Symposium addresses succession planning, next-generation contributions for family foundations

Family foundations — from the small foundation down the street to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — have had a tremendous impact on local and global communities, programs and services.

Especially in times of shrinking public budgets, family foundations directly impact the quality of life in health, education, employment, arts and culture, and many other arenas of the human experience.

But family foundations across the U.S. are in transition: some integrating new generations of trustees and others working hard to engage younger family members in the work of their organizations. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for Nonprofits will host a national symposium, “Building Civil Society Through Family Foundations: Next Generation Contributions,” on Wednesday and Thursday, April 27-28, in Madison. Speakers will address the opportunities and challenges that new generations of leaders bring to their family foundations, new values and new ways to fulfill their family philanthropic legacies.

The symposium will provide family philanthropists the opportunity to explore issues on granting, the impact of their work, and how to address different values as members jointly work to continue their family philanthropic legacy.

Three keynote presentations examine broad trends among family foundations:

• Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, Washington, D.C., and a former U.S. congressman from Wisconsin, will discuss “The State of Family Foundations — Critical Components of Next Generation Contributions.”
• Virginia M. Esposito, founding president of the National Center for Family Philanthropy and author of several volumes on family foundations, will present “The Value of Family Philanthropy: For The Family? For Democracy?”
• Jason Franklin is executive director of Bolder Giving, which works to encourage donors to “Give More, Risk More, Inspire More.” He will discuss “Giving While Living and Giving Big: Implications for Our Future.”

A panel of family foundation representatives will discuss “Next Generation Challenges and Opportunities: Inspired Stories from the Next Generation.” Additional presentations explore tax, legal, investment and strategic-planning issues.

The symposium will be held on the UW–Madison campus. The first day, sessions will be held at the newly completed Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, 330 N. Orchard St., and on the second day sessions will take place at the Fluno Center for Executive Education, 601 University Ave.

To learn more or register online visit http://centerfornonprofits.wisc.edu. Conference fee is $300. For questions, contact Jeanan Yasiri, executive director of the UW–Madison Center for Nonprofits, at yasiri@wisc.edu or 608-335-2980.

The symposium is sponsored by The Ruth S. Dickie Fund, Madison, Wis.; Center for Women and Philanthropy, Madison and Mequon, Wis.; The Oscar Rennebohm Foundation, Madison, Wis.; The Bender Foundation Inc., Washington, D.C.; Johnson Bank Wealth Management, Madison, Wis.; Baird Private Wealth Management, Milwaukee; Wipfli LLP, Minneapolis; Strategic Philanthropy, Chicago; and Wegner CPAs & Consultants, Madison, Wis.