20th Anniversary Symposium: Imagining the Future of Family Philanthropy

Family philanthropy – in all its forms – can change the world. But how will family philanthropy adapt as the world continues to change at a faster, even dizzying, rate? Demographic patterns, the intergenerational transfer of wealth, changing expectations in how we connect and work and communicate together, new ideas around power and equity, and more will challenge both the practices and results of family philanthropy. 

Top thinkers will join facilitator Alexander Grashow for a provocative discussion of the trends reshaping families, philanthropy, family enterprises, and the world. They’ll bring perspectives from business, government, nonprofits, science, and more to a lively roundtable format.

This kick-off event sets the stage for participants, the speakers, and other experts to dive into trends identified in NCFP’s Imagining the Future focus groups across the country.

Related Resources

Article: Transmitting Generosity to Daughters & Sons, Andrea Pactor (March 2018)
Intentionality is key in the transmission of generosity from generation to generation.  The latest Women Give report explores how parents transmit generosity to their children, and whether this differs for sons and daughters. 

Quiz: Where are You in your Equity Journey? 
This assessment was created by CHANGE Philanthropy with questions from D5 Coalition and Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity tools. It is 43 questions and will take about 30 minutes to complete. The results will inform where you are in terms of equity and give you curated resources to help you along in advancing equity for your foundation. 

Report: From Words to Action:  A Practical Philanthropic Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Barbara Chow (May 2018)
As communities worldwide are becoming more diverse, they are increasingly tackling the realities of systemic inequity. Philanthropy too must acknowledge its place in the context of transformative demographic changes. Addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been an ongoing challenge within philanthropy, and while there has been progress, it requires continual work. This GrantCraft leadership series paper by Barbara Chow dives into those challenges and opportunities to explore how DEI can become more integrated into grant-making practices and broader foundation ethos.

During this extended break, we invite you to Imagine the Future together as you continue conversations from the session, chat with old friends and meet new ones, and visit our sponsor tables to learn more about the field.

What are the roles for funders and philanthropic families in building community in stressful and divided times? Many communities are experiencing conflict, population divides, and a lack of an ability to speak to one another, much less have any kind of productive civil discourse. Join this conversation with other communities that have experienced this kind of crisis, and brainstorm ways to build a sense of shared purpose on how to navigate and prevent these situations.

Related Resources

Passage Issue Brief: Managing Family Dynamics: A primer for Community Foundation Staff and Donor Families (June 2017)
Common challenges can affect how your family decides to engage in shared philanthropy. This Passage Issue Brief provides advice on how your family can set expectations, anticipate potential challenges, and build strategies and processes to guide your philanthropy, even as you deal with conflict and change. 

Impact Story: Celebrating your Family, Community, and Philanthropy (August 2018)
Farhad invites us all to reimagine the role of philanthropy- and both the opportunites and power it provides. After being gifted a significant amount of money, he and his sister founded the Chorus Foundation to tackle the global climate crisis.

New Media: Six Tips for Managing Family Dynamics (May 2014)
Whatever differences your family may have, those differences need not get in the way of your philanthropic goals. Your challenge is to find ways to channel the bonds of family in the service of a shared vision and anticipate the conflicts that inevitably arise. This slide show provides tips for managing family dynamics in family philanthropy.

 

There are multiple forms of capital beyond money and material. We are repeatedly witnessing the power of individuals and organizations that understand and capitalize on the various forms of capital beyond money. Whether it’s leveraging their networks and social reach in new ways or joining creative partnerships, individuals and organizations that embrace the various forms of capital—social, intellectual, creative, physical, spiritual, political—are creating immediate and sustained value. In this practical workshop, you will identify the different forms of capital available to you, build a plan for wealth-creation across the various domains of your life, and do more for what you care about most.


Related Resources

Article: 10 Questions to Help Start the Values Conversation
The way to fulfillment in philanthropy- and by and large as a family- is the degree to which you are driven by purpose and shared values. In other words, why you give matters just as much, if not more, than what you give.

