The question Virginia “Ginny” Esposito, Founder of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, gets asked the most, is “How can I engage my family in philanthropy?” In this episode, Ginny highlights what family business is and common trends in the work she has been in for over 30 years. She has lots of wisdom for parents and great resources, whether you are just getting started or if you’ve been giving for decades.
Family Governance
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Succession planning for a family business inevitably requires planning for the transition of the management team. This transition presents several challenges, including dealing with non-family managers and with a family member who is not suited for a leadership role in the business. These difficulties are not insurmountable, and, with clear communication, careful planning and assistance from advisors, the family will end the planning process with a stronger and more successful management team and family business.
In a perfect world, parents would have a well-thought-out plan for wealth transfer, explain their intentions, and help their heirs learn their roles and responsibilities. But life doesn’t always unfold in an orderly way to provide such a roadmap. Sometimes, inheritors may need to step in to play a more active role so they can empower themselves with the knowledge and tools necessary to make the best decisions for themselves and their family’s legacy.
How do you prepare younger family members to manage their wealth well and flourish in their own lives and in the family enterprise? Every family is challenged to find creative ways to engage family members in the process of learning—about the family and what it values and owns, as well as what it takes to care for these human and financial assets.
The concept of “making an impact” is not new. Families of substantial wealth and philanthropy have long had an intertwined history. So it is no surprise that, when 2020’s tremors hit, families of exceptional wealth stepped up in ways not only addressing the pandemic but also tackling deeper societal issues. FOX Chief Operating Officer Glen W.
Most of the time when families gather, the focus is purely social—reconnecting, reminiscing, and “rest and relaxation” as a group. Occasionally, family members may also gather for limited financial management tasks, such as settling a loved one’s estate, or planning for how to manage shared assets such as land or a family vacation home. These family get-togethers are important to families no matter what their financial circumstances. For families with wealth, though, the need to connect can go beyond the social aspects.
Wealth coaching is essentially the study of one’s relationship with money and wealth. We all have a relationship with money, and through money messages that we learned at an early age, this relationship guides the majority of behaviors throughout our lives. Individuals and families who engage wealth coaches can benefit enormously across a broad spectrum of topics and issues as they participate in difficult conversations, learn about family systems, and devise governance strategies.
Because of social and cultural changes that have increased women’s control of wealth, this paper seeks to help families navigate this newer development—where the female partner’s inherited wealth significantly exceeds that which her spouse is likely to generate through his own inheritance or work. It begins with McKayla’s story and the challenges she and her boyfriend faced in their fiscally unequal partnership.
The expression “an elephant in the room” is readily recognized to mean an uncomfortable situation not talked about but clearly known to all. When elephants make unwanted appearances—at family dinners, social gatherings, meetings—people get uncomfortable and begin to shut down. When this happens, they begin to operate from assumptions and draw conclusions based on their own perceptions. Overtime, these actions may cause family relationships to erode.
While wealthy families prefer to pass nearly two-thirds of their wealth to their children, grandchildren and other heirs, they grapple with a fundamental question: Can their wealth benefit their generation and be passed on to future generations while also having a positive impact on those future generations? Experience shows that sustaining family wealth is indeed possible when families begin to see their wealth not only as a series of activities that need to be performed, but also as an enterprise that needs to be managed.