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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Nonprofit Administration and Management
Family foundation; philanthropy; grantmaking; governance; leadership; geographic dispersion
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Challenges And Strategies For Family Foundations With Geographically Dispersed Board Members, Melanie A. Mckitrick, Deborah Hirt
Challenges And Strategies For Family Foundations With Geographically Dispersed Board Members, Melanie A. Mckitrick, Deborah Hirt
The Foundation Review
· This article, based on interviews with leaders of 10 family foundations, investigates the impact of geographic dispersion on governance, administration, decision making, and grantmaking activities.
· The greatest challenges for family foundations with dispersed boards involve assembling an appropriate staff, ensuring strong communication between staff and board members, and focusing the organization’s mission. Maintaining family board member interest in the foundation’s geographic area and bridging and strengthening ties between generations were also concerns.
· In order to maintain family legacies, all case-study foundations found unique ways to overcome challenges and were deliberate in ensuring that board members stayed actively …