 Article: A Compass Only Works When you Trust It, Henry Berman (August 2017)
In philanthropy, like in life, we have relatively little ability to control disruptions, internal or external, and the big changes they often portend.  Although we may anticipate an influx of assets upon the sale of a business, or predict the arrival of the next generation, most of us can't really manage the exact timing and collateral effects of these events. This begs the question, what defines how each of us reacts to disruption? In a word: values.

 Ask the Center: Donor Legacy Statements, Values Statements, and Ethical Wills
Questions about legacy and value statements and ethical wills answered!

How and why are multi-generational families sustaining a commitment to place? What makes their place-based giving vibrant and effective over time? What aspects are required for a focused strategy for the community, and for necessary support and participation? These questions and many more have guided a yearlong interview study with family foundations and donor-advised funds committed to their “pride of place.” This will be an interactive conversation with attendees, as NCFP President Virginia Esposito shares early insights and findings.

The Pride of Place session is sponsored by JF Maddox Foundation. Pride of Place research is funded by William Penn Foundation, David Haas, and The Nord Family Foundation.

Related Resources

Podcast: Successful Generations Podcast: Engaging your Family in Family Philanthropy, Ellie Frey Zagel (April 2018)
In this episode, Virginia "Ginny" Esposito, Founder of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, highlights what family business is and common trends in the work she has been in for over 30 years. She has lots of wisdom for parents and great resources, whether you are just getting started or if you've been giving for decades. 

Case Study: Jacobs Family Foundation, A Be Fearless Case Study, Case Foundation
"An abandoned lot, an experimental initial public offering (IPO) and a culture that believes that failure leads to learning inspired the Jacobs Family Foundation to transform its business model from traditional grantmaker to place-based funder to maximize impact without sacrificing its core values and mission."

Article: The Irwin Sweeney Miller Foundation Creates an Enduring Legacy by Effecting Community Change, Alice Buhl (November 2013)
"This Family Giving News feature article is excerpted from the Passages Issue Brief detailing the story of the Irwin Sweeney Miller Foundation, whose third generation board members made the strategic decision to spend down with assets of approximately $25 million."

The digital transformation of philanthropy is underway. An increasing number of technological tools are available to philanthropists and non-profits, providing them with new and different ways to measure impact, track resources, and solve problems. As more tools become available and more philanthropists seek out ways to be more efficient and effective in their work, questions arise: What are the right tools for us? Which decision-making processes can (or should) be data-driven? What problems can be solved with technology, and will that technology continue to serve us well going forward?

Related Resources

Ask the Center: What's the most effective technology to use when communicating with next gen family members?
It's easy to get stressed out about the ever expanding field of technology. However, with more options comes the opportunity to figure out which communication strategies work best for your family!

Article: Blockchain Explained: Risks and Opportunities For Philanthropy, Nick Hamlin (February 2018)
These days, it seems like everyone is talking about how blockchain is the coolest new thing- capable of changing everything, including aid and philanthropy. Case in point: Researchers at Stanford have been compiling a "Master List of Blockchain for Social Good Projects" that's already 236 entries long as of this writing! With all that excitement, how should nonprofits think about this emerging technology and the opportunities and risks it might unlock?

Article: Technology Implementation: Steps for Success, Foundant Technologies (May 2017)
Picture this: you search for months to find the right solution to help you and your board become more efficient at grants management, financial reporting, and project management. Finally, you've done all the research, run all the numbers, and taken all the necessary steps to move forward. You jump in with both feet, invigorated by the panacea to all your board management challenges. You input all the information needed to make you the smooth running machine you know your board can be. Then, two months later, nothing. All that hard work and money for your shiny new software to sit dormant, gathering dust like an old souvenir. What happened? Why didn't it work the way you'd planned? Chances are, your grand plan fell apart at the word implementation.

Enjoy light hors d'oeuvres and catch up with your colleagues from around the country.

Members of NCFP's peer networks are encouraged to look for the tables with signs for their networks: strategic lifespan, family staff, nonfamily staff, and engaging the next generation.

