The multi-family office Threshold Group and the National Center for Family Philanthropy will work together on building links between private family foundations and family offices under a new initiative.

The multi-family office
Threshold Group and the National Center for Family Philanthropy will work together on building links between private family foundations and family offices under a new initiative.

The organizations will produce research, publish reports and use social media to identify and publicize “best practices” for how family offices and private foundations can work together to create the biggest overall impact.

NCFP, a nonprofit, will create an advisory committee to oversee the initiative, while Threshold Group will provide funding and help with the research and educational processes. Work is set to begin in the second half of this year.

The initiative will try to identify exactly how wealthy families are using family offices to support and manage their foundations and philanthropic efforts, and at the same time how family offices are helping families achieve their philanthropic goals, said Virginia Esposito, president of the NCFP.

“The hope of both organizations is that this initiative will lead to an annual survey in 2013 on the family philanthropy field and its trends,” Threshold and NCFP said in a joint statement.

“We see this as a rare opportunity to put aside all our assumptions and continue uncovering better ways for family offices and philanthropies to work together,” said Craig Muska, director of investment management for foundation services at Threshold.

In March the MFO launched an investment advisory program tailored to private family foundations, seeking to integrate the philanthropic and investment sides and deal with the family dynamics issues that affect boards. At the time, it said it recognized a need for the family foundation to work more closely with the family’s other advisors, so that the family’s philanthropic wishes can inform their investment strategies – or at least ensure the two are not counter-productive.

The forthcoming research and white paper will explore how the structure of a family office can help families centralize their giving and investing; the advantages and disadvantages of creating a family office versus joining an existing MFO; bridging the generational divide within families, and questions of a “class divide” between members of a family office and family foundation.