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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?

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.

Donors' charitable gifts to their family foundations are not always administered by successor trustees in the manner in which originally intended. Donors must carefully articulate a mission for the organization — their private foundation — that will be the repository of a significant portion of their wealth.

The family office is often called upon to organize and staff family charitable endeavors. Community foundations can be a resource for the family office by providing information, insight, technical know-how, and alternate means of funding and conducting a family's charitable activities.

Our advice to anyone hesitating to bring about an intergenerational family foundation because the time does not seem right or there are too many family issues to confront is — just get started. There is no better time than now to have the satisfaction of helping others and, at the same time, to give your family the opportunity to grow and to discover the pleasures of working together.

The field of philanthropy has primarily been built around the more tactical aspects and the how of giving while taking the why for granted.

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.

Kelly and Isabel talk about how "finding their person" guided them along their philanthropic journey. In this family, each generation encourages the next by engagement, mentorship, and resilient family culture. Listen and learn more about the Surdna Foundation's inspiring story of multi-generational giving.

Hear from Monica about her grandmother's influence encouraging the new, third generation to get involved and bring their own voices to the table. Monica, now president of the Conant Family Foundation, also talks about activism and shares how the foundation has developed new opportunities, such as emergency funding, while also honoring her grandmother Doris' legacy.