To close the reception, we are delighted to welcome the San Francisco Girls Chorus to entertain us as we move to dinner. The vision of the San Francisco Girls Chorus is to produce performances of the highest artistic caliber; to provide music education for girls and young women from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds; to be a leader in the field through creativity and innovation; to give the girls and young women who participate in Chorus programs the skills, self-discipline and confidence to succeed in music and in life; to instill in the choristers a lifelong love of music; and to communicate this passion through involvement with the greater community.

The reception is sponsored by Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs

Related Resources
Learn more about Peer Networks here!

Plenary Session
From #BlackLivesMatter to #MeToo and #ADayWithoutImmigrants, we’re experiencing a renaissance in community change powered by everyday people. They’re living and confronting tough issues of power, racism, equity, injustice, and more, sometimes even confronting the nonprofits and institutions that philanthropic families love and trust. And they need traditional philanthropy to partner with them in new ways.

How can philanthropic families see their gifts of money, connections, and power not as currencies, held and guarded by few, but as electrical currents, sources of energy that flow, surge, and are easily shared? This plenary will be an honest conversation about the thrills and tensions of that shift to shared philanthropic power, both internally and in the community. And it will provide practical advice on how generous families and family foundations can help people on the frontlines of community change.

Related Resources

Case Study: Akonadi Foundation: Movement Building-Locally with a Structural Racism Analysis, Maggie Potapchuk (June 2014)
"The experience of Akonadi suggests that foundations can be most effective when they know how to balance the changing roles required of them in movement building- when to be a catalyst, supporter, messenger, or silent partner."

Article & Webinar: Building Community Power: A Philanthropic Strategy and an End Goal, Caitlin Duffy (July 2018)
"What does it mean for funders to build power? As more and more grantmakers embark on or deepen journeys to embed values of equity, diversity, and inclusion into their work, how can we incorporate a power-building frame to measure meaningful progress on equity?"

Grantcraft Guide: Grantmaking with a Racial Equity Lens, Foundation Center
"A focus on racial equity can increase your effectiveness at every stage of the grantmaking process. Blending experience and candid advice from grantmakers, this guide explores how a racial equity lens can help you scan your field or community, cultivate new leaders, encourage creative approaches, get people talking, and nourish change inside your own foundation."

Article: Equity in Philanthropy
This website is intended to serve as a platform to share resources related to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in grantmaking practice and in philanthropy more broadly. 

We know philanthropists often care for the world and making change, but don’t always take time for themselves.  During this busy conference and in these hectic times, join local NCFP friend Allison and Neil from team NCFP for a morning walk around San Francisco!

Related Resources

Podcast: NEXUS Relax & Recharge Before Getting Back To Changing the World
"Self Care is extremely important when running a social enterprise. The podcast is short and sweet, delivered by a man who;s faced a heart attack and kidney transplant while being a nonprofit leader."

Article: The Best Things to See and Do Near Union Square, San Francisco
"Locals and tourists alike flock to Union Square, one of the most iconic destinations in San Francisco. If you find yourself nearby, be sure to check out some of our favorite things to do in the area, including visiting the cultural institutions, enjoying fine dining, exploring the shops, and more."

Article: San Francisco Walking Tours
"Sightseeing doesn't have to be expensive or boring. Suited for any budget, our San Francisco walking tours will take you all over this amazing city, keep you entertained, educated, and excited the entire way."

We know philanthropists often care for the world and making change, but don’t always take time for themselves.  During this busy conference and in these hectic times, join Katherine, a social entrepreneur, nonprofit founder, author, and app creator.  Learn about the role of yoga and other practices in making social change.

Related Resources

Website: Headstand
Want to learn more about Katherine's nonprofit, Headstand? Click the link to their website!

