Family Foundations

The Council on Foundations defines a family foundation as one whose funds are derived from members of a single family, though this is not a legal term and has no precise definition. The Council on Foundations suggests that family foundations have at least one family member serving as an officer or board member of the foundation and, as the donor, that individual (or a relative) must play a significant role in governing and/or managing the foundation. Most family foundations are run by family members who serve as trustees or directors on a voluntary basis. In many cases, second- and third-generation descendants of the original donors manage the foundation.

Family foundations make up over half of all private (family, corporate, independent, and operating) foundations, or 40,456 out of approximately 73,764 foundations (Foundation Center, 2011). Family foundations make up approximately one-third of the Council’s membership.

Family foundations range in asset size from a few hundred thousand dollars to more than $1 billion. The holdings of family foundations total approximately $294 billion, or about 44 percent of all foundation holdings of $662 billion. Despite this, three out of five family foundations hold assets of less than $1 million. Family foundations gave away approximately $21.3 billion in grants in 2011 (The Foundation Center, 2011).

Below is everything on our site for family foundations. Due to the large number of resources on our website, we highly recommend you use the site navigation or the search feature to find what you are looking for.

Foundation Center Issue Lab on Gun Violence

A collection of publications, news articles, and issue papers on gun violence from the Foundation Center.

The California Wellness Foundation Resource Center on Violence Prevention

This collection of resources provides ideas, best practices and lessons learned about what works in violence prevention — for those who would like to be part of the solution

National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention: Strategic Planning Toolkit for Communities

This Toolkit was developed to support cities in developing youth violence prevention plans by building partnerships, taking an inventory of local resources and assets, and designing strategies, based on local data, that address the nature of youth violence and its causes. The goal is to create a…

The History of Violence

This publication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explores the history of violence and the reasons why it has become a greater focus for public health in recent decades.

What if we treated violence like a contagious disease?

In this video from TEDMED 2013, epidemiologist Gary Slutkin of Cure Violence says the issue has been misdiagnosed, and instead created science-based strategies that aim to stop violence before it erupts.

Global Philanthropy

The focus of the Council's global program is to support U.S. philanthropy’s international engagement – including through cross-border grantmaking – but also by applying a global perspective to domestic philanthropy within the United States. We make it our mission to play a key role in facilitating…

Catalytic First Loss Capital

External Resource
This issue brief from the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) details the motivations, benefits, considerations, and suitable scenarios behind the use of catalytic first-loss capital in impact investing transactions. Catalytic first-loss capital refers to socially- and environmentally-driven…

Impact Investing 2.0: The Way Forward: Insight from 12 Outstanding Funds

External Resource
The Impact Investor Project was established in 2012 as a two-year research partnership between InSight at Pacific Community Ventures, CASE at Duke University, and ImpactAssets. The goal was simple: supplant the guesswork and conjecture in impact investing with solid evidence of high performance and…

From the Margins to the Mainstream: Assessment of the Impact Investment Sector and Opportunities to Engage Mainstream Investors

External Resource
In this report, the World Economic Forum Investors Industries consulted the senior decision-makers and portfolio managers of the largest and most innovative investors in the world to facilitate a more realistic vantage point on the challenges in scaling the sector. 

Limits to the Charitable Deduction: Bad Timing & Faulty Logic

Council on Foundations president and CEO Vikki Spruill and several Council members met with Congressional leaders today to deliver the important message that changes to the charitable tax deduction would diminish its value and have an undeniably negative impact on communities across the United…

Council on Foundations Announces Key Appointments for Network Team

The Council on Foundations today announced the first members of its network team, which will facilitate the flow of information and ideas across the philanthropic sector. The network team will connect members around common issues of concern, connect our members to outside resources across…

FEMA National Disaster Recovery Program Database

External Resource
With the development of the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), FEMA worked to create systems that can supplement, and not replace, current and ongoing community planning and recovery efforts. To support this effort, FEMA developed a web-based tool, the National Disaster Recovery Program…

IRS: Disaster Relief Resources for Charities and Contributors

External Resource
In the aftermath of a disaster or in other emergency hardship situations, individuals, employers, and corporations are often interested in providing assistance to victims through a charitable organization. The IRS provides a number of resources to help those involved in providing disaster relief…

Providing Relief in Times of Disaster - Private Foundation Giving

Legal Compliance Guidance
Grants to Public Charities from Private Foundations For a private foundation, disaster relief grants to Section 501(c)(3) public charities based at home or abroad can be relatively straightforward, provided the grantee is not legally classified as a supporting organization. If the grantee is…

Sample Matching Gift Policy

Sample Document
This sample matching gift policy can be easily customized for your foundation's use.  

Leadership Insights: What Foundation Executives and Trustees are Saying About Diversity and Inclusion

Recording
A video series featuring leaders sharing their insights about their organizational journey to become more diverse and inclusive and lessons learned along the way. All videos are close captioned. Dr. Robert K. Ross The California Endowment Watch video Dr. Risa…
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