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Family giving can be wonderfully gratifying as well as a bit messy. That goes double when several generations with different agendas run the family foundation. At the FOX Fall Forum, family members and foundation executives engaged in a lively discussion on how to effectively address questions related to family philanthropy.

The day-to-day operations of a family foundation are naturally consumed by details such as grant reviews, donation formulas and site analyses. Though important work, family foundations focus less attention on the basic questions: Why give? What difference does it make?

FOX interview with Mort about the Sachs family office.

Heritage Finance & Trust Company, Geneva, Switzerland, was founded in 1986 in Switzerland as a single family office providing financial advisory and portfolio management services. Over time, Heritage has evolved into a multifamily, multi-client office as it has seen demand for its services increase from an extended circle of family members and their related connections.

According to early results of the 1999 Family Office Exchange Compensation and Benefits Practices survey, a tight labor market in which the most talented professionals are not changing jobs or are being recruited quickly is boosting salaries and increasing benefits. Family offices still have the edge but face increased competition from international banks, investment firms and private trust companies offering deeper and improved benefit packages.

With the world changing so quickly, the role of the family as a bulwark of stability and support becomes increasingly important. In response to this growing educational need, Family Office Exchange in 1998 formed the FOX Foundation. Operating as the Family Learning Center, the Foundation will serve as a resource to facilitate all aspects of "family learning."

Harris Associates LP was founded in 1976 by six investment professionals (Joe Braucher, Roger Brown, Peter Foreman, Victor Morgenstern, Myron Szold, and Ralph Wanger) who believed that delivering successful investment results for clients required a consistent investment philosophy, a commitment to superior investment research and a high level of client service. As the roster of clients has grown over the years, these basic beliefs have remained unchanged.

Developing an effective family office can be a formidable challenge. Keeping it headed in the right direction is a constant process of assessment and adjustment. The rapid pace of change in virtually every aspect of the world around us necessitates this monitoring and redirecting process to ensure and maximize the effectiveness of the family office.

Over the last year, Perrybell Investments, Inc., the family office of the James Ford Bell family, has made cutting-edge changes in the structure of family office ownership. The resulting company, Family Financial Strategies, now contracts with the Bell family for comprehensive family office services and has also accepted a limited number of new families.

We hear much these days about how difficult it is to put together a career. The "younger" generation seeks more than jobs. They want their work to be fulfilling and to make a difference, and they need to earn a salary that they can live on, have medical benefits and maybe even save enough to one day retire. This is a tall order in these times of corporate and government downsizing and greater competition among nonprofits for shrinking resources.