GETTING PERSONAL: Mission Statements Focus Family Giving
By Shelly Banjo and Kristen McNamara
Date: December 8, 2008
Source: Dow Jones News Service
“…Mission statements aren’t set in stone. Families can revisit and revise them over time.
Several years ago, trustees of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation firmed up the general mission statement they had created about eight years ago, says Ashley Snowdon Blanchard, the foundation’s president. Their more specific statement outlined the foundation’s focus on low-income families and communities, particularly youth of color and no- and low-wage workers. The trustees also refined the types of organizations they wanted to support.
“Not only is it better philanthropy to have some sort of focus, it’s a much more unifying experience as a family than I’ll fund yours if you fund my thing,” Blanchard says…”
Hill-Snowdon Trustee, Elizabeth Snowdon, and Program Officer, Shona Chakravartty, will speak at the upcoming Family Philanthropy Conference, February 1-3, 2008 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their panels were designed by our allies at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest and the North Star Fund. A pre-conference session, Social Justice Philanthropy: Opportunities and Challenges for Family Foundations is scheduled for Saturday, January 31st at 1pm while Leveraging Impact: Supporting Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement is scheduled for Sunday, February 1, 2008 at 4 pm. Detailed information about the conference is available online. Click here.