Family Philanthropy

Passing On Values, Creating Impact

by Jackie Harrison

It is a great privilege to engage with families on their philanthropic journey. When we meet families thinking about engaging in philanthropy, the motivation is often gratitude for opportunities they have enjoyed themselves. ‘We have done well and would like to give back’ is a sentiment often expressed. For others, it emerges from personal experience or a desire to tackle challenges that have touched their lives. Increasingly, philanthropy is also becoming an important part of family discussions about succession, stewardship and legacy.

Values

Philanthropy is deeply personal – values, life experiences, a homeplace or community connections often greatly influence the causes and communities the family choose to support. And in an Irish context, most families choose to give back quietly and privately.

For many families, conversations about the future focus on succession, inheritance and stewardship. Important questions are asked. How do we preserve what has been built? How do we prepare the next generation? What legacy do we want to leave behind?

Increasingly, another question is becoming part of that conversation: How can we use our success to create positive change for others?

At Community Foundation Ireland, we see philanthropy not as something separate from family life or business success, but as a natural extension of the values that helped create that success in the first place. It is about passing on more than wealth.

It is about passing on purpose, responsibility and a commitment to making a difference.

Many families begin their philanthropic journey with strong instincts. They want to give back. They want to create opportunities for others. They want to support causes that matter deeply to them and to the communities they care about. Yet, knowing where to direct that generosity can be challenging.

Community Knowledge and Expertise

The issues facing society today are complex. Persistent inequality, barriers to opportunity, pressures on community life, and the urgent challenge of climate and nature loss require more than good intentions. They require thoughtful, long-term approaches that address root causes as well as immediate needs. These challenges sit at the heart of Community Foundation Ireland’s mission to mobilise strategic philanthropy to advance equality, strengthen communities and protect climate and nature.

As Ireland’s philanthropic hub, Community Foundation Ireland helps families transform generosity into action. We combine deep community knowledge, national reach and trusted expertise to connect donors with the causes, communities and opportunities that matter most to them. We help families identify where they can have the greatest impact and ensure their giving is managed responsibly, effectively and sustainably.

Families often spend years developing structures to sustain businesses and preserve assets. Philanthropy complements that process by creating a framework through which values are shared, discussed and lived. While some families establish independent foundations, many are choosing to set up a Donor Advised Fund with Community Foundation Ireland on a short term or perpetual basis.

Setting up a family fund allow families to remain actively involved in decision-making while benefiting from expert governance, due diligence, grant administration and impact reporting.

Through strategic philanthropy, families are helping tackle child poverty, advance equality, strengthen communities, support women’s rights, fund vital research, protect habitats and biodiversity, and respond to emerging challenges facing society. In many cases, their support extends beyond immediate needs and contributes to lasting change through innovation, collaboration, evidence generation and advocacy.

Through our work with families, we also see that philanthropy can become an important way of engaging younger generations while fostering a lasting culture of generosity and civic responsibility. We often see philanthropy create benefits that reach beyond the causes being supported.

Rewarding

Families regularly tell us that one of the greatest rewards is the opportunity to come together around a shared purpose. Conversations about grant-making become conversations about values. Learning about social issues deepens understanding. Decisions about giving strengthen connections between generations.

This was brought home to me in the past week in meeting with two families with Donor Advised Funds who are reflecting on their philanthropy after 10 and 13 years respectively. In looking back, it is wonderful to see what they have contributed – in generous, thoughtful and steadfast support to the causes and communities that they have chosen to support.

Through our engagement with families over the past 25 years, we see that what begins as philanthropy often becomes something more. It becomes a way for families to reflect on who they are, what they stand for and the contribution they want to make to society.

At Community Foundation Ireland, our vision is for a future where People, Place and Planet thrive. Since 2000, we have mobilised more than €200 million in philanthropic support and awarded over €160 million in grants. Every day we work with donors, charities and communities to ensure generosity delivers meaningful and measurable change.

Family philanthropy has a unique role to play in creating that future and Community Foundation Ireland is there to support families on all stages of the journey.

Jackie Harrison is Director of Philanthropy at Community Foundation Ireland. Find out more through our online Strategic Giving Guide.