Family Philanthropy Sessions 2014 Annual

Family Philanthropy Sessions

Monday, June 9

Family Philanthropy - Lots of Cars in the Garage: Using Multiple Vehicles for Good

11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. — Columbia 6, Terrace Level

Many individuals and families now use a range of different giving and investing vehicles in addition to the old standby of foundation grants:

  • individual check-writing of individual trustees
  • donor-advised funds in various places
  • impact investing by the foundation or by individuals
  • giving circles
  • family governed operating organizations and social enterprises
  • planned giving instruments
  • anonymous giving
  • corporate giving by the family business
  • other new innovations in giving

This session will explore how some families and foundations are managing and coordinating their often complicated portfolio of activities, and how some individuals effectively juggle multiple approaches of their own. Panelists will talk about how they coordinate multiple vehicles and people, how they manage the risk and reward of adding non-traditional vehicles, and how they deal with conflicts – between individuals, between vehicles – when they arise.

Speaker(s) : Cedric Brown , Managing Partner, Kapor Center for Social Impact; Mary L. Galeti, Vice Chair, Tecovas Foundation; Elenore Garton, Strategy Consultant, Garton Strategy Group; Michael Moody, Ph.D., Frey Chair for Family Foundations and Philanthropy, Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University; Chet Tchozewski, Board Member, Chino Cienega Foundation

Family Philanthropy and Impact Investing: Are Intermediaries the Answer?

11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. — Columbia 3 & 4, Terrace Level

When a family foundation decides to make impact investments – often known as program-related or mission-related investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return– how does the foundation decide whether to make impact investments directly, or do so through an intermediary? Some foundations, especially those with limited staff capacity, see direct investment as too burdensome and risky and opt to invest through intermediaries. Others recognize the benefits that come from direct investment and champion that method. This session, focused on the unique considerations of family foundations, will offer an introduction to impact investing from industry leaders, then explore the challenges and benefits of making impact investments directly or investing through intermediaries like Community Development Financial Institutions. Learn how family foundations can make catalytic investments and hear about past investment experiences from family foundations.

Speaker(s) : Melanie Audette, Manager, Education and Training, Mission Investors Exchange; Peter Brach, International Development Advisor, Brach Family Charitable Foundation; Abhilash Mudaliar , Research Manager, Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN); Cynthia Muller, Senior Director, Impact Investing, Arabella Advisors

Family Philanthropy - Family Foundations in Practice: Choosing and Preparing Your Grantmaking Successors

1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. — Columbia 3 & 4, Terrace Level

One of the greatest sources of joy and opportunity, anxiety, and frustration for philanthropic families may be the transfer of wealth, responsibility, and values from one generation to the next. This interactive session will delve into the particular challenges and best practices for succession in family foundation governance. Through a case study and small group discussion, participants will learn about generational succession that honors a donor’s legacy and reflects the family’s values. The experience of the Clare family will serve as a framework for discussing:

  • Designing an effective governance structure
  • Selecting board members
  • Engaging the next generation
  • Adopting a collective mission and goals

Speaker(s) : Mary Phillips, President, GMA Foundations; Kathy Whelpley, Vice President, National Center for Family Philanthropy

Family Philanthropy - Philanthropy as Movement: Next Generation Philanthropic Leadership's Active Investment in Social Change

1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. — Columbia 6, Terrace Level

Have you ever met a young social entrepreneur or a young activist? You know the type, someone who obsesses about a particular cause or specific business model to address social and environmental issues. What happens when a young member of a big business family meets this person? Unite passion, discipline, and resources and you get a flame that inspires and can illuminate an entire sector. Come learn from members of Nexus, a global youth movement increase and improve philanthropy by uniting unlikely allies and democratizing philanthropic deliberation.

