SCG Annual Conference and Members' Meeting
November 9, 2009

Breakout (Family Foundation Session)
East Meets West: National Perspectives on the Future of Family Foundations

Moderator: Leslie Dorman
President, The Sterling Foundation

Panelists:
Richard Atlas
Co-founder and Trustee, The Atlas Family Foundation

Yvonne Moore
Executive Director, Daphne Foundation

The most recent data on family foundations from the Foundation Center identified 40,200 independent foundations with measurable donor-family involvement. Not only has the number of family foundations increased on a yearly basis, they now represent more than half of all independent foundations and account for close to three-fifths of the overall giving.

While many larger independent foundations have roots in the eastern states, California is now  home to seven of the twenty-five largest family foundations in the nation. In sheer numbers and assets, family philanthropy has grown significantly on the west coast.

How does geography play a role in family foundations founded and operated on either coast? Is the growth in family foundations to continue, particularly in light of the economic downturn? Family foundation thought-leaders from the East and West Coasts shared their perspectives on the future of family philanthropy and where it fits into the broader philanthropic picture.

About the Moderator

Leslie Dorman, President, Sterling Foundation
Leslie Dorman is president of the Sterling Foundation, a philanthropic foundation which focuses on college access programs for minority adolescents in inner-city Los Angeles neighborhoods. She has previously served as executive director of the Whitecap Foundation, assistant executive director of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership as well as director of development of KUSC-FM, one of the largest public radio stations in the nation. Dorman also spent 10 years with the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, a non-profit, non-partisan international affairs organization.

About the Panelists

Richard Atlas
Co-founder and Trustee, The Atlas Family Foundation
After nearly 27 years with Goldman, Sachs, Richard Atlas established The Atlas Family Foundation in 1985 to support community-based programs dedicated to the prevention of psychological disturbances in young children through education, training, early intervention and consultation with parents, children, families and child care professionals--with a concentration on low-income, high-risk families and communities. Atlas has served on the board of Southern California Grantmakers, The California Endowment, Children Now, Zero to Three and the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families.

Yvonne Moore
Executive Director, Daphne Foundation
Yvonne L. Moore is the executive director of the Daphne Foundation, supporting programs that confront the causes and consequences of poverty in New York City and West Africa. Over the last 15 years Moore has worked in the areas of child maltreatment, child and family rights, child mental health as well as focusing on those policies which disproportionately and directly impact women and children, such as poverty, civic engagement and education. Moore currently serves on committees for the New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Award, Increasing Diversity in Philanthropy and Philanthropy New York.

Families Step Up to Meet the Economic Crisis

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