Engaging the Family in Your Philanthropy

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably begun thinking about establishing (or continuing) a philanthropic legacy that will extend into the next generation and beyond.

In the following pages, we share what we have learned from our clients about raising a philanthropic family and provide practical strategies for getting children of all ages involved in charitable giving.

First, we discuss the reasons family foundations are established and how these may lay the groundwork for a foundation’s mission. Beyond the tax advantages, families create foundations for one or both of two reasons: to create positive change in the world or to achieve some outcome within the family.

Besides adopting an external mission (what the foundation does, why, how, and for whom) many foundations also draft an INTERNAL MISSION specifying how the foundation will function to build family, encourage education, and confer family values to younger members. Internal missions might focus on increasing family participation and cohesiveness, perpetuating family traditions, building core abilities, preserving family history and/or training future generations.

We also offer examples of how Foundation Source clients are engaging their families in support of their internal missions. As the nation’s leading provider of outsourced support and advisory services for private foundations, we’ve been privileged to observe how these families use their foundations to make a difference within the family as well as in the external world. We are pleased to share what they have taught us.

A family foundation provides ample opportunities for family building activities that might otherwise be difficult to accomplish. Our clients use their foundations to create change and foster growth in these familial relationships.

While every family crafts its own strategies for family engagement, seeing what has worked for others can help jump-start the process. Here are five touchstones that our clients have found to be especially important to creating a foundation that inspires younger generations.

While every family crafts its own strategies for family engagement, seeing what has worked for others can help jump-start the process. Here are five touchstones that our clients have found to be especially important to creating a foundation that inspires younger generations.