CBS News: Katherine Ghannam
"Former Teacher Brings Stress-Busting Yoga Programs to Bay Area Classrooms"

Article: My Sabbatical Zen: Reflections on a 3-month pause in the action, Patrick Troska (December 2015)
When people ask me how my 3-month sabbatical was, the answer is more complicated than the one I usually give. Time doesn't generally allow for nuance. Truth be told- the sabbatical was way more personal than professional. But we all know that the personal profoundly impacts the professional and vice versa.

Our plenary programming will start promptly at 8:40am. Please join your peers from 8 to 8:40 to drop in and have breakfast from our breakfast buffet.

Our days are filled with news of a changing world and humanity’s attempts to improve it. We dive in to help. Sometimes we manage to adapt to change and sometimes fall back on old habits. We slowly begin to realize that what we learned about work, leadership, and management may not match the expectations of other families, cultures, and generations.

How can we redefine the work of family philanthropy and our philanthropic workplaces so they succeed in the 21st century? And how can multiple generations work together toward conscious, purposeful leadership? International thought leader Ayelet Baron will kick this plenary off with her insights and then interview two generations of Packard leadership evolving their own thinking around work, leadership, and purpose.

Related Resources

Passage Issue Brief: Things We Wish Our Founders Had Told Us: Interpreting Donor Legacy, Susan Packard Orr (November 2016)
This special NCFP Distinguished Fellow Essay by Susan Packard Orr explores the questions that Susan and her fellow trustees wished they had asked of the founders when they were still alive.

Voices from the Field: A Charitable Legacy, Ensured
 Considered an icon in the philanthropy world, Susan Packard Orr frequently is the person nonprofits look to for inspiration and advice. For more than three decades, the Stanford resident has provided nonprofits around the world with support services and software she developed for the management of fundraising and grant-making activities when few others served that niche.

During this extended break, we invite you to Imagine the Future together as you continue conversations from the session, chat with old friends and meet new ones, and visit our sponsor tables to learn more about the field.

As your family grows and disperses across geography, philosophy, diversity, and generations, how do you find ways to keep your shifting family aligned and engaged? How do you balance support for individual expression and interests with a commitment to the shared values and vision of your family and the potential of an integrated approach to giving? Share your ideas and lessons learned with others grappling with this essential, exciting, and ever-present challenge.  

Related Resources

Article: When the Conversation Moves from the Family Room to the Boardroom, Virginia Esposito (April 2018)
One of the great opportunities of family philanthropy is spending meaningful time with those you love and know well. The challenge of family philanthropy is to avoid the stereotypes and patterns you are used to when you move out of the family room and into the boardroom. The unkind nicknames, the blunt tone, and the teasing if embarrassing family lore we use with one another in casual settings can be hurtful and, most of the time, inappropriate when the family turns to the business of charitable giving. Complicating these patterns, are the passions and personal interests family members bring to choosing grantmaking priorities. When all that emotion meets up with all that familiarity, we can find ourselves headed for language and attitude we would likely never use with other professional colleagues or strangers. How to keep the conversation constructive and civil? Here are seven tips I’ve learned can help keep the work and your family relationships on track.

Article: A Change in Family Dynamics Signals a Shift Away from Place- Based Giving, Virginia Esposito (July 2016)
Families that are beginning their journey into philanthropy have a much different perspective than those who created foundations decades ago.Throughout much of the 20th century, those who achieved wealth often did so in the city where they were raised and where they were raising their own children. Their hometown was woven into the fabric of their identity – and they viewed their philanthropy as a way to give something back to the place where they had achieved success.

Ask the Center: Geographic Dispersion
Q: My family’s foundation has traditionally given in New England and continues to support nonprofits there, but family members live all around the country. How do we keep people engaged?

