The Family Giving Lifecycle: Tools and Resources for Effectiveness

▤ Summary

Family philanthropy has many points of inflection – moments to embrace proven practices and advance momentum or stall out due to uncertainty and lack of clarity. The stages of the FGL are: • Philanthropic Purpose: defining why you give and what inspires you • Impact Vehicles & Structures: ensuring that form follows function and you have the vehicle(s) and structure(s) to best support your intended impact • Impact Strategies & Tools: deploying your resources to achieve your philanthropic purpose • Operations & Management: developing efficient and robust operations and management support for your philanthropic work • Succession & Legacy: defining and building your legacy and preparing for transitions, including involving the next generation While the framework provides an excellent starting point for new donors, it’s important to note that these are not “one and done” stages, but rather this is a true cycle. Those founders will often start out with a specific vision for the foundation, perhaps rooted around helping support people and organizations in the geographic area where the family lives. In addition, as new generations and voices join the governing structures of a foundation’s philanthropy, it’s important to look at policies and practices from the abstract (e.g., what is the culture of our board?) The FGL toolkit includes short overview videos, a glossary of terms used throughout the materials, primers with descriptions of fundamental topics in each of the lifecycle stages, as well as worksheets to guide donors and families through key questions and decisions.

▦ Linked Companies

Foundation Source

$10M to $25M