February, 2010
Recently the philanthropy field lost two of its most generous philanthropists, Smith Bagley and Ruth Lilly. Such events remind us that the death of a founder, donor, or other philanthropy leader is inevitable. Yet knowing it will happen doesn't mean your family will be prepared to deal with all the issues that might arise. One in particular is legacy grants, made to honor a key family member, most often the founder of a family philanthropy.
Research conducted by the National Center on legacy gifts, sometimes called memorial gifts, found that the issue usually arises shortly after the founder's death when the family seeks ways to honor his or her legacy (we refer to founder here as shorthand for any key family member being honored). But the issue may also come up when the family re-considers whether a nonprofit that been receiving a memorial grant for many years should continue to be funded...
To read more, go to: http://www.ncfp.org/newsroom/family_giving_news/2010/10-january_lead-article
