What choices do foundations and family funds have when it comes to transparency? How open and accessible is your philanthropy – to the extended family, to grant seekers and partners, and to the public you serve?
What challenges and concerns do you face as you seek to be more open? And what approaches do other families take when it comes to managing transparency, communications, and privacy?
The National Center for Family Philanthropy’s new guide, Transparency in Family Philanthropy: Opening to the Possibilities examines how family funders are thinking, acting – and, in some cases, not acting – when it comes to how open and accessible they are with others. The guide encourages donors, boards, and staff of family foundations (and other giving vehicles) to purposefully consider choices regarding transparency in grant-making, governance, and everyday operations.
It also offers a list of questions and conversation starters for families grappling with how to address this issue, and provides a variety of sample values and policies on transparency from other funders who have already considered these questions in their own work.