In an Inherited Foundation, What Are You Giving of Yourself? (3 of 3)
There is a quiet question that sits beneath many lifespan debates, especially when the next generation is large:
Whose money is this?
Families don’t always say it out loud, but as family members get further away from the wealth creators, they often feel it. We hear questions like these from rising generations:
“I didn’t create this wealth. What is my role here?”
“Am I supposed to preserve something, or evolve it?”
“Is my contribution real or symbolic? Does my opinion even count?”
“If my only role is to vote on grants based on someone else’s wishes, what’s in it for me?”
We’ve also seen the opposite impulse: rising generation members who want to conserve or even contract the foundation's spending today, so that the structure they grew up with and love is still there for their own children and grandchildren.
This is where philanthropy and lifespan becomes more than a governance conversation.
Philanthropy is about giving something of yourself. Time. Attention. Presence. Relationship. Judgment. Learning. Accountability. Sometimes repair.
So the essential question becomes:
What does contribution look like for each generation, beyond a vote?
Why this matters for foundation lifespan
Perpetuity becomes fragile when the next generation is invited to inherit without being asked or enabled to contribute. Spend-down becomes problematic when it is used to avoid the harder work: designing legitimate governance, addressing uneven engagement, clarifying roles and potential compensation, and building a pathway for meaningful next-generation practice.
A “contribution menu” that shifts the dynamic
We encourage our clients to design real contribution opportunities for the next generation before formal board seats:
Story and relationship: Learn origin stories, meet nonprofit partners, do site visits. Show up as a consistent, curious presence.
Portfolio leadership: Lead a specific grant portfolio with real accountability and feedback, including direct relationship with grantees.
Service practice: Board service, volunteering, and advocacy aligned to values
Translation work: Bring lived experience and emerging issues into the family’s frame
Shared giving: In large families, pooled contributions can build shared ownership and shared accountability
Parallel vehicles: A next-gen fund or giving circle that reflects current tools, values, and proximity to the causes they seek to support and understand
This changes the energy from “who gets power” to “who is building stewardship muscle” - for the family and for the communities they serve.
Two questions that quickly reveal readiness
What are you willing to give of yourself, not just allocate?
What responsibility are you willing to carry, and how will we support you to carry it well?
When families ask these questions honestly, they can design a philanthropic ecosystem that holds legacy through story, practice through multiple vehicles, and legitimacy through contribution.
And then the lifespan decision becomes what it should be: a strategic choice in service of purpose - one that honors the family’s legacy, engages the next generation meaningfully, and holds genuine accountability to the communities at the center of the work.
If your family is navigating this conversation, we’d love to help. Reach out ot the JH Philanthopy team.
This series explores three dimensions of the philanthropy lifespan conversation: Stories, Practices, and Contributions.