Focus together on the importance of community during our changing times, and how we can co-create the world we want to live in when we put down the manual of how things are supposed to be. We will share the story of how a very small group of people can have an enormous impact by coming together around a shared purpose and being inspired by the spirit of Albert Einstein, and how you too can get involved and engaged in a movement creating the future by shifting our mindset from problems to opportunities, and leading with conscious awareness. Leave this session having identified your specific opportunities, and partners to blaze the new paths, together. Our goal is to:

• Help you move from seeing problems to imagining opportunities
• Provide you with a place to ask foundational questions and explore solutions
• Allow open discussion of the role of failure
• Drive breakthrough dialogue
• Introduce new ways to create engagement and connected relationships
• Drive a mindset of collective impact

This Genius session is for those who are on the edge, those that don’t need to rely on outdated assumptions about how things are supposed to be – because those very things have gotten us into this mess. Innovation means that we are creating new ways—not pursuing the existing template of how things are done. Genius brings together leaders who are actively engaged in building tomorrow’s systems today, and know that the road to the future needs to be blazed with courage and a desire to learn.

Some background information on the Genius 100 Visions, Inspired by Einstein
As a result of the gathering in Montreal, Canada in September 2017, celebrating Genius 100 Visions, we have embarked on along-term strategy to support the purpose-driven initiatives that resulted from the extraordinary weekend event. A weekend recap video for you to view is here. We also quietly uploaded the 5-6 minute talks from the Innovation Summit of the visionaries who shared their vision for the future from Dan Goldin (longest running administrator of NASA - three presidencies), to Dr Obiageli Ezekwilsili whose heartfelt "Bring our Girls" campaign captivated that the world.

We are bringing the 100 visions to life through collaboration with the visionaries from around the world. From Noah's Arc, an initiative that will help create a tissue bank of endangered species to the IMAX film project "Einstein's Incredible Universe" that will be shared to over 35 million people around the globe in 2020, we are fulfilling Albert Einstein's vision to bring genius and imagination to create hope for humanity. 
We also printed a prototype of our impressive 3D book in space. Have a look at the video here.

Additional resources mentioned:

• Obiageli Ezekwesili Innovation Summit - Genius 100
• Jose Miguel Sokoloff Innovation Summit - Genius 100

“Impact Investing is not a profession for me. It’s a way of life.” So says Daryn Dodson, Managing Partner of Illumen Capital. Join this conversation with Daryn and others interested in exploring the many available options for investing the proverbial “other 95%” of your foundation’s endowments – as well as your personal approach to investing in the future.

Related Resources
Video: Bringing Friends and Family Into Investment

Solving big, intractable problems often requires risky, innovative solutions. How can you identify organizations, leaders, and social innovators that are in a position to achieve audacious results? What are your roles as an early-stage funder beyond just the grantmaking dollar? How can you leverage your connections, reputation, and expertise to help position a social entrepreneur or changemaker institution so that it may take advantage of a “Big Bet” investment from you or another funder or collaboration of funders? Hear from a panel of social entrepreneurs and donors discussing their perspectives on the required elements of effective partnerships that help take an idea from early stage to audacious results.

Related Resources

Website: Audacious Project

During this extended break, we invite you to Imagine the Future together as you continue conversations from the session, chat with old friends and meet new ones, and visit our sponsor tables to learn more about the field.

How are 21st century donors taking a new approach to giving, philanthropy, and leadership? Join  this conversation with emerging philanthropists and leaders as they share advice and perspectives on making change in significant ways.

Related Resources

Impact Stories: Celebrating your Family, Community, and Philanthropy
Farhad invites us all to reimagine the role of philanthropy—and both the opportunities and power it provides. After being gifted a significant amount of money, he and his sister founded the Chorus Foundation to tackle the global climate crisis.

Webinar: Generation next- Young donors inspiring a new generation of philanthropistsThe dream of many family foundation donors is to instill a lifelong love of philanthropy and giving back to future generations of one’s family. In some cases, this love of philanthropy translates into a desire on the part of younger family members to instill in others the joy that giving and philanthropy brings. This webinar shares the examples of young donors who have become leaders of organizations dedicated to inspiring and supporting a new generation of philanthropists. The webinar also includes a discussion of how involvement in their family’s philanthropy led them to choose this career path, what their organizations are doing to encourage new donors, and how they envision the future of this important work. Listen in on this motivating and practical conversation with several leaders from Generation Next!

Video: Alan Eustace: Record Breaking Near-Space Dive