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.

Improve the Civic Health of Communities by Collaborating with Local and Hyperlocal News

Learn how two foundations in two different geographies are using similar approaches to improve civic health and community engagement, fill vital information gaps and build trust by supporting local, hyperlocal and community-based news providers. Working on the local level, these…

Insights from a Place-Based Minority Business Learning Cohort

This session highlights the power of partnerships through learning cohorts. Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund donated $100 million to support small business owners who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami. A national learning…

Increasing Trust Amid Decreasing Attention

Nonprofit leaders and funders alike say storytelling is simultaneously one of their greatest needs and greatest challenges. Attention is increasingly fragmented and audiences are fatigued by marketing campaigns and clever pitches. In this session, you will learn how increasing the dimensionality of…

Leveraging Narrative Power to Inspire Stronger Communities

Participants in this session will gain insight into their role in supporting place-based, community-driven stories. This session is relevant for communications and program staff, executive leaders, and board members. Because narrative work spans all sectors, both place-based and issue-based funders…

How Funders Can Lead with Humility in Community-Centered Collaboration

What does it look like for funders to truly center the expertise and goals of community? The Houston Economic Growth Collaborative is a multi-sector initiative exploring the potential to invest more than $100M over 10 years in resident-defined priorities. Leaders will share early lessons on…

Listening to Shift Power: Kellogg Foundation's Experience with Participatory Philanthropy in Hawai’i

Fund for Shared Insight, a national funder collaborative, invited funders to a participatory climate initiative in Hawai’i. The Kellogg Foundation, which funds in Hawai’i, and is committed to equity, was a core partner. The effort was designed to involve people most impacted by climate change in…

How Can Foundations Affect Family Economic Stability and System Change

How do funders build lasting change in our communities? The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and The Pew Charitable Trusts share examples of recent partnerships in Tennessee and Minnesota on strategies and tools to address eviction and court-enforced debt collection. This session will…

High-Quality Ways to Hear Directly From Communities

Many funders rely on feedback from grantees to improve their grantmaking, but hesitate to go right to the source and listen to the people at the heart of their work. It can be daunting to listen directly to communities, but it’s an essential part of responsible stewardship and equitable strategies…

Getting to 100% Mission Alignment

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation, designed for organizational leaders and foundation investment professionals, that challenges the conventional philanthropic dialogue on grantmaking. Rather than focusing solely on the 5% spending debate, we will discuss the often overlooked 95% of funds…

Looking to the Future of Board Governance

Are foundation boards composed in a just way? Are they equipped to enhance the creativity and innovation needed across the nonprofit sector? Foundation governance mostly occurs out of view and often flies under the radar of discussion and debate in the sector. Two Minnesota foundation CEOs—Tuleah…

Lunch Plenary Session: Funding the Rural-Urban Connection

Rural and urban communities need each other. But while their interdependence plays out in their economies, cultures, and environments, prevailing narratives center on differences and divides. Meanwhile, rural communities account for close to 20 percent of the population, but they receive only 7…

Breakfast Plenary Session: From Rupture to Repair

The journey beyond toxic polarization and record levels of mistrust begins when we reknit the fabric of our civic lives: our places, our institutions, and, most importantly, our relationships. A critical first step is to take responsibility for harm and actively work to repair the ties that have…

Examining Your Foundation's Systems Through an Equity Lens

Hosted by Community Foundation Opportunity Network (CFON) Join us for an opportunity to examine and gain a deeper understanding of the internal systems change needed for community foundations (and other grantmaking organizations) to authentically engage in external systems change and equity work.…

Moving from Surviving to Thriving Using the Vital Conditions for Health and Wellbeing Framework

Healthy Communities Delaware (HCD), a public private initiative of the Delaware Community Foundation, and ReThink Health, an initiative of the Rippel Foundation are partnering to catalyze and foster thriving communities. Learn how HCD leverages the Vital Conditions for Health and Wellbeing…

Engaging Communities Across Geography

How do community foundations engage people across expansive geographies to support local communities and yet achieve economies of scale to maximize the impact their work? This session will explore various models of community foundations attempting to do this work-- from the traditional affiliate…

Navigating Tax Policy and What It Means for Your Foundation

In Washington, D.C. there’s a new Congress, a Republican trifecta, and a slew of expiring tax provisions. A partisan tax package is likely coming this year—and most policy issues that impact the philanthropic infrastructure are tax policy issues. Join this session to learn how to make sure Congress…
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