The Family-ness Question

By: Sam Davis In: 2010 Family Philanthropy Conference| Family Philanthropy| Philanthropy

25 Jan 2010

[Editor’s note: With the Council’s Family Philanthropy Conference set to begin on Sunday, January 31, we asked our 21 conference bloggers to tell us a question they think family philanthropy needs to explore as the San Diego conference begins. Here’s Sam Davis’ answer. Davis is the principal at The Davis Group.]

As the philanthropic field continues to mature and expands globally, there are many interesting questions and opportunities to explore. However, in my opinion, the primary question facing family philanthropy today is an enduring one: How can philanthropy serve as a means for expressing a family’s legacy of values and enhancing familial relationships? It is this “family-ness” question that is unique to family philanthropy and separates it from all other charitable enterprises.

At the Family Philanthropy Conference in San Diego, I’ll be curious to see if families give their philanthropic assets the same attention and discipline they apply to their business and financial assets. Workshops on intergenerational communications, trust building and the developing the family’s human capital will address the “family-ness” question, and provide families with the information and resources to ensure their philanthropic efforts are successful. It will be up to each family to follow-up when they return home.

1 Response to The Family-ness Question

February 1st, 2010 at 3:01 am

Sam,
Good start on the blog. Keep it up. Family-ness, I like it. Enjoy the conference. Gary

Comment Form

Welcome to RE: Philanthropy! In this blog, guest and Council bloggers share ideas and insights on the most pressing issues in philanthropy. If you want to contribute, please contact Lana Williams at lana.williams@cof.org.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Council on Foundations.

Follow us on Twitter

Career Center Alert: Williams Institute Communications Manager - UCLA - Los Angeles, CA: The Williams Institute ... http://t.co/TSJfPigD # 2012/10/09
New Training Center Created for Volunteerism Leaders http://t.co/vUGOhQXT # 2012/10/05
The VisionSpring Model: Creating Markets And Players Instead Of Empty CSR http://t.co/EIwBN5j9 # 2012/10/05
RT @ngosource: Thnx to the 170+ ppl who joined @NGOsource @COF_ @TechSoup call on global #grantmaking! Get updates: http://t.co/nAcFCX5U # 2012/10/05

Categories
Recent Posts
Bloggers

Categories

Copyright © 2013 - - is proudly powered by WordPress | Log in

This site makes blogs, forums, and message boards available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information. Although the Council tries to protect your personal information when you are using these public forums, the Council cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to the Council in the course of using any one or more of these areas, and you assume full responsibility. The Council does not control, endorse, and is not responsible for the content posted by users of this site.

Privacy Policy
The Council is maintaining this website to make it easy for our website users to access important information and get connected with their peers. The Council does not control, endorse, and is not responsible for the content posted by users of this site. By using this site, your voluntary disclosure of personal information in public areas of a site, such as on message boards, can possibly be viewed, used and misused by others. The Council assumes no liability for any harm, loss, or damage you may experience or incur as a result of your use of this site. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Council on Foundations, and its officers, agents and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Site, your connection to the Site, your violation of the Terms of Use, your use of external sites accessed through this Site, or your violation of any rights of another person or entity.