Speaker(s) : Mary L. Galeti, Vice Chair, Tecovas Foundation

Family Philanthropy - Catalyzing Change in Your Community

3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. — Columbia 3 & 4, Terrace Level

It’s often said that foundations don’t have the resources to tackle big problems in our society. Yet foundations are perfectly positioned to be catalysts for change on complex issues, especially in their communities. This program for family foundations as well as non-family funders, spotlights the unique powers, position, and non-dollar assets that foundations leverage to make outsized impact on important, urgent issues. We’ll explore essential strategies such as taking the time to understand the issue and building knowledge, using the knowledge to identify gaps and points of leverage, engaging, mobilizing, and connecting partners, working longer-term, taking higher risks, raising public awareness, and often—seeking to influence policy. The session will emphasize ways to get started. Discover how to use your unique assets and position as a funder to be a force for change

Speaker(s) : Andy Carroll, Senior Program Manager, Association of Small Foundations; Janis A. Reischmann, Executive Director, Hau'oli Mau Loa Foundation; Martha Toll, Executive Director, Butler Family Fund

Family Philanthropy - Philanthropy as Personal Expression: Solutions, Values or Ideologies

3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. — Columbia 6, Terrace Level

As the range of giving vehicles and kinds of donors has expanded dramatically in recent years, philanthropy has increasingly become an outlet for promulgating an agenda or personal belief system instead of trying to solve a problem or issue. From the Koch brothers to George Soros, today's "philanthactivists" use a wide array of strategies to advance their values — such as political contributions and investing — in addition to their charitable contributions. Additionally, major contributions from individuals are all receiving far greater scrutiny in order to interpret personal agendas or ideology. This session will explore how contemporary donors are expressing and acting on their values through their giving, and the implications this has on grantees.


Tuesday, June 10

Family Philanthropy - It's All About Relationships: Engaging Difference in the Philanthropic Community

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. — Columbia 3 & 4, Terrace Level

Our country and our world are deeply divided. Too many people have lost the capacity or the will to listen thoughtfully, to talk respectfully, and to relate constructively. Naturally, many organizations seek to alleviate our many challenges through attention -- to the issue. This model, though almost universal, is flawed. An alternative and growing method, that has a substantive and credible history in both democratic practice and statecraft, is the Relationship Paradigm, born out of the Sustained Dialogue Movement, which defines dialogue as listening deeply enough to another to be changed by what you hear. It promotes one central idea: that however seemingly insurmountable the presenting challenge, that the problem is almost always the failure of relationships. Intentional and prolonged attention to relationships will resolve challenges. The Paradigm is rooted in what was used to negotiate the Camp David Peace Accords and Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, and has grown into a leading effort to address race, gender, and diversity questions on 30 college campuses, to address democratic conflict on Capitol Hill, and to enhance employee engagement in workplaces. During this session, participants will practice applying the Five Elements of Relationship to a real-time challenge in the sector and take this tool with them into their professional lives. Explore identity, interests, power, perceptions, and patterns of interaction. Participants will trace the history of the movement that is bringing a new transformational and practical alternative to conflict resolution in democratic practice and current social challenges domestically and around the world.

Speaker(s) : Amy Lazarus, Executive Director, Sustained Dialogue Institute

Family Philanthropy - Leading Through Change: Advice from Seasoned Family Foundation CEOs

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. — Columbia 6, Terrace Level

Using findings from the just-released NCFP publication, Leading through Change: Advice From and for Seasoned CEOs, the session will offer insights into how family foundation CEOs have forged long-term, successful careers in challenging positions. The session, designed for both CEOs and their boards, will address the life cycles most long-time family foundations go through, such as a shift to a new generation, the death of the donor or board leader, large fluctuations of assets, changing grantmaking priorities, and changing community needs. Three veteran CEOs will share the ways they have led through these transitions, and audience members will be invited to raise additional issues from their own experiences.

Speaker(s) : Peter F. Bird, Jr., President, The Frist Foundation; Christine A. Elbel, Executive Director, Fleishhacker Foundation; Susan Crites Price, Consultant, National Center for Family Philanthropy; Martha Toll, Executive Director, Butler Family Fund

Questions?

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