RESOURCES
Philanthropy Information
Thinking About a Site Visit? Here Are Some Tips
Published by the Family Foundation Advisor, this article by Renee Sovis and Mark Neithercut is a helpful guide for the what, why, and how of successful site visits. Also included in this addition is an accompanying article of Nine Site Visit Case Studies.
How to Make a Major Gift
With contributions from Mark Neithercut, this article by Melinda Tuan for The Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund is a guide for individual donors in making major gifts.
A recurring debate. Is perpetuity too long?
In this Family Foundation Advisor article, Mark Neithercut explores the benefits of a sunset date in family foundations: focus, impact, fulfillment, and proximity.
Lessons learned from NPA case studies
The Family Foundation Advisor reprinted our case studies to demonstrate the structure and methods used to arrive at decisions for impactful outcomes.
Charitable Giving and COVID-19 in Northern Michigan
Published by the Traverse City Business News in December 2020, Mark Neithercut explored the ramifications of COVID-19 on the nonprofit sector nine months into the pandemic.
Tax Benefits of Charitable Giving
Regardless of whether you regularly contribute to charity, it is useful to be aware of the unique charitable giving tax benefits available to entrepreneurs. Even the most knowledgeable, charitably-minded individual may not be aware of all of these opportunities. This article shares those opportunities.
Have a Mission to Preserve a Vision
Mission statements are a fundamentally important building block of a family foundation’s strategic framework and deserve more attention. Further, the process of developing a family foundation mission statement must be dramatically different than the process used for other foundations or nonprofit organizations. Many techniques are available to develop a mission statement, and a board of directors should consider the benefits of each process before engaging in this fundamentally important exercise. This article published by Family Foundation Advisor addresses how a good mission statement can help preserve the legacy and vision of a founding philanthropist, and suggests some options for how family foundations can develop better mission statements.
Preserving Philanthropic Vision
How can a foundation enact its vision and preserve the intent of its founding philanthropist? Read our article published by Philanthropy Roundtable to find out.
OTHER VOICES: Loosen your strings on charitable giving
Featured in Crain’s, Mark Neithercut warns of the downfalls of restricted giving to nonprofits.
OTHER VOICES: Family foundations — Know when to close
Mark Neithercut makes a case for sunset dates, particularly at small family foundations that award less than $50,000 in grants each year.
OTHER VOICES: A Nonprofit’s Mission Must be Clear to All
In Crain’s annual philanthropy issue, Mark Neithercut reminds donors and nonprofits alike about the importance of mission.
Partnering for Success: How Family Foundations Benefit from Relationships with Community Foundations
This article explores the ways family foundations and community foundations can work together for the greater benefit of all.
Is Perpetuity Too Long? Family Foundations Can Increase Impact With Sunset Dates
This article reviews the sunset-vs.-perpetuity issue and considers the potential benefits of a sunset date, with the special considerations of small family foundations in mind.
NPA Brochures and Handouts
Case Studies
Case studies help describe our process for arriving at thoughtful and impactful decisions. Each of these six describe different but common scenarios we’ve encountered in our work.
Family Foundation Philanthropy Services
NPA offers a comprehensive range of services to help you manages whatever philanthropic challenges and opportunities you face, now and in the future. This brochure describes the ways we can be helpful.
Individual Donor and Family Business Philanthropy Services
You’ve been successful in life and want to pass that good fortune on to others. We want to help you bring clarity and structure to your charitable efforts, because giving is most effective when it’s driven by a focus on values and outcomes. This brochure outlines our services for individual donors.
10 Rules Every Major Donor Should Follow
Major gifts are a major responsibility. This document provides 10 rules to help keep major gift-giving on track.
The Five Essential Rules to Getting Your Children Involved in Philanthropy
Engaging the next generation in philanthropy can be a bonding and rewarding experience when done well, but successful families often struggle to get their children involved in the process of giving. This guide outlines five essential rules to consider.
12 Questions To Help Determine Whether You’re Launch-Ready
How do you know if your family foundation is ready to be operational? We have assisted both very well-managed foundations and those that were in need of greater direction. We have found that many problems faced by older foundations could have been solved at the time of their launch. This checklist is a great place to start.
We Help Successful Families Become Successful Philanthropists
This document describes what we do and what we believe here at Neithercut Philanthropy Advisors. Learn how our services can help you achieve excellence and gain fulfillment from your charitable endeavors.
How to Preserve a Legacy
An organization on a mission is inspiring. Unflappable. Unstoppable. View our infographic, which was published on the Council on Foundation’s blog, to learn about one of the most overlooked elements of preserving a legacy.
Six Misconceptions About Family Foundations
It seems everyone wants a foundation these days – at least many people do. So, what are the common misconceptions about family foundations? The Council on Foundations recently published an infographic we prepared on its blog, Re: Philanthropy. The infographic explains the six common misconceptions concerning family foundations.
Why Family Foundations Lose Their Way: A Founder’s Guide to Long-Term Philanthropic Success
Family foundations often struggle with issues that might have been avoided if they had considered these challenges earlier in the foundation’s planning and launch process. This guide is desiged to prompt founders and their advisors to consider the important strategic issues, such as succession and mission, which can derail foundations many years later.
Got Mission?
Mission – the essential purpose of a foundation – has been largely ignored in strategic planning efforts. In this piece, we will argue that mission drives strategy and that a foundation should be sure its mission is clear before engaging in lengthy efforts to develop strategy.