Family philanthropy, like life, often hits points where the way forward isn't obvious. New opportunities emerge, new voices join in, and tensions can arise around family legacy, community needs, decision-making, and giving timelines. While these inflection points might feel difficult, they're often the start of truly meaningful philanthropic work, leading to bold and impactful changes.

The graduation season is upon us; this year, I have five young people in my family crossing the graduation stage, including my 8th grade twins. This season leaves me feeling nostalgic and hopeful. I have been listening closely to the sage advice shared in commencement addresses. Some of my favorite speakers have included Kermit the Frog and Maggie Rogers.

As April comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on a month of interesting contrasts. We celebrated Earth Day, Volunteer Month, Easter and Passover. Our days are getting longer; the Jessamine is in bloom in Charleston; and migratory birds are stopping over in the Lowcountry. All of these occasions are deeply woven with the threads of renewal, hope, love, and community. Spring renews my optimism and belief in the good of humanity.

In reflecting on women’s history month, I have been thinking a lot about my grandmother. She was a guiding light for me and my sister. She personified grace, intellectual curiosity and selflessness. Her conversations with us revolved around current events and community needs. She encouraged me and my sister to think critically, to speak our minds and to support our communities, especially those most vulnerable. She passed away when I was 26. I would do anything to have dinner with her now and contemplate philanthropy and its connection to empowered women.

Grant Philanthropic Advisors proudly announces the trademark of Stratlas, formerly known as the Philanthropy Map. This innovative digital tool provides philanthropists with a user-friendly, data-driven dashboard to visualize and enhance the strategic impact of their charitable giving.

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation today announced that it will sunset by the end of 2030. John Lanier, executive director of the Foundation and grandson of Ray C. Anderson (1934-2011), noted that much care and thought went into the family-led decision.

One thing is abundantly clear, we are living in the middle of major economic and policy disruption affecting the nonprofit sector which ties directly into the philanthropic community. Everyday, I look at the news and learn about new policy changes impacting our sector and corresponding legal action. How do you make sense of it all without overreacting? I like to start with the facts.

As we kick off 2025, we are motivated to understand all of the possibilities for the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors in this current climate. This year brings new challenges and also new opportunities to explore for impact. We’re here to support you in navigating these changes and helping you to maximize your philanthropy.

As we celebrate the holidays and close out 2024, we are grateful to our GPA community. You inspire us with your generosity, curiosity and courage to take risks with your philanthropy. We feel fortunate to be part of our clients' philanthropic journeys day in and day out. As you gather with your families, please share stories about your philanthropic work in the community, your life experiences that have shaped your values and what inspires your generosity. You are planting seeds for future philanthropists!

The Program Director position is a new addition to the Foundation team and will serve in a critical role supporting the Foundation’s core grantmaking function. The ideal candidate is deeply committed to leading by example, ethical decision-making, and building consensus through fostering a culture of learning and collaboration. Effective communication skills, adaptability, and humility are essential traits.

Thanksgiving is around the corner! Generosity, curiosity and discernment stand out as themes in our work this month. Our team has been hard at work supporting families and corporations make year end philanthropic decisions as well as planning for 2025's goals. This month, we facilitated a panel on next generation leadership at Philanthropy Southeast's Annual Meeting; we've been on a number of compelling site visits including a visit to Turn90's new Charleston facility; and we're busy planning a next generation family retreat the first weekend in December.

Grant Philanthropic Advisors celebrates its five-year anniversary as an independent advisory firm. Since its inception, Grant Philanthropic Advisors has proudly supported dozens of individuals, foundations, family offices and corporations in achieving their philanthropic goals. To meet the moment of a quickly changing world, Grant Philanthropic Advisors has evolved to a team of eight; we advise clients on philanthropic strategic plans; lead executive search for family foundations; coach philanthropic leaders; and work with staffed family foundations and corporations on their community engagement initiatives.

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott appears to be preparing for another charitable giving spree.

As we turn the page to November, I always look forward to conversations focused on generosity. Whether it is at the dining table, the board table or in the corporate conference room, people tend to make their giving decisions in the last two months of the year and also set intentions to volunteer during the holiday season. This year, the generosity discussion feels especially important as many communities are facing a long recovery due to historic natural disasters.

Earlier this month, members of the GPA team had the privilege of attending the National Center For Family Philanthropy Forum in Atlanta. The event, centered around the theme Make Bold Choices to Achieve Bold Change, was an inspiring reminder of our role as stewards in philanthropy and the power of thoughtful, community-driven impact. We left with new tools and strategies to enhance our work, along with the encouragement to continually ask, "What if?" as we pursue bold goals to help solve big issues.

My family has been in the midst of back to school activities over the last few weeks. I feel a mix of excitement, a little sadness and nostalgia as my kids head into a new year of school. It has also sparked a renewed commitment of learning for me this fall. Next month, we are looking forward to sponsoring and attending the National Center for Family Philanthropy Forum. This year’s theme is focused on making bold choices and implementing them to drive lasting change, a topic we’re particularly excited to learn more about. We look to NCFP as a top notch resource for our continuing education and a leader in the world of family giving. If you’re planning to attend the forum, we’d love to connect—please let us know so we can make sure not to miss you!

With the slower pace of summer, our team is taking time to reflect on our work thus far in 2024, to pursue continuing education and to reconnect with nonprofit partners through site visits and conversations. Our meetings have focused on the environment, education, health and wellness, women's rights and the psychology behind effective philanthropy.

