2011 CoF Family Philanthropy Conference

‘Keep it simple, human, humble and dare to try’: this was the essence of Paul Bennett’s message to the 2011 Council on Foundations (CoF) Family Philanthropy Conference, which took place between 23 and 25 January in New York. Bennett, chief creative officer at IDEO, was inviting the 800 representatives of family foundations who attended the conference to act creatively in their philanthropy – be it as grantmakers, trustees or advisers.

Under the leadership of Sharna Goldseker, director at 21/64, CoF had developed a programme that responded both to new ambitions and to traditions. The three-day conference, called just ‘Bridges’, was very enriching with a multitude of topics discussed, often presented in an innovative format by quality speakers.

As a participant from Europe, it was once again mind-blowing to see how well philanthropy in the US is institutionalized in everyday life: at school, within families and more recently with the support of social media. The event included, among others, testimonials from public figures like Katie Couric of CBS, from families involved over generations like the Rockefellers, and from the Council’s members in numerous interactive panels.

The attitude of the participants was very much one of desiring to learn and to discover new good ideas on how to evolve one’s family philanthropy. Informal exchanges, outdoor visits and panel discussions resulted in a number of lessons learned about themes like the involvement of the next generation in family philanthropy, the creation of a sustainable legacy, solutions to potential conflict situations within families, and the leverage of social media.

Event Family Philanthropy Conference
Date 23-25 January 2011
Location New York, US
Organizer Council on Foundations

Etienne Eichenberger is co-founder, wise – philanthropy advisors. Email etienne@wise.net  

For more information
www.cof.org/events/conferences/2011Fam/index.cfm