weigh options, and agree on trade-offs… Read More

How do we ensure that the family will not lose “control” of the foundation over time?

Posted on May 3, 2016 by National Center for Family Philanthropy

There are a variety of strategies that family foundations around the country have used to retain control while engaging non-family board members in their work. These strategies may be used alone or in combination, and may include the following: Strategy 1: Create term limits for current board members. A technique used by many family foundations, term limits can be a… Read More