Can I hire my daughter to staff our family’s foundation? First, determine whether your foundation’s governing documents permit the payment of compensation to a child. As a board member, you should read these documents (i.e., articles of incorporation, bylaws, trust agreement, declaration of trust) first. Also, it is possible that the state law governing your... Read More
There can be tremendous benefits to a family foundation that invites one or more nonfamily members to its board. Nonfamily members can sometimes help the family make more objective grantmaking decisions. Family members also tend to behave differently in the presence of nonfamily members, helping to shift family dynamics that may be getting in the... Read More
Youth philanthropy describes diverse youth activities. Some associate youth philanthropy with young people making grants as members of junior boards to family foundations or advisors to community foundations. Others use the term to describe service learning in school or volunteering as part of a youth or religious organization. Fundraising for the benefit of another also... Read More
Role for our purposes is not your position as president or committee chair; rather, it is how you choose to behave to match the needs of a situation. Everyone holds multiple roles, adopting them almost without thinking. For example, parents play an impressive list of roles in situations with their children: confidante, disciplinarian, advocate, chauffeur.... Read More
As one 20-something involved in her family’s philanthropy shared: [It] has given me the perspective that doing good can really be a lifestyle and not just a one- or two-time event. I think that, once you catch the bug of doing good for the world, it doesn’t just stop with philanthropy. It molds the way... Read More
Exponent Philanthropy Senior Program Manager Sara Beggs spoke recently with two Exponent Philanthropy members with experience in collaborative models: Emily Tow Jackson of the Tow Foundation and Liz Sak of the Cricket Island Foundation. Tow Jackson has an extensive history with cross-sector collaboration to change the juvenile justice systems in Connecticut and New York. Sak... Read More