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.

The Sustainability Formula: How Nonprofit Organizations Can Thrive in the Emerging Economy

External Resource
From TCC Group, which developed the Core Capacity Assessment tool, this resource investigates how organizations can put these core capacities to work in achieving organizational sustainability in difficult economic times.

Building Community Capacity for Participation in Evaluation

External Resource
From Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), what does it mean to truly and authentically engage a community in evaluation? Grantmakers working on place-based grantmaking already have the incentive and drive to support in-depth evaluation, to understand the impact of the initiative, and to…

Working Better Together: Building Nonprofit Collaborative Capacity

External Resource
Collective action is an effective way for nonprofits to increase their impact, but they often lack the key capacities that enable these types of partnerships to thrive. This publication from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) offers insights on the core capacities nonprofits need to…

Sample Decline Letter

Sample Document
This sample declination letter can help you inform grant applicants that their grant proposal was not accepted.

Sample Grant Completion Report

Sample Document
This sample grant completion report may be customized and provided to your grantee partners.  

Family Foundation Staffing Models

Fundamentals
The following are some of the models that are used for staffing family foundations. Many families use variations on these models or a combination of them. Any of them can be effective, depending on what is important to the family. The two major considerations, and they are linked, are: how much…

Proposal Review Flowchart

Sample Document
This sample proposal review flowchart may be useful for establishing your foundation's processes for grant review.

Sample Grant Proposal Application Checklist

Sample Document
This sample grant proposal application checklist can be customized to your foundation's processes, allowing you to check off each step of the grant application process.  

Sample Proposal Acknowledgment Letter

Sample Document
This sample grant proposal acknowledgment letter will allow you to let prospective grantees know that their application has been received.  

Sample Post-Grant Self-Evaluation

Sample Document
This sample post-grant evaluation can be customized to your foundation and provided to your grantees to submit at the conclusion of their grant.

Sample Membership Committee Policy

Sample Document
This is a sample Membership Committee policy.

Sample Grant Agreement – No Expenditure Responsibility

Sample Document
This document is an editable grant agreement for grants not requiring expenditure responsibility. This sample document is being provided for informational purposes only and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an…

Managing Your Family Foundation: Consider These Options

Fundamentals
Looking for the single best way to manage a family foundation? You may be looking for a long time. Because family foundations are unique within the foundation world, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to management. Each family creates its own rules and structures for its foundation, allowing for…

Knowing How and When to Monitor, Assess, and Evaluate Grants

Fundamentals
A family foundation's legal responsibilities for monitoring, assessing, or evaluating the grants it makes to organizations with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status are minimal. The IRS requires little in the way of detailed reporting on the outcome of specific grants—except for grants to organizations that…

Stories of Succession: Involvement is Mandatory

Stephanie Danforth Chafee’s ancestors trace their roots in Rhode Island back to the Mayflower. Her philanthropic heritage in the area is almost as deep and conservative. Her mother was a leading supporter of the Parent Teachers Association, the Zoological Society and the Roger Williams Zoo. Her…

Sample Foundation Investment Policy

Sample Document
This document is an editable foundation investment policy template. This sample document is being provided for informational purposes only and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship, and…
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