Porter Durham joins Grant Philanthropic Advisors bringing decades of philanthropic leadership. In his role as Of Counsel with GPA, Porter will make strategic connections to potential clients and thought leaders in the philanthropic field. He will also leverage his experience and that of the GPA team to best serve the needs of our diverse client portfolio.

With summer underway, it is the perfect time to celebrate impact and dive into some good reads. We hope you find the articles below helpful and inspiring as you embark on your summer adventures.

We celebrate the Guffey Family Foundation's generosity to the College of Charleston supporting scholarships for Charleston Fellows. This program is the Honors College's top scholars program and supports students who aim to make a significant impact on their communities and in their chosen fields.

We have been referring to this month as "Maycember" as it is chock-full. From end-of-school celebrations to nonprofit events to summer vacation planning and preparation, schedules are overflowing! As you and your family prepare for summer, we wish you time to relax and reflect on your intentions for 2024. The midpoint of the year is an excellent time to celebrate accomplishments and look forward to what's next. We hope you find the resources below helpful as you prepare for the remainder of the year!

Why do philanthropists choose to shape their giving with a specific geographic focus? What are the advantages of an effective place based funding strategy?

Johanna Anderson joins Grant Philanthropic Advisors bringing two decades of philanthropic leadership. Johanna will work directly with clients to support their strategic philanthropic investments.

We often hear philanthropists wrestle with strategy around their philanthropic purpose, their pace of giving and their budget.

When was the last time you made a group decision and all were in complete agreement?

One of my favorite artists, Hans Hoffman, once said, “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

GPA partnered with the Aaron family in their philanthropic goal of a "life-changing scholarship" for Allendale County.

GPA partnered with the Fuller family to bring their ideas to fruition. The Citadel’s Zucker Family School of Education will launch a new Center of Literacy Excellence focused on supportive measures to ensure all children receive high quality literacy instruction.

GPA partnered with the Harrell family to help bring Jane’s Fund to life. Jane and Mike Harrell, along with their children Piper, Max and Sam, launched Jane’s Fund to honor their daughter and sister, Jane, who passed away in 2019 at age 17, just five months after being diagnosed with DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma) a rare, inoperable pediatric brain tumor with a zero-survival rate. Jane left her friends and family with a charge to change the world, saying, “that job belongs to each of you.”

We often hear philanthropists wrestle with strategy around their philanthropic purpose, their pace of giving and their budget.

This month we shine the spotlight on our friend, colleague, and Learning Community member Kaky McGinness Grant. A 20-year veteran in the field of philanthropy, Kaky’s ethic of giving back was instilled in her at an early age by way of her parents and grandparents living on Lookout Mountain, TN.

Grant Philanthropic Advisors launched this month a user-friendly digital tool called the Social Good Map. The online dashboard allows philanthropists to see the impact of their charitable giving through dynamic charts and illustrations.

Did you know that less than 2% of US philanthropy today flows to women and girls' causes? It is reported that 93% of affluent women give to charity, 56% volunteer, and 23% serve on the board of a nonprofit according to US Trust.

In January of this year, I had the opportunity to visit the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and National Memorial to Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama with a group of friends from Charleston.

The Program Director position is a new addition to the Foundation team and will serve in a critical role supporting the Foundation’s operations and grantmaking. The ideal candidate is deeply committed to children and youth in Atlanta, and to addressing systemic issues and solutions in our education ecosystem.

My husband and I recently took a road trip and listened to the book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman.

Over the past 20 years, there has been a growing critique of philanthropy, which is leading to distrust in the nonprofit sector.

Over the last 20 years, there has been a growing critique of philanthropy which is leading to distrust in the nonprofit sector. Critics allege that philanthropists have an outsized influence on civil society by making large gifts; some high profile donors use their generosity to “wash” their reputation; and major donations are made to benefit the philanthropist and their families.

As our client work has grown since our founding in 2019, I have listened to what clients need and want to be effective philanthropists. I am proud to announce the talented team of experts that we have been building to best serve current and future clients.

Often I take time to reflect upon the themes and patterns in my work. It helps me better understand commonalities among clients, trends in the philanthropic field and helps to point me towards more research and writing projects.

I started a new class in my master's program in philanthropic studies in January. One of the first assignments was to answer the question: "Are humans inclined to behave generously by nature?" To be honest, I wasn't sure how to answer.

This is my favorite time of year. People are in the spirit of celebration, generosity and giving thanks.

As we set our sights and pin our hopes on 2021, philanthropists are looking to the social sector to express their closely held values and solutions to the world’s most urgent problems.

Many of us are beginning to think about the holidays and how we will celebrate this year. Whether we’re with family or celebrating distantly, what will we choose to focus on as we close out 2020? What traditions hold up and what new ones will be created? What stories will be shared from this year and decades past? Family values are translated implicitly and explicitly through shared traditions, rituals, and stories.

As we turn the corner into fall, I want to share some reflections on trends I am seeing in philanthropy right now. Over the summer months, I’ve had the opportunity to visit with philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, civic leaders, social impact investors, financial planners, and academics in the field. Two words stand out to me: adaptability and compassion.

2020 has been a year none of us anticipated. As we chart our path forward, I am hearing inspiring stories of how families, friends and colleagues are engaging in compelling conversations centered on what our world should and could look like. It is no coincidence that the nonprofit community is at the center of many of these conversations. I believe that philanthropy is a critical building block in our figurative and literal healing.