Remmer ’75 analyzes strategic family philanthropy

President and CEO of The Philanthropic Initiative, Ellen Remmer ’75 describes the benefits and drawbacks of family philanthropy for the company’s blog. Remmer writes that family philanthropy is “worth the hard work” because it strengthens family bonds, creates a family legacy, connects and educates a family about the larger world, and makes a difference in your community and the world.

“I have a confession. I’m a prosetelyzer and I’m an evangelist… for strategic family philanthropy. I caught the bug when my own family discovered the joys of working together on our family foundation, and it’s become a calling in life. I’ve spent the last 20 years of my professional life evangelizing: working with families who are about to embark on a journey into family philanthropy—or are already deep into it , and helping them become more fulfilled in that journey, craft and realize big ambitions and become strategic, effective givers. Dream big and give wisely—that’s TPI’s tagline.

“The problem is that it’s not easy. More than a few people have told me it’s a lost cause, that I’m Sisyphus pushing that big old rock up the hill. But unlike Sisyphus, this is my goal, not a punishment, and the rewards of seeing some of those rocks reach the top of the hill have made it worth it.

“In this series of posts, I’m going to talk about why I think strategic family philanthropy is important and why it can be so hard to achieve. I’ll share some examples of success and failure, and provide you with a little advice for what you can do to make it a reality – and not an oxymoron.”

Read the full story…

Image: via TPI.

Friendly URL: wesconnect.wesleyan.edu/news-20121109-ellen-remmer

Related links

• Current Alumni-Elected Trustees
• Ellen Remmer blogs at TPI
• The Philanthropic Initiative, Inc.

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