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.

Learning from our Peers: Fusion Family Foundation Conference

I had the privilege this week to join my first Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference. It was a remarkable gathering of some 600 philanthropic leaders and advisers from across the U.S. and international Foundations. The program and various highlights are detailed on the conference…

Social Media: If Not Now, When?

I had the pleasure of presenting as part of a panel on social media at the Council on Foundations’ Family Philanthropy Conference in Miami. The session, “Tools of Engagement: Family Dynamics and Social Networking,” covered social networking as a critical piece of a foundation’s communications…

Experts Are All Around Us

Same-sex spouses, life partners, adopted children, second marriages, religious conservatives, political liberals. Today’s families are increasingly diverse and families with foundations are no exception. The changing nature of your family may be creating challenges to harmonious and effective…

Sharing the Gift of Family Philanthropy

This past week marked my first experience attending the national Council on Foundation’s annual Family Philanthropy Conference. I found myself wearing multiple hats-representing the Council on Foundations as a board member, as well as SWIF, our region and our donors. I found the many…

What the Family Conference Reminded Me

I had the pleasure of spending the past four days in Miami Beach at the Council on Foundations’ annual Family Philanthropy Conference. There was alot to experience there, but I’d have to say that — as usual at these kind of gatherings — the highlight was spending time with my fellow attendees.…

It’s About the ROCI: Return on Conference Investment

I used to question the value of conferences. They are expensive when you add up the flights, hotels, meals – Isn’t that money better spent on programmatic work that directly serves our grantees? As foundations we rightly and continually scrutinize our administrative expenses. We owe that to our…

“Generation Gap” Not Feeling So Wide This Year

One of the biggest topics in family philanthropy has to do with engaging the next generation. How do multi-generational family foundations find common ground amongst board members with very different worldviews and experiences? How do foundations ensure that the next generation becomes responsible…

Inspiration: Pure, But Not Simple

In the last 24 hours, participants at the Family Philanthropy Conference were treated to a trifecta of inspiration.  Last night, a flamenco dancer romanced us, young classical musicians made our spirit soar, and an artist schooled in the traditions of Theater of the Oppressed moved some us to…

Tearing Down Boundaries with Passion and Enthusiasm

Ron Clark has 55 rules for the kids that he teaches at his school in south Atlanta each day. These rules cover everything from how to enter a room with poise to bringing a water bottle to class to how to be a graceful winner. You may not know him, but hundreds of family foundation representatives…

Social Media Helps Take the “Private” Out of Foundation

The first day of the Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference is now officially in the books and one word seems to arise again and again in conversations and sessions: transparency. Nowhere was this topic more front and center than at the Council-sponsored session about social media.…

Tools of Engagement

Miami is wonderful. It’s also where the 2012 COF Family Philanthropy Conference is happening. Although we are only one day in, I can safely say that traveling from California was well worth it. The setting is gorgeous of course, and I’ve been posting images of the harbor, the art deco buildings on…

Foundation Executive as Community Builder

“…outside resources will be much more effectively used if the local community is itself fully mobilized and invested, and if it can define the agendas for which additional resources must be obtained.” -”Building Communities from the Inside Out,” John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight, 1993. I’ve…

Fido, Facebook, Family, and Foundations

In the process of preparing for the Council Learning Lab on social media at the Family Philanthropy Conference, I came across some pretty interesting data: 14 percent of dog owners have created a Facebook account for their pet!  And 15 percent of these dogs have more than 100 friends - it…

Making Conference Connections

If you’ve ever come to one of the Council’s wonderful conferences, you already know that connections happen in the elevators and spaces around the panels. It’s easy to get lost in the well-crafted, engaging panels and formalities of a conference, but real connections are made when there is space to…

Staying Grounded From Afar

Coming into the Council’s Family Philanthropy Conference, I’m looking to follow two strains of curiosity. First, I want to see how other foundations have built collaborative community relationships that expand beyond traditional roles of grantor and grantees. More deeply, I’m curious about how…

Embrace Serendipity!

I’m always excited for the Family Philanthropy Conference. The plenaries feature dynamic speakers who often offer a philanthropic perspective that I hadn’t considered before. There are so many interesting sessions, and so many interesting ideas to take in. I try to attend a